Team size: Five

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises to ensure the organisation’s resilience? 

Whenever an event or a situation threatens the company’s ability to operate effectively, the top priority matter is to make sure me myself understand the key issue and the associated potential impact clearly. After having the background info in my mind, I would start to talk with relevant stakeholders and research the key issue in depth before I (jointly with relevant stakeholders) work out an action plan. Sometimes I would reach out to the external counsels to obtain a second opinion. As part of the plan, assistance from certain cross-functional associates is needed and hence I personally would set up a direct conversation with those associate(s). If it relates to an interim plan, it is wise to keep those related associates informed of the period they are expecting to collaborate with Legal/corporate. There have been couples of times that I, on behalf of the company, proactively reached out to the competent authority for an optimal solution following a careful in-depth internal evaluation. When implementing the action plan, I always kept the country head & corporate leaders posted of the (major) progress.

Upon completion of the action plan, the task force used to assemble and have a reflection discussion to see if we/company can do better in term of the governance, structure, process and procedure, documentation, etc. Thereafter we would utilise that opportunity to improve the internal system as needed.

What are the main projects that you have been involved in recently? 

Following the announcement by Cardinal Health of its sales of Cordis business to Hellman & Friedman in August 2021 (the sale price of approximately  US$1bn), I was supporting the separation of Cordis from Cardinal Health in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea as well as establishment of a legal entity for Cardinal Health China to run medical devices business independently.

When and after Cordis acquired MedAlliance in October 2023, I was providing the legal support to the transaction and the integration thereafter in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The acquisition included a 2022 investment of US$35mn and an upfront closing payment in 2023 of US$200mn, with regulatory achievement milestones of up to US$125mn and commercial milestones of up to US$775mn through 2029, for a total consideration of up to US$1.135bn.

What are some of the main trends impacting the industry sector you work in in China?   

Anti-corruption campaign has been a big topic in the industry since a decade ago. In Aug 2023, the China corruption watchdog has kicked off a sweeping and vigorous than ever campaign to crack down on corruption in the healthcare sector across the country. Since then, certain models of corporates’ interacting with HCPs have to be changed and modified accordingly to allow the business operation in a proper manner.

China VBP programs target to reduce pricing by awarding large volume sales for tender winners. With the 4th devices bulk purchasing program announced in December 2023, which resulted in a nearly 70% price reduction on about 30 different medical devices, the China central government kicked off the 5th devices bulk purchasing program at the end of September 2024.

How do you build relationships with other teams in the company? 

That’s my favourite topic. I believe the legal expertise plays crucial role for an in-house lawyer/team; the strong communication skill is equally.  Being a trustworthy business partner requires several steps: continuously equip myself with sufficient and useful knowledge, listen to X-functional peers empathetically and ask questions to better understand them, try to solve problems instead of raising questions merely, act quickly and honestly & transparently share my thoughts and ideas, sometimes think ahead of business. Trust sets the foundation of a healthy relationship and keep asking for feedback helps maintaining the healthy relationship.