Team size: 100+

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

Carlsberg’s exit from Russia following the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. Following very sad circumstances (having to give up and divest a successful business in Russia with 8,500 employees), we managed, with M&A, the divestiture process in an extremely complex regulatory environment.

Before the sale took place, the business was de facto nationalised by the Russian Government in July 2023. Following this, we ran and managed a number of international disputes in numerous jurisdictions to protect our people and assets in Russia and abroad. It is a classic case of how our closeness as an international team has proved to be useful.

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?

Knowing and excelling in both our roles of (i) supporting the business to attain our goals and (ii) mitigating relevant legal and compliance risk. Business acumen, analytical skills and simple communication are key drivers of success.

How have you fostered a closer collaboration between the legal department and your business counterparts?

We work with key account responsibilities (be it for functions, markets or the like) with a clear operating model.

Do you have a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

Simple communication and how we best create short- and long-term value for Carlsberg.