What are the projects that you are most proud of working on over the past 12 months?

Over the past 12 months, two critical projects have been undertaken from a strategic value creation perspective. The first project involved a strategic review of the Tietoevry Banking business, which generates close to €500m in revenue. This review aimed to explore the potential separation of the Banking business into an independent company. The second project is focusing on a strategic review of Tietoevry Tech Services, with a revenue of around €1.2bn. This review is considering the possibility of a sale or listing as a spin-off. Regardless of the outcomes, these processes have been professionally demanding and extremely interesting, combining the efforts of in-house teams and external legal partners.

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

From our company’s perspective, we have faced cyber-attacks and are operating in a geopolitically demanding environment. Therefore, the continuous resilience of our operations is crucial. Pre-planning, well-tested processes, and clearly defined roles, especially in crisis management processes, are essential to ensure the organisation’s resilience. Furthermore, a fact-based thorough analysis is essential to set the foundation for understanding the way forward from the crisis.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

Without authenticity and the opportunity to be oneself, the best outcomes will not be achieved, and the team will not function effectively. The desire to understand things holistically, to be curious while also being demanding of oneself and others, is essential for solving and completing tasks, regardless of the nature of the legal or business matter in question. Thus, I see attributes beyond legal substance matters as the most important, assuming that legal substance knowledge should be a given. However, as a tech lawyer, the use of AI should be integrated into both individual and team daily work.