About

In a previous role in the media and entertainment industry, Lise Pons created the legal function for UGC, one of the largest cinema operators in Europe. Leaving behind a fully functional legal department she changed sectors to the automotive industry to join Speedy France in 2012. Given her previous experience at UGC, she was tasked with creating a legal function for Speedy France with a €170m turnover and an estimated 1,600 employees. In conjunction with this vast task Pons was asked to manage the real estate arm of the company to ensure the supervision of the property management system monitoring up to 310 commercial leases. In less than two years of implementing the legal department Pons made a significant reduction in external legal spend, reaching an estimated €350,000 while saving the company money on customer services and disputes through newly proposed procedures. Structuring the legal department so that only one employee reports into her and through the use of multiple tools, Pons is able to dedicate her time equally to the real estate function as well. One of her many career highpoints is the realisation of outsourcing 10 assets based in France, Belgium and Spain with a high monetary value and without the assistance of external counsel. She is also praised for the legal handling of sales of subsidiaries in three European jurisdictions while corresponding with various law firms. Pons is acknowledged for her delivery of successful legal functions to multiple sectors, while displaying the importance of a well-functioning in-house department to the companies she has worked with.