About

‘Having the benefit of legal privilege is a critical need in our global environment nowadays’ proclaims William Wostyn, who has served investment company Viel & Cie since 1999. In 2004 Wostyn was promoted to group chief legal and compliance officer, he is also the director of several companies of the Compagnie Financière Tradition and Viel & Cie and the chairman of the supervisory board at Bourse Direct. Pursuing diverse roles and praised for his achievements within them, Wostyn has earned praise from numerous sources for his legal endeavours. At Viel & Cie, Wostyn has grown the department from its initial single lawyer and paralegal, and is now responsible for coordinating 11 employees at the head office and other entities across the globe, in addition to four regional compliance officers with dotted reporting lines. He coordinates the commercial undertakings along with legal so that both are closely involved in decision making at various levels in the group. Currently dealing with the Dodd Frank regulation in the USA and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive in Europe, Wostyn recalls how ‘challenges have also evolved with time, as with any new initiative comes a different challenge’. With a wealth of knowledge and an abundance of experience that has grown within an evolving industry, Wostyn concludes; ‘working in many countries, I realise the benefit of one big legal family which encompasses in-house and outside counsel’.