About

With ultimate responsibility for pharmaceutical company Grünenthal Group’s 17-person global legal team, Marcus Heppner has a number of career highlights to look back on. For instance, he recalls that ‘the execution of the first contract that I supported as legal counsel’ was a particularly fond professional memory that ‘allowed him to learn that good preparation is key for a successful negotiation’. Similarly, his first appointment as head of legal was another particularly illuminating experience: ‘I learned that being a legal manager is very different than being a lawyer. Patience, trust and coaching are key. As well, since I manage a team with members sitting in countries all over the world, I’ve also learned that cultural differences can either be an obstacle and an asset. Having an open mind and stepping out of my own shoes and into those of my team members has helped to bridge gaps’. Heppner has had a huge impact on how the legal function at Grünenthal is organised and goes about achieving its objectives over the course of his stewardship. ‘By integrating the existing lawyers in Italy, Spain and Latin America (which had previously only informally reported into the head of legal) with the existing corporate legal department at headquarters’, he explains, ‘I created a global legal function with uniform reporting lines, standards and tools. The new setup facilitates a global exchange of knowledge and harmonises the approach and way of working into one that is proactive and creative. This global legal function also delineates clear responsibilities of individual lawyers for certain parts of the business or legal matters, such as M&A or licencing’. These changes, led from the front by Heppner over many months of complicated planning and execution, have paid dividends for the function company-wide. ‘Because of these changes, the global legal team is now seen as a strategic business partner that provides proactive advice that transcends the mere solving of current problems and is involved in strategic matters. Value adding and a high level of service has been achieved along with these changes’, Heppner concludes.