How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

We typically adopt a proactive stance. Our preferred approach is ‘prevention’, therefore there is a strong focus on regularly tracking compliance across jurisdictions. There is a core team for crisis management that cuts across key business functions, and key external legal support. Critical areas of engagement are identified early. A continuity plan has been designed to guide crisis management and ensure minimal disruption to business operations.

Regarding our legal and business strategies, our key consideration in crafting legal strategy is to ensure alignment and synergy with business objectives – ⁠constant communication and proper coordination across business and legal functions help develop resilience.

We are proactive and consider stakeholder engagement a key component of strategy development. Our legal strategy goes beyond immediate business dealings – we keep an eye on the bottom line. The legal strategy is an important component of the overall business strategy and is the engine that drives and ensures compliance, manages associated risks while delivering value towards business objectives. We are therefore not perceived as a cost center. We improve profitability through contract negotiations, mediations, external counsel management, compliance, risk mitigation, capacity development and other initiatives.

In your opinion, what are the main trends that are salient in your country currently?

There is an increased focus by the government on revenue generation through taxes. There are proposed reviews of tax rates around Value Added Taxes, Corporate Taxes, and there is also a focus on governance in companies which goes beyond corporate governance to incorporating

ESG framework policies into how businesses are operated and even viewed by potential investors: in the technology space, data protection and the impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) continues to impact how businesses operate and are staffed. In addition, currency (foreign) exchange management for international businesses is a top-of-mind/front burner issue for businesses in my country.

Are there any causes, business or otherwise, you are passionate about?

I am passionate about capacity building and mentoring women in leadership roles, and I commit resources to platforms that support these causes. I sit as an independent director on a few boards and enjoy seeing start-ups thrive and grow. I offer pro bono legal advice to a few non-profits that supports wrongly incarcerated persons, widows and the physically challenged.