Antigoni Papanikolaou was hired by Microsoft Hellas in February 2012 as the world-renowned technology company’s first in-house counsel, and consequently set-up and defined the role and scope of the company’s internal legal department. Following her promotion to the position of legal director in charge of the Greek, Cypriot and Maltese business units, in November 2013, Papanikolaou has been acting as a key partner to local business leadership, dealing with all legal related matters plus occasionally with corporate affairs issues affecting the company in each jurisdiction.

She says: ‘It is now at Microsoft that I have the chance to grow, as a professional, my knowledge in the IT and technology sector and to evolve in my role as being not only the introspective in-house counsel but also to take a more outward-looking role in representing company’s principles and approach around privacy matters, for instance, in the era of cloud computing in various fora’. During her former role of counsel at the Greek subsidiary of Philip Morris International Papastratos, Papanikolaou impressed with her work on dealing with various compliance challenges in a highly regulated sector.

‘It was during that time that I learned how to support business and help turning the image of the in-house [legal function] not as a blocker but as a business partner, which does not compromise on the business values, compliance policies and integrity of the company’, she says. Papanikolaou’s former career also features positions at Coca-Cola Hellas and Papaconstantinou Law Offices.