Team size: Four

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?  

We are privileged to work in a sophisticated multinational corporation where the central legal teams not only strive for innovative solutions but also test them and offer them ready for use in the markets. The innovations implemented by my team primarily focus on improving our way of working to achieve greater efficiency and productivity. This is something we review and adjust on a regular basis.

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

Nestle is the world’s largest food company with over 2,000 brands, products sold in 188 countries, 340 factories in 77 countries, sales of CHF 94.4 billion in 2022, approximately 275,000 employees and annual investments of CHF 1.7 billion in research and development. The company’s total in-house legal team consists of approximately 700 people. I lead the legal and compliance team for Greece, Cyprus and Albania which provides legal services to all legal entities of the Nestle Group in this region, which employs 954 Nestle employees and operates two factories.

In addition to their daily responsibilities, the team handles a vast array of complex and often multi-jurisdiction projects, including matters like route-to-market agreements, legal disputes, intellectual property disputes, antitrust concerns, GDPR compliance, ESG initiatives, and compliance to regulatory requirements.

The one project that stands out in 2023 was the acquisition of the Solgar business, a key player in the vitamins, minerals, and supplements market, for Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and North Macedonia and for which many factors had to be considered other than the M&A process and related legal documents. Our primary priority was to ensure business continuity, and we had to focus on issues such as labour law implications for Solgar employee transfers, GDPR compliance, and obtaining prior approval from Competition Authorities through notification.

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this? 

At Nestle, we uphold exceptionally high standards of ethical values. We have established and followed the Nestle’s Corporate Business Principles, a comprehensive policy addressing workplace discrimination, violence, and harassment, a Code of Business Conduct, a dedicated Human Rights Policy, and ambitious environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments. Nestle is committed to developing products that benefit both you and the planet. We aim to achieve 100% sustainable production for our core products by 2030.

It is clear from the above that yes, it is particularly important to work with external lawyers who share the same values as us, and we evaluate the firms we work with based on these shared values and principles. In a relatively small market like Greece, this decision is straightforward, whereas for the group’s cross-border strategic legal partnerships, a demanding and comprehensive panel process is undertaken by the central legal team to make the selection.