About

‘I have a very dynamic and wide-ranging role’ Margaret Smith, CarTrawler’s GC says. ‘I’m constantly expanding the boundaries of my experience’. Valued for her efficiency and ‘common sense’ approach, Margaret Smith has successfully guided global vehicle hire business CarTrawler through two private equity investments. She has taken a hands-on role throughout the business’s rapid growth, reflected in her appointment as board director to CarTrawler’s reinsurance subsidiary. ‘I think overall – the biggest challenges I have faced in my role relate to the speed of our business’, Smith says. ‘I refer to our recent and ongoing international M&A activity, responding to the changing requirements of our commercial team and my role on the board of our new reinsurance subsidiary company, which really pushes me out of my range of experience to date’. When she joined CarTrawler in 2010, the company did not have a legal department, and she was required to build a comprehensive function from scratch. ‘I have established a team that sits at the very heart of the business and adds value across all departments’, Smith says. ‘It is considered an intrinsic part of the commercial decision-making process’. She has been particularly praised for developing a comprehensive and innovative contractual framework, which has revolutionised this aspect of business processes. She has also introduced biannual training sessions across marketing, partner management and supply management teams. ‘The aim of the session is to remove any fear out of contracting and give the teams the tools they need to negotiate contracts without legal input, whilst also ensuring the risk is minimised’. Smith has also introduced fundamental compliance frameworks, including one for anti-bribery and corruption. When it comes to outside counsel, her feelings resound with the universal gripe over fees. ‘I’d like to see more transparency when it comes to the billing process and more clarity on how they have added value to a particular transaction or business dealing’.