About

As general counsel of Smurfit Kappa since 1999, Brian Marshall has made a name for himself as a legal and business advisor who combines a deep knowledge of the paper and packaging industry with over 30 years’ legal experience. Marshall has been with Smurfit Kappa for 25 years, a period of time that has seen the Irish-headquartered paper manufacturer achieve significant success and growth, as well as navigate a number of challenges. According to a nominator, ‘he is at the forefront of decision making at the group and is widely acknowledged and respected not only for his analysis but also his management abilities and track record of success’. Smurfit Kappa has faced a number of critical legal challenges over the past twelve months. These included the widely publicised takeover approach from Memphis-based International Paper, which was rejected by Smurfit Kappa last year. Also in the news is the continued global expansion of Smurfit Kappa’s operation, with a number of acquisitions across Europe and strong growth in the Americas. Overseeing a broad global portfolio of acquisitions and investments is a comprehensive task for an executive leadership team, and as a nominator highlights, ‘Marshall has demonstrated notable vision and control in guiding his group’s senior management to sensible and successful outcomes. Such efforts do not come about alone, and he has managed his legal team remarkably well to deliver a seamless set of results in a year that also involved major regulatory compliance overhauls such as the GDPR’. From a financial perspective Marshall and Smurfit Kappa continue to operate at the highest levels of global business. Early this year, Smurfit Kappa finalised a €1.35bn revolving credit facility with a number of banks while also issuing €400m in bonds, both as part of a refinancing of existing securitisation facilities. The global nature of the Smurfit Kappa business has also posed complex legal challenges over the past number of months that defy the usual list of duties for a general counsel. As a nominator identifies, ‘this was evidenced most notably by the challenges faced by Smurfit Kappa to its holdings and business in Venezuela due to the significant upheavals currently ongoing in that country. Paired with Smurfit Kappa’s confident actions in evacuating its employees from the country and redeploying them into other parts of the South American business, which is no mean feat in itself, Marshall oversees the group’s efforts to seek compensation for the seizure of assets by the Venezuelan government before the World Bank’s International Disputes unit’. Overall Marshall has demonstrated stable control and clear vision in guiding the Smurfit Kappa group through what would, for most in-house lawyers, be a year of once-in-a-decade events. As one of Ireland’s leading in-house corporate legal advisors, his combination of technical legal know-how, deep industry insight and highly competent team management have enabled him to overcome difficult challenges and achieve optimum outcomes for the group.