Team size: Four

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

Two stand out projects for the team in 2023 involved the successful opening of two new businesses in Abu Dhabi and Portugal. The ARI Group legal team formed part of a wider cross-functional team that supported the successful opening of several travel retail stores at the new Terminal A at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi. This project had been running for years with various challenges along the way. ARI, through its Middle East subsidiary, won a tender to operate travel retail stores at the new Terminal A (as a consortium with local partners).

As part of this successful bid, ARI led the establishment of a new company with its partners to operate the new business. Throughout 2023, the ARI legal team, through an integrated delivery partner approach, supported on corporate set up, corporate funding streams, establishment of back-office functions, and support on capital procurement and negotiations with key brand partners, resulting in the successful opening of the stores on 1 November 2023.

Having been successful in its tender submission in 2022 to partner with Aeroportos de Portugal and establish PTDF Portugal Duty Free (“PTDF”) to run duty free and duty paid travel retail stores across eight airports in Portugal, the focus in 2023 turned to refurbishing these retail stores. The ARI Group legal team supported PTDF in a significant capital redevelopment of the retail stores. These projects cover circa 11,000 sqm of redeveloped retail stores, offering customers best-in-class retail experience and new-to-market retail concepts. The ARI Group legal team played an integral role in driving and managing PTDF’s investment programme, the procurement processes (and contract negotiations) to appoint design agencies, architects, and contractors to support this redevelopment.

How have you attempted to bring the legal department closer to your business colleagues?

With operations in over 14 countries, this is one of the key areas of focus for the ARI Group legal team. We have established the team in way that each member acts akin to a “business partner” to each of the departments at the headquarters in Ireland, and subsidiaries across the group. Our focus is on approachability and trust, developing good relationships with colleagues and demonstrating a vested interest in each colleague and business project.

We develop these relationships with our business colleagues in many ways, including attending team meetings; arranging for L&D seminars given by our colleagues to help us develop a better understanding of a particular function or business unit; attending site visits so we can get the “look and feel” to our stores or warehouses; and we provide legal training in specific areas so we can provide proactive support to our colleagues before issues arise. The more casual coffees and lunches are probably the real success to developing these relationships. With me being on the executive team, this enables our team to be closer and influence our business colleagues, as I have a direct line of sight on our strategy and material issues across the business, along with the ability to develop positive relationships with other members of the executive team.

How much influence do you, as a general counsel, have on the diversity and inclusion policies of your organisation?

ARI is very focused on diversity, equity and inclusion and I was honoured to be asked to take on the responsibility of being ARI’s inaugural Executive Sponsor for DE&I in January 2021. In 2021, we launched our Global DE&I Framework and established a Global DE&I Committee, with one representative from each of ARI’s global locations joining the committee as a “local champion” for DE&I.

We have made great strides in the DE&I space over the past few years, but we have more to do, with one of our key focus areas being striving for better gender balance in teams and boards, across the Group. Being on the ARI Group executive team means that I am empowered to bring a DE&I focus during discussions and decisions we make as an executive team. However, with DE&I being so front and centre at ARI, it is great to see all of my colleagues on the executive team leading with a DE&I focus during our discussions.