About

Occupying a senior position within a prestigious Italian brand name, Franco Guariglia can also point to an extensive and lengthy career at esteemed Italian food company Barilla. He joined the company as junior legal counsel in 1982 and became head of legal department in 1989 – through his remarkable service he became general counsel in 1990 and maintained the role until present with the addition of corporate compliance officer and member of the ethics and compliance committee. The main traits he possesses have enabled him to successfully manage the team to handle a number of significant litigation in matters involving product liability, comparative advertising, labelling, contract breach and arbitration. ‘I work with passion. I share the legal risk with the management. I try to be accountable and never refuse to take my responsibilities. The management seems to have appreciated the three elements combined’ says Guariglia. Having served the company through a variety of events has enabled Guariglia to fully adapt the legal department to the company’s organisational changes over time. A testament of his standout leadership qualities is the manner in which he prioritises the professional growth of his team members, allowing them to specialise and introduced several models and in-house practices in order to favour this approach. ‘I always try to perceive and share with my team the changes in the legal market and highlighted the need to adapt’ adds Guariglia.