Team size (optional): 30
What are the projects that you are most proud of working on over the past 12 months?
Two projects that are particularly exciting are:
Being involved in the partnership with Vodafone and AST, and providing a useful and innovative product for people when they travel via our eSim.
How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?
It’s trite but true: the only constant is change. That is true for the Vodafone group, which has changed materially over the last two years. That change is continuing with the merger of Vodafone and Three in the UK. I believe that helping ensure resilience comes down to developing clear policies and strong processes, implementing a coherent way of assessing legal risk, and ensuring reasonable options in respect of that risk are clear so decisions can be taken. Communication and empathy are crucial in instability or crisis as people are under more pressure.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?
I think the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to posses are curiosity, courage and empathy. If you are not asking why something is being planned, or what the situation and context are, and fully understanding them, you cannot advise properly. You need curiosity to be proactive, to look for solutions, to understand new technology and seize opportunities. You also need courage to call out when things need to change course and to come up with creative and innovative legal advice. Empathy is the most important quality I believe as a leader, as it allows you to understand the team members and help empower them.

How can general counsel foster a corporate culture that supports ESG principles and compliance across all levels of the organisation?
The legal function has the privilege of being able to be the conscience of an organisation. Speaking up and guiding the business are expected of the function and we can use this power. This starts with understanding the obligations and benefits of the regulation and then being able to translate this into actionable and pragmatic advice which is tailored to the audience.
Based on your experiences in the past year, are there any trends in the legal or business world that you are keeping an eye on that you think other in-house lawyers should be mindful of?
It’s impossible not to think of the benefits of AI and Generative AI. Sharing information about the best tools, experiments, failures and successes with other legal leaders is a real opportunity.