How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience? 

Managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises requires a proactive, flexible, and strategic approach. In such times, the legal department plays a crucial role in ensuring that the organisation navigates challenges while safeguarding its interests, reputation, and compliance obligations. It becomes essential for the legal department to assess legal risks associated with the situation, make fast decisions, communicate effectively with all other areas of the company, and provide mitigation strategies. 

The first task is to accurately identify and assess the risks to the company, reviewing contracts, supply chains, potential litigation, and any other possible risks to the business. Then, it is crucial to provide actionable legal advice in a fast and efficient manner that allows the company to adjust and pivot without sacrificing legal protection. Close collaboration with the company’s business units is essential, ensuring that they understand the risks, legal strategy, and possible outcomes. The legal strategy should also incorporate mitigation strategies to manage any potential fallout arising from a crisis. 

Overall, I expect the legal team to be an asset to the business during a crisis, ensuring that the company emerges resilient, compliant, and strategically aligned for future success. 

In your opinion, what are the main trends affecting your work now? 

Our company has an active presence in different countries, so there are many dynamic landscapes that affect our legal work today. Several key trends—spanning legal, political, economic, and business areas—are significantly shaping the role of our legal department. 

As a legal department operating in multiple countries, we face a variety of challenges shaped by key trends across legal, political, economic, and business sectors. One major trend is the increasing complexity of regulatory compliance, with a growing emphasis on money laundering regulations, cybersecurity, and data privacy. We must stay agile to address evolving regulations such as GDPR and anti-money laundering laws, while also managing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) compliance pressures from regulators. Additionally, data privacy and cybersecurity concerns are heightened due to stricter data protection laws and the increasing threat of cyberattacks, requiring close collaboration between legal and IT teams to ensure compliance and manage risks from data breaches. 

Other significant trends include the impact of digital transformation, where our team needs to adapt in protecting intellectual property in emerging technologies and leveraging technology to improve efficiency. Geopolitical and economic uncertainties, such as inflation affecting many of the markets we operate in, require managing the legal implications of global supply chains, financing, and restructuring efforts. Ultimately, I have found that the role of the Chief Legal Officer (CLO) is evolving to become more proactive and strategic in managing these multifaceted challenges, with increased participation in business decisions. 

What strategic priorities are guiding your legal team into 2025? 

The strategic priorities guiding my legal team into 2025 are centred around aligning legal capabilities with the broader business goals of the company while ensuring that the company remains agile, compliant, and resilient in a fast-evolving legal, political, and business environment. These priorities focus on proactively addressing emerging challenges, enhancing operational efficiency, and driving value for the organisation. 

Some of the more relevant strategic priorities guiding the legal team into 2025 focus on aligning legal functions with broader business objectives, ensuring compliance, enhancing operational efficiency, and fostering innovation. A primary focus is strengthening compliance and risk management frameworks, particularly around evolving areas such as data privacy and global compliance requirements. The team will also prioritise leveraging technology, such as AI and legal automation, to improve efficiency and decision-making. This includes managing cybersecurity risks, supporting digital transformation, and guiding the development and use of emerging technologies. Additionally, the legal department aims to improve collaboration with business units and optimise external legal services to enhance overall operational efficiency.