What are the projects that you are most proud of working on over the past 12 months?

I am proud of strengthening legal and governance, risk and compliance and internal audit teams across Inter IKEA Group, so they are able to provide even better and more (cost-)efficient support to the business, while keeping abreast of an ever-changing regulatory outlook. This has set, and will set, the foundation for all major projects that we work on within Inter IKEA, like the purchase of the IKEA retail business in the Baltics, implementation support in respect of digital legislation, geopolitical challenges that Inter IKEA has to navigate and supporting the business with affordability and sustainability objectives.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

The ability to explain complex matters in a simple way, providing proactive and sound advice to mitigate risks and capitalise on opportunities, to analyse new requirements or developments quickly and to provide advice that makes sense from both a legal and business perspective and, lastly, doing all this while maintaining high ethical standards.

What is a cause, business or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

There are many, but, at present, it would be the topic of digital rights – and by that I mean human rights and legal entitlements that individuals have in the context of the digital and online world. As a general counsel, it’s important to me that business leaders make informed decisions. However, there is rapid spread of misinformation and fake news on social media, for example. Journalism and civil society organisations across Europe are being confronted with financial difficulties and increasing threats (like strategic lawsuits). In these times, it’s difficult to decide who and what to trust, which drives polarisation and injustice.