What are the most significant cases or transactions you and your team have been involved in?

The legal department is involved in the most relevant decisions of the company. Not only is our participation needed for the evaluation of business opportunities and the management of existing business relations, but we are also consulted for solutions to problems arising from our activities, and the best ways to avoid those problems.

We have been working hard on competition law related issues, negotiations with new and existing partners and implementing – with our colleagues from different areas of the business – new and demanding legislation that applies to our business.

As we live in a fast-paced world today, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

Like all other areas of the company, we must adapt to change, embrace it and evolve with it. We need to be flexible, objective, technically strongly prepared, and – most importantly, be seen as part of a team, able to overcome all obstacles related to the implementation of new needs and strategies. We need to be actively heard, because change is often not easily well received. It is therefore also important to know how to communicate to be effective and useful.

We are also implementing digitally driven solutions to allow us to answer all our important challenges more efficiently.

How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

With commitment, dedication, rigor, reliability, seriousness.

The reputation and success of a company is built and maintained by trust – this is recognised by our business parties. Hence, all areas, and all members of our big team, are vital to the construction of that trust and deserve the same attention of the in-house lawyers

Do you have a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

I am passionate about compliance and the positive impact it has on business and on our related parties: consumers, clients, suppliers, partners… We built, by being consistently compliant, a strong reputation which I am particularly proud of.