What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in? 

In a very high level, the most challenging and innovative projects that we are involved in are enterprise transformation projects, involving watsonx.ai and watsonx (IBM generative AI solution), and security management projects. 

The main challenges of these projects are: 

(a) increased and complex regulation: we must be informed, at all times, about the latest developments in the tech industry applicable laws and regulations (in particular privacy and security), to properly advise our internal clients. We invest significantly in education to keep the legal team updated and up to speed on the new regulations. 

(b) Innovation speed: in order to be essential for the business and to serve as trusted advisers, the legal team must be prepared, constantly adapting and stretching outside their areas of training and expertise. There is a significant investment also in education on new IT solutions. 

What strategic priorities are guiding you and your team in 2024? 

Our main mission is to provide accurate legal advice to our internal clients, to ensure compliance with legal requirements, while reducing exposure to legal risks and, simultaneously, being aligned with IBM business strategic imperatives. For that mission, it is critical to enhance the legal team’s high-quality skills, to serve the company’s strategic goals effectively, and to being able to constantly adapt to an always innovating technology company. We focus on building a diverse team, who can think differently and have different experiences that add value to the company. 

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

Woman in leadership! 

It is becoming commonly accepted that women have an equal opportunity to have leadership positions. However, we haven’t seen significant advancements. Biases are still a barrier. Parity seems to be getting closer, but, at the current rate of change, gender parity remains decades away. 

The numbers show that there are still many unconscious biases, with only 41% of male managers agreeing that women with children are just as dedicated to their jobs as everyone else. According to “Women in the Workplace report”, over the past nine years, women— and especially women of color — have remained underrepresented across the corporate leadership role. 

However, since 2015, the number of women in the C-suite has increased from 17 to 28 percent, and the representation of women at the vice president and senior vice president levels has also improved significantly. More organisations recognise that enabling gender equity and inclusion is good for business. 

I am proud that in IBM our diversity and inclusion group includes a “Woman in Leadership” community opened to all allies, i.e. everyone that wants to participate. The purpose is to build trust, to educate ourselves and constantly asking the relevant question: “What can I do to be more inclusive?” 

IBM’s diversity and inclusion in Portugal fosters a culture of conscious inclusion and active “ally ship”, where every IBMer can make a positive impact in society, while bringing their authentic selves to work. Contribute to creating a more diverse workforce, cultivating a flexible work environment, enabling an inclusive culture, and advocating for gender party, both inside and outside of IBM.