Could you tell us a bit about your significant successes in your role?

In my role, I lead the corporate and international legal team comprising the lawyers advising on M&A, treasury, corporate advisory, employment and workplace advisory matters, as well as our international legal team across the globe, including in Asia, Europe and the US.

While I am still relatively new in this current role, my team has had some significant wins recently. In July, we completed the acquisition of Digicel Pacific with support from the Australian Government. Not only was this a highly bespoke M&A transaction, but it also had material regulatory challenges and involved complex financing arrangements. As company secretary for the Digicel Pacific holding company, I am closely involved in the ownership transition, advising the board and getting across both the arrangements with the Government and the legal and regulatory landscape in six new jurisdictions. My team has also been integral in the Telstra Group restructure which we are working on through a combination of our recently approved scheme of arrangement and various manual steps. Splitting a company that has been operating for over a hundred years into four key subsidiaries and interposing a new listed holding company has its challenges.

What is the biggest risk to your industry or organisation and how are you contributing to prepare your organisation for this?

Being in the technology industry, which is constantly being disrupted, there are many risks, but the same risks can also be opportunities. The obvious big risk to most organisations now is cybersecurity, but again this can also be an opportunity. We need to be vigilant and remain at the forefront of cybersecurity technology to protect our networks and our data. This also gives us an opportunity to provide highly secure services that protect our customers and their data. At the same time, we need to work with government and regulators to ensure the legal environment is appropriate to deal with these new challenges.

What challenges have you overcome to get to the position you are in today?

As noted above, challenges are also opportunities. I have had the opportunity, or created the opportunity, to move countries several times in my career. I’ve therefore needed to retrain and upskill myself in new areas of law and the laws of new jurisdictions. As a result, I am qualified in England, Hong Kong and Queensland, Australia. Luckily, these places all have a common law background, but it has been challenging not having the same depth of background and study in each jurisdiction, so I’ve often felt behind the 8-ball and need to work harder just to keep up. Mini career breaks have also come with their own challenges. I have three children which has meant three maternity leaves. I also took a break to settle my family when we moved to Singapore and had an extended period of leave while undergoing cancer treatment. Returning to work each time was challenging as I felt I was starting afresh, but I have always been lucky to have had a supportive team and a supportive leader who gave me confidence that I could manage whatever new role I returned to.