About

With a presence in Indonesia that dates back to 1933, Unilever has a long established history in the country and recorded revenues in excess of US$2.8bn in 2016. Reski Damayanti heads the ten-strong legal team for the domestic branch of the European consumer products giant. They have contributed to the company by supporting the launch of new products such as Hijab Fresh, a moisturiser targeted specifically at hijab-wearing Muslim women. Internally they have undergone various changes to facilitate better outcomes for the company. As Damayanti explains, ‘the company’s portfolio of home and personal care and foods and refreshment products contains various well-known brands. It is important for us as the legal counsel to understand the challenges face by our business partner so we can provide more robust and comprehensive advice’. As a result of this consciousness, a secondee program has been initiated to foster greater understanding of Unilever’s Indonesian business among the team and the team have also become more digital: ‘We embrace digital solutions via smarter contracting of contract lifecycle management and a digital filing system to help our lawyer focus more on strategic work’, says Damayanti. Describing the team’s ethos and culture, she says that, ‘our ambition is to become the best in-house and world-class legal team, at the heart of the business. We always try to provide a proactive, creative and commercial business service. This culture is developed by having close communication with our business partner. We always try to be involved in the beginning of the project so we can provide proper advice and counsel along the way‘.