What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

The number one challenge and priority has been maintaining a healthy work-life balance and ensuring the well-being of colleagues. This is always a priority, but it has been particularly challenging in the past year, given the hyper-volatile business and market environment in which we are operating. The scale of geopolitical uncertainty and its effects on trade and globalisation, as well as the rapid and sometimes scattered evolution of the regulatory landscape from cybersecurity to ESG, have put companies and their Legal and Integrity teams under unprecedented pressure.

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

I could spend several hours discussing what AI and digital tools mean for the legal profession – at ABB, we are continuously exploring and testing such tools. But what has been most transformational for our Legal and Integrity team has been the decentralisation of our function in line with ABB’s decentralised operating model, which we call the ‘ABB Way’. Today, Legal and Integrity at ABB consists of a lean, highly focused corporate team and empowered, accountable teams in our business areas and divisions. This approach has strengthened our strategic partnership with our businesses, brought us closer to customers, and reduced barriers to execution without diluting governance. My philosophy is that the strongest, most effective teams are chosen for their experience, competence and leadership and are fully empowered. Your role as the leader is to create such teams and make yourself available to them when they need you. It is working as a community – organisational charts and hierarchical structures belong to the past. This is reflected by our core values at ABB: care (and empathy), collaboration, curiosity and courage!

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?

First, you do not need an elite education. I come from a family of modest means and attended state schools and universities. When I look at my trajectory and professional growth, the defining moments came when I was able and free to discover myself – my abilities, potential and limits. That was while working in a removal company at high school, volunteering with people with severe disabilities, playing music in a band at university, and building my surfboards. In our profession, you must study and work hard to develop the stamina, resilience and competence needed to be a successful lawyer. I have been fortunate enough to have had some outstanding mentors who introduced me to strategic thinking and accompanied me from being a young lawyer to the leader I am trying to be today. When you connect the dots, you realise that humbleness is the key ingredient. Being an in-house counsel is a humbling experience. On a daily basis, you are dealing with stakeholders and complexity that tests your limits as a gatekeeper and strategic business partner. You will not get far by playing ‘solo’. We need people who understand that success is a team effort and only meaningful if it contributes to a better future for everyone. This attitude is reflected in ABB’s company purpose: to enable a more sustainable and resource-efficient future with our technology leadership in electrification and automation. And it is reflected in those unique qualities you asked about and already embedded as core values at ABB: care, collaboration, curiosity and courage!