Legal team size: 200+

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

It is essential for our legal and compliance team to be closely aligned with the business units and functions globally. In our structure, every top business unit, region and function has a senior lawyer on staff. This close alignment creates a strategic partnership that allows the legal and compliance professionals to understand and help shape the strategy since its outset; for example, thanks to this partnership, key risks and issues are mapped and addressed upfront. This close partnership is equally important in order to anticipate, understand and respond to crises promptly. Finally, this close alignment creates a constant dialogue around compliance and ethics and fosters the type of compliance culture that is necessary during a crisis.

In your opinion, what are the main trends affecting your work now (these can be legal, political, economic or business-based)?

First, the current geopolitical uncertainty will continue to add complexity and unpredictability for businesses, especially the ones with large global operations.

Furthermore, the number and complexity of regulations continue to increase and, also as a result of the current geopolitical instability, it is increasingly complex for global companies to establish programs to comply with these often-diverging regulations.

Finally, technology breakthroughs and risks, from generative AI to energy transition, cyber or healthcare, will continue to pose new challenges and opportunities for legal and compliance teams. The role of the legal and compliance department will become even more visible and strategic.

What strategic priorities are guiding your legal team into 2025?

First, we are working to become increasingly tech-enabled, including through the roll out of generative AI for Lawyers and Compliance professionals. We expect this to result in better quality and speed, and great efficiencies.

As energy and decarbonisation are at the core of our strategy, we are very focused on enabling technology launches and technology-based partnerships. In connection with ESG more broadly, compliance with the numerous global reporting standards – existing or upcoming – will be another key priority.

Cyber and data protection/minimisation are another key area of focus for both our lawyers and compliance professionals, especially as we continue to simplify our processes and respond to changes in regulations.