About

Following a two-and-a-half year period as a competition and M&A lawyer at ELIG law firm, Yelda Dogan Yasarturk moved in-house to join GSK as a legal manger in Turkey. ‘I decided to move out of my comfort zone,’ she recalls. ‘When I was working in ELIG law firm as an associate, I always knew that I should be doing something more than advising clients and working on ad-hoc matters. Hence, I focused on other skills which helped me to move faster towards understanding the business dynamics, the way business works, the company culture and the processes. I did not only focus on advising clients but also focused on the bigger picture, so that I could advise on the strategy as well. Then I realized that I like asking questions, and acting like a detective to understand the focus of the company. Hence, I made my decision and moved to GSK in 2009 as an in-house legal counsel’. Upon joining GSK, Yasarturk quickly progressed in her role, extending her responsibilities to cover legal support of projects in Turkey, Middle East, North Africa and Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS) regions. ‘Due to the complex and risky nature of each region, working in this area helped me to better understand cultural sensitivity, show flexibility and adaptability, and strengthen my skills on making decisions in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty,’ she says. As working as an in-house lawyer in the pharmaceuticals sector requires high degree of business perspective and commercial alignment with business priorities, Yasarturk improved the integration of the legal team with the rest of the company. Important transactional achievements for Yasarturk include her work on finalising strategic business development negotiations and deals, her support of the global divestment of GSK’s consumer healthcare business on a local level, her drafting of an extensive legal policy covering new ways of working in the direct supply markets and her provision of legal support on the establishment of MENA/CIS pharma, consumer and good manufacturing services hubs in Istanbul.