Head of legal affairs | The Walt Disney Company
Bürke Şerbetçi Arabacı
Head of legal affairs | The Walt Disney Company
What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?
Collaborating with the teams on regulatory, content acquisition, marketing and sales processes during post-launch phase of Disney+ in Türkiye, rebranding of our linear channel from “FOX” to “NOW” and various content acquisitions were the highlights of the recent matters that kept us busy.
Following successful launch of Disney+ service in Türkiye, our team has focused on incorporating the additional local regulatory processes to our workflow, which mainly consists of additional reporting requirements to the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) and implementation of the rules and regulations to our new service. We have also continued to acquire content for our digital and linear channel operations.
Throughout your career, what principles or values have guided your approach to leadership and decision-making within the legal department, and how do you believe they have contributed to your success?
Transparency and building a trust-based relationship within the legal department and our internal clients and outside partners have been a guiding principle for me. My motto and main missions are to establish, encourage and preserve a working environment where the sole challenge is the work itself. I believe this allows us to bring the best version of ourselves to work and therefore learn and grow collectively.
What has helped me to implement the above is working constantly on preserving my integrity as integrity is a true value and a necessity in our profession and it is also a virtue that one should continuously work on. What has always supported building integrity throughout my team is to try to be the example of what I want to see and experience in others. This probably all boils down to sticking to a continuous growth in life. If integrity is combined with a genuine kindness and maybe sense of humor, there is hardly any situation that this combination cannot resolve.
Successful decisions are generally a result of an environment where team members can speak their minds and are heard. I try to listen to different thoughts, like to challenge others and to be challenged myself by my colleagues. I learn a lot and truly enjoy our professional discussions with my colleagues.
Last but not least, adopting a business-friendly approach across our workstream has always been the key to my and my team’s success and professional satisfaction.
As someone who has achieved remarkable success in the legal profession, what advice would you offer to aspiring general counsels or young legal professionals seeking to make a meaningful impact in their careers?
Helping others and being problem solvers is the essence of our profession. Throughout your life improve your hard and soft skills to sharpen your ability to solve more complex problems. This can be achieved in many ways. While enhancing your knowledge of law and being an expert in an area you enjoy, make sure you invest sufficient time to improve your soft skills. Find a way to bring your true self to work each day as this is the best way to honor yourself, life and your work.
Lastly, as challenging as it may be, try to listen more than you talk.
Principal counsel, corporate operations and rest of Latin America
The Walt Disney Company
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Principal counsel, corporate operations and rest of Latin America
The Walt Disney Company
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