Speakers
Dr. Oliver Künzler, partner, Wenger Plattner
Dr. Oliver Künzler, Partner, leads the practice group M&A / Corporate and is a member of the executive board of Wenger Plattner. He primarily deals with international and national M&A transactions, restructurings, private equity and venture capital transactions, financings, and the establishment of international companies. Additionally, he advises shareholders and companies on all aspects of contract, commercial, and corporate law.
Another focus of his work is advising SMEs, particularly in the area of business succession and its structuring.
Dr. Oliver Künzler also serves as a board member or trustee in various companies and foundations.
He regularly publishes and lectures on topics related to contract, commercial, and corporate law. He is active in several national and international professional organizations and serves as an expert in business succession.
Gilles Debrock, legal AI consultant, LEGALFLY
Gilles Debrock is a Strategic Partner in Legal AI at LEGALFLY, an AI-driven workspace for in-house legal, compliance, and procurement teams. In this role, he works at the intersection of legal tech and operational excellence, helping organisations harness artificial intelligence to streamline legal workflows and improve outcomes. Gilles is known for his positive leadership style, strong reasoning, and ability to build consensus through constructive debate. A true team player, he combines an eye for quality with a collaborative approach that guides teams toward high-quality, practical solutions.
Laura Belardinelli, group general counsel, Galileo
Laura Belardinelli is the Group General Counsel of Galileo, a pan-European multi-technology renewable energy development and investment platform with an active pipeline of over 16 GW of solar PV, wind and storage projects across ten European countries. Laura holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the Bocconi University of Milan and more than 15 years’ experience in corporate law and M&A transactions in the energy and infrastructure sector. Her experience prior to joining Galileo includes working for leading international law firms as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, DLA Piper and Linklaters. As Group General Counsel, Laura is responsible for the legal affairs, corporate secretary, and compliance of the group across Europe. Laura is also a member of Galileo’s Sustainability Committee and various management bodies of portfolio companies and JVs.
Harry Leonhardt, group CFO, ASSEPRO AG
Harry Leonhardt is a seasoned finance executive, board-level leader, and investor with over 25 years of experience operating at the intersection of capital, governance, and growth. He is Group CFO of ASSEPRO AG, one of Switzerland and Austria’s leading SME insurance brokers, where he plays a central role in shaping group strategy, financial governance, and risk management across complex regulatory environments.
Previously, Harry was a Partner and Executive Board member at Helvetica Capital and Investnet, where he advised, invested in, and supported the development of SMEs across Switzerland and the wider DACH region. His earlier career includes senior leadership roles at Helbling Business Advisors, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, and Swiss Re, with a strong focus on M&A, corporate finance, and financial institutions.
Harry holds an MBA from London Business School and is known for bringing a pragmatic, commercially grounded perspective to executive decision-making and legal–financial collaboration.
Dirk Kessler, general counsel global procurement, Nestle
As General Counsel Global Procurement, Dirk Kessler leads the legal strategy and governance for Nestlé’s global procurement company managing more than 60% of Nestlé’s global spend in a wide array of spend categories from raw materials, packaging, equipment, logistics, marketing, IT to corporate services
With extensive experience in corporate and commercial law, Dirk’s remit spans complex international transactions, dispute resolution, compliance, HREDD due diligence and strategic sustainability initiatives.
Passionate about fostering cross- functional collaboration, Dirk partners closely with senior leadership to navigate evolving legal landscapes and ensure operational resilience.
Dirk is part of a leadership team that steers one of Nestlé’s major efficiency initiatives and within Legal & Compliance he has been for years a champions legal innovation and efficiency, leveraging technology and best practices to streamline processes. His team comprises 13 lawyers of 10 nationalities and is considered a talent accelerator for Nestlé’ Legal & Compliance function.
Philippe A. Huber, chief legal officer & chief compliance officer, SIG Group
Philippe Huber is an accomplished legal, compliance, governance and risk executive with extensive experience and expertise in multi-jurisdictional matters. After spending many years in private practice in Zurich and London, he joined Transocean Ltd to lead its listing on SIX Swiss Exchange. He proved his strategic and crisis management skills when dealing with the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the US Gulf of Mexico and leading a proxy fight against a US shareholder activist.
At SIG Group AG, Huber leads a global and multi-cultural team of legal and compliance professionals in a highly dynamic business environment. He recently spearheaded several strategic M&A and capital markets transactions while further strengthening the group’s compliance framework, notably in the area of trade compliance and sanctions. Huber also expanded the remit of the legal and compliance function to include environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics. He leverages legal technology and fosters cross-functional collaboration to drive efficiency and value. Huber is particularly appreciated for his solution-oriented approach and ability to think “outside the box”.
Huber believes that in-house lawyers should embrace the challenge of ever faster changing environments and lead their organisations in navigating the resulting complexities.
Gaël Jacquemettaz, executive director global banking, UBS
Gaël has over 20 years of Investment Banking and Corporate Finance experience.
He worked 8 years at UBS Structured & Syndicated Finance, 3 years at UBS Leveraged Finance and Financial Sponsors (New York), 2 years at a Pan-European Equity Broker executing M&A, equity capital market and debt advisory transactions, 2 years at UBS Corporate Finance in charge of strategic dialogue with small and mid-cap PE funds and Family offices and since 2021 he has been in Mid-Market Investment Banking of UBS (M&A buy- and sell side and capital market transactions).
Gaël has executed >50 financing (LBOs, acquisition financing, Commodity Trade Finance), M&A (buy side and sell side) and capital market transactions (High Yield Bonds, equity transactions) in Switzerland and the US.
He holds a master’s in commerce from Curtin Business School in Economics and Finance (Australia) and a Bachelor from HEG Fribourg.
Gaël completed the CFA in 2011.
Adrian Tüscher, partner, head KPMG law Switzerland, KPMG Law Switzerland
Adrian Tüscher is Head of KPMG Law Switzerland. He advises national and international clients regarding employment law, specializing in immigration, social security and tax issues related to international deployment, staff lease and employee participation programs. Adrian has extensive experience in cross-border employment law, in designing and implementing mobility compliance processes as well as remuneration and participation plans.
As a member of our Corporate and M&A Practice Group, Adrian brings in-depth knowledge of the interface between employment law, corporate law and contract law. He regularly collaborates with our tax and social security experts to advise multinationals across various industries on topics such as the establishment of new service companies, carve-outs, mergers and acquisitions, labor and HR due diligence and downsizing measures.
Adrian has a strong international network within KPMG, belonging to the Steering Committees of KPMG Global Legal Services, Global Immigration Services and Global Incentive Compensation networks. Prior to joining KPMG in 2008, he worked for a well-known commercial law firm in Zurich.
Adrian regularly speaks at seminars and events and has numerous articles published, e.g. in the NZZ, Handelszeitung, Tages-Anzeiger, Bund, and HR Today. He’s also the co-author of a book on employment and immigration law aspects of international assignments and lectures Employment & Immigration at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
Edward Gill, partner – global legal business services, KPMG in the UK
A qualified lawyer, Ed has more than two decades of experience at leading law firms including Clifford Chance and Freshfields and pioneering alternative services companies including Axiom and UnitedLex. A recognised market expert, Ed has designed, built and run legal managed services at scale helping clients to manage risk while significantly reducing costs and increasing revenues.
Ed’s clients have included magic circle law firms as well as leading investment banks, Fortune 100 and FTSE 100 Pharma, Services, Technology and Telecoms companies. Ed has been involved in several landmark engagements in the legal industry, including: At Clifford Chance managing the design and offshoring of business services and legal work across the US, EMEA and Asia as part of the first law firm captive. Running the Freshfields Knowledge Centre, the first outsourced Knowledge Process Outsourcing relationship for a law firm.
This included recruiting the senior team, designing the end-to-end processes and procedures, developing the technology infrastructure, TUPE transferring 50+ people and managing 90 people globally. At Axiom he ran the Solution Architecture for the Managed Services business and was responsible for designing and implementing landmark contracting, AML/KYC and CoSec/Legal Entity Management managed services at BT, Vodafone, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. At UnitedLex, Ed was the Chief Commercial Officer for the Commercial Services division, which included responsibility for the largest outsourcing of legal services for a client with over 450 lawyers and legal practitioners delivering BAU and complex legal work at scale.
Dr. iur Alexander Lindemann, founding partner, LINDEMANNLAW
Dr. iur Alexander Lindemann is a lawyer, tax advisor, investor, and real estate developer.
Dr. Lindemann is a founding partner at LINDEMANNLAW. As a Swiss and European lawyer and tax adviser, he advises Forbes billionaires, entrepreneurs, investment funds, asset managers and banks on legal, regulatory and tax matters.
He invests in alternative investments including venture capital, private equity and pension funds real estate. He founded SWISS CAPITALMARKETFORUM organising the annual Swiss Alternative Investments Forum.
Having grown up in Munich, Dr. Lindemann studied at the University of Bayreuth, Julius-Maximilian University Würzburg and Washington & Lee University School of Law in Virginia, USA. He held leading positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Credit Suisse, Clifford Chance, and in the real estate industry before founding LINDEMANNLAW. He served for many years on the board of a pension funds. He is also a speaker for Legal 500. Alexander is married and the father of six.
Dr. Tatiana Zakharova, partner, LINDEMANNLAW
Dr. Tatiana Zakharova, J.D. and LL.M. (both from Columbia University School of Law, New York), graduated lawyer (from Moscow State University) is a partner at LINDEMANNLAW. She specializes in financial services, financial services regulation and sanctions. She also advises UHNWI entrepreneurs, asset managers and wealth managers as well as institutional investors in legal, regulatory and tax matters.
She has more than 10 years of experience in structuring and setup of investment funds, holdings, foundations and other relevant legal entities; drafting and negotiating fund agreements, documentation and cross border agreements; providing advice and conducting due diligence with respect to tax aspects of investments; conducting private wealth structuring advice for succession and estate planning; as well as monitoring regulatory requirements for investment managers and investment funds in various jurisdictions.
Prior, she worked as Legal and Compliance Officer with Bank Vontobel AG / Hartcourt Investment Counsulting AG in Zurich. Among others she also worked in New York for Credit Suisse, Sidley Austin LLP as well as in Moscow for Chadbourne & Parke LLP and Deloitte & Touche.
Nina Cronstedt, chief legal officer, Verisure
Nina Cronstedt has served as Chief Legal Officer of Verisure, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, since 2018, leading a global team of more than 140 professionals covering Legal, Compliance, Privacy, IP and Public Affairs. Under her tenure, the team has over doubled in size and expanded in responsibilities. Verisure was successfully taken public in 2025 in the largest European IPO since Porsche’s listing in 2022
Prior to joining Verisure, Nina held General Counsel positions at Nestlé, headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. She previously held legal leadership roles at Philip Morris International, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, including Assistant General Counsel for the EEMA region. Earlier in her career, she practised law at Linklaters / De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek in Belgium and the Netherlands, advising multinational clients primarily on EU competition law.
Nina is of Swedish and Swiss nationality and holds LL.M. degrees from Stockholm University and the University of Cambridge.
Francisco Castro, research editor, Legal 500
Francisco joined Legal 500 in August 2022, where he is part of the GC Powerlist series editorial team. His work focuses on researching, editing, and interviewing some of the most prominent and exceptional in-house counsel from the world’s largest companies. Francisco’s role also includes hosting a variety of in-person events, such as conferences, publication launches, roundtables, and one-on-one interviews, across multiple regions, all tailored specifically for the in-house legal community. He has also contributed to the Legal 500 webinar series, which delivers market-leading expertise through an engaging digital platform.
Beyond his work with Legal 500, Francisco has extensive research experience in Public Policy, Higher Education, and International Law. His additional academic interests include International Relations, Geopolitics, and International Humanitarian Law. Francisco is fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Steering Committee
Ken Ebanks, vice president & deputy general counsel, eBay
Ken Ebanks is Vice President & Deputy General Counsel of US e-commerce giant eBay. In this role, Ken oversees a team of nearly 100 legal professionals around the world from his base in Bern. He also serves on eBay’s Global Markets Leadership team, which is responsible for all business operations of the company. Ken served as Interim General Counsel of eBay in 2024 and is a Board member of multiple eBay entities and the eBay Foundation.
Prior to joining eBay, Ken led the EMEA Legal team for Amazon Video in London and was a corporate partner with Covington LLP in San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
Steering Committee
Marc Pfeffer, group general counsel, Kuehne + Nagel International
Dr. Marc Pfeffer has been a member of the management board responsible for legal and governance at Kuehne+Nagel International since January 2023.
Marc joined Kuehne+Nagel as group general counsel in 2014. He restructured the legal department and introduced competence centres and efficient cost structures. Under his leadership, the compliance department was reorganised, and data protection was established in accordance with the relevant regulations.
In 2019, Marc Pfeffer additionally assumed the function of the corporate secretary of the board of directors of Kuehne + Nagel International.
From 2008 to 2019, he was a member of the board of directors of Ruf Holding, Wollerau, Switzerland. In 2019, he joined the board of directors of Kühne Holding and was a member of the audit committee. Marc Pfeffer stepped down from the board of directors of Kühne Holding effective December 31, 2022.
Marc Pfeffer has lived and worked as a lawyer in Switzerland for 16 years. He was head of international legal affairs from the end of 2006 until 2010. Then, until 2012, he was general counsel of the publicly listed OC Oerlikon Corporation, Pfäffikon, Switzerland, a global market leader in PVD coatings, gearboxes and textile machinery.
From 2002 to 2006, he was in the legal department with DB, Berlin, Germany, and was jointly responsible for integrating the logistics subsidiary DB Schenker. As general counsel at DB Netz, Frankfurt am Main,he had global responsibility for legal affairs and corporate governance as part of the management team from 2005. He left the DB Group in 2006 as the German Government called off the planned IPO of DB Netz.
Marc Pfeffer studied law and received his doctorate in law with distinction from Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany. In 1998, he worked at the US Federal Trade Commission and lived in Washington, DC, USA. He was a lecturer in the Business Administration Department of the Berlin Business School from 2004 until his move to Frankfurt.
Positions held within the Kuehne+Nagel Group:
2014 – today: Group general counsel of the Kuehne+Nagel Group
2019 – today: Corporate secretary of the board of directors of Kuehne+Nagel
Jan 2023 – today: Chief legal officer, executive vice president legal and governance of the group.