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?

I understand that the legal department needs to offer to the company a mix of rational and agile thinking, risk-mitigation, and confidence to do what is necessary in difficult situations. It is key that the head of the legal department liaise with the other areas in the decision-making process and in the responsive actions with accurate and trustworthy advice.

What are the major cases or transactions you have been involved in recently?

The integration of the team has been an interesting and pleasant challenge in the past years due to acquisitions. I had to reorganise the legal team, identifying the strengths of each member and respecting their individualities to make the department more efficient, without losing the connection with the business.

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?

In the legal department, I always have the goal to foster the importance of having a respectful and collaborative environment among the team members. I also have the privilege of being the sponsor of the racial diversity committee of the company, so the impact is not limited to the legal department. For me, besides learning a lot, the group is an opportunity of reflexion of the areas where we can improve, provoke changes, and find opportunities to be more inclusive. As sponsor my key role is to keep the leadership informed and engaged, always partnering with the DEI team. Internal communications, discussions in key internal meetings and training are part of the actions implemented.