Team size: over 200

What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past 12 months?

As is well publicised, one project that has kept many of us very busy has been the now approved merger of our UK business with Three.  We worked across many teams and of course very closely with our UK colleagues to ultimately achieve this outstanding (and what some thought was an impossible) outcome. One litigation that can be written about, is our success with the Constitutional Court in South Africa, who delivered an outstanding legal judgement. It is not the end of the road for this case, but the judgement certainly restored my faith in justice and the rule of law, which we see sadly eroding in other places. I have also been very busy with the transformation of our team, all to pivot to the transformation of our wider company, to set us up to best support the ambitions of Vodafone.

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? 

Throughout my career I have often found myself in situations of crisis, periods of deep transformation and uncertainty. Managing legal aspects is only one aspect of many other elements that need to be considered, not least of which are your people. Remaining a cool head in the room, having the ability to think things through even with little information, staying strategic and avoiding panicked decisions are all extremely useful skills for in-house counsel to develop.

Have you had any experiences during your career as a lawyer that stand out as particularly unique or interesting? 

Having sensitive meetings in a car while being followed in Moldova stands out as an interesting experience!