Team size: Three

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?

Joining Muviq as Chief Legal Officer immediately after its carve-out by Aurelius meant stepping into a rapidly evolving environment, where legal had to be both a stabilising force and a strategic partner. The post-acquisition period brought not only the expected challenges of disentangling legacy structures, contracts, and compliance frameworks, but also broader macroeconomic instability, including shifting trade policies and regulatory uncertainties such as the Trump-era tariffs still impacting the global automotive supply chain.

In times of instability, I focus on three guiding principles: prioritisation, integration, and foresight.

Prioritisation means addressing urgent legal risks quickly and efficiently. During the carve-out, this included managing transitional service agreements, identifying legal exposure in inherited contracts, and navigating supply chain disruptions made more complex by tariffs on imported components. We had to act fast to ensure continuity while mitigating cost and compliance risks tied to international trade.

Integration involves aligning legal strategy closely with business objectives. Legal is embedded in key decision-making forums, helping to assess operational impacts of policy shifts, like tariffs or regulatory changes, and proactively advising on restructuring supplier agreements or rethinking sourcing strategies. This way, legal doesn’t just manage risk; it helps unlock commercial flexibility and long-term resilience.

Foresight is critical in a sector as dynamic as automotive. Trade tensions, such as those resulting from Trump-era tariffs, are a reminder that geopolitical developments can have immediate legal and economic consequences. That’s why we’ve focused on scenario planning and built adaptable contractual frameworks to absorb shocks and allow for renegotiation or diversification of supply chains when needed.

Throughout, clear and consistent communication has been key. Legal must act as a translator, making complex legal issues understandable and actionable for business leaders. This builds trust and ensures legal insights are part of strategic decisions from the outset.

Ultimately, legal’s role in a crisis is not just to defend the company, but to help it move forward, stronger, leaner, and more prepared for what comes next. At Muviq, we’ve built a legal function that is agile, commercially minded, and fully aligned with the company’s ambition to grow sustainably in a challenging global landscape.