Team size: 6

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

A modern in-house counsel needs to: continuously develop a strategic mindset – in other words be able to align the legal strategies and advice with her/his company’s business objectives; be able to adjust to changes fast, whether to regulatory changes, new market or business conditions or pandemic/political challenges, personal situation of her/his team, etc.; and have the ability to inject technology into the legal function to improve efficiency/processes, have some understanding of cybersecurity and data privacy law to navigate an increasingly digital world and AI features.

What is a cause, business or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

As an impact investor that invests in early-stage companies or businesses in developing countries, over the last eight to ten years, our company has definitely helped de-risk private sector investments. In that sense, we have acted (and still do so) as a catalyst for private sector engagement and have an important role to play in helping our investees set up policy and governance frameworks that are adapted to their needs and local environments and will lead them to scale up and attract other private sector investments.

Therefore, I have made it one of my priorities to promote corporate governance practices and recommendations in the context of our investments/operations by ensuring that transparency, ethical conduct, conflicts of interest, board effectiveness and diversity are included in (ESG) plans we set up for and together with our investees, and to ensure that we are capable of monitoring the implementation of those plans (including the impact of the inclusion of corporate governance practices and recommendations) throughout the lifetime of our investments.