Team size:  Thirteen

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 How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

The Diageo SWC legal strategy emphasises proactive risk management and dynamic legal framework adaptation as key pillars. For instance, we quickly assess emerging risks and adjust strategies for market expansions, regulatory changes, or supply chain challenges to minimize disruptions. Our legal advice is deeply integrated with business objectives, enabling growth while protecting the organisation. By embedding “Diageo dial-up” behaviours, such as “Be Externally Curious” and “Experiment and Learn,” we support transformation efforts, including market share growth and gender balance initiatives. This approach ensures that legal strategies not only respond to crises but also drive business continuity and resilience aligned with Diageo’s broader goals.

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

My experience has been that many lawyers are ‘closet creatives’ – I dabbled in television early in my career, for instance – and that creativity often shows up in an ability to shape narratives and influence outcomes. That same skillset can translate well across disciplines when opportunities arise. I had the privilege of moving into a non-legal commercial manager role, which gave me a deeper understanding of the commercial drivers and execution realities behind strategy in large organisations. Over the course of a decade at Diageo, I have been entrusted at different times to step into acting leadership roles in Human Resources and Corporate Relations functions. Human Resources, in particular, was a fascinating experience and it equipped me with tools that have strengthened my functional management and broader organisational leadership.

What factors influence your team’s decision to use external legal services versus handling matters in-house, and what criteria are used to evaluate their performance?

We apply a structured framework in which internal support is the default, and external support is used selectively. Matters are assessed against several factors, including materiality, complexity, capacity constraints, and the area of specialisation. For most matters we adopt a hybrid approach, where the core work is delivered in-house, with external counsel engaged for clearly defined, discrete inputs (e.g. specialist advice or jurisdiction-specific advice). A key capability of the team is to scope and direct external counsel with precision to ensure that advice is targeted and proportionate. External firms are reviewed on an ongoing basis, primarily against commercial practicality and cost effectiveness. Relationships are critical to maintain, so ongoing communication, responsiveness, and collaboration are imperative.