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

Strategic Procurement & Supply Chain Optimisation: I led the legal renegotiation of a master supply agreement with a mission-critical provider for our beverage production business. This involved restructuring complex commercial terms and service level agreements (SLAs), resulting in substantial cost savings and operational efficiencies across all group subsidiaries.

Cross-Border Corporate Restructuring: I managed a large-scale corporate reorganisation involving entities across multiple jurisdictions. This project required the execution of complex corporate transactions (including mergers, demergers, and capital increases), successfully optimising the group’s global footprint and achieving significant tax efficiencies in compliance with applicable international regulations.

Enterprise Risk & Compliance Framework Implementation: I led the design and implementation of a regional risk and compliance framework aligned with the group’s strategic objectives and risk appetite, strengthening governance, regulatory compliance, and decision-making across the organisation.

Litigation Strategy & Value Creation: I oversaw the regional management of high-impact disputes and pre-litigation matters, achieving significant reductions in financial exposure through early strategic assessment and negotiated outcomes.

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

Throughout my career, one of the most defining experiences has been building and leading a regional legal function within a fast-growing multinational in the consumer goods sector, where legal is not only a control function, but also a true business enabler.

Working closely with boards, shareholders, and operational teams across multiple jurisdictions has required navigating complex regulatory, litigation, and governance challenges while supporting ambitious growth strategies. What makes this experience particularly distinctive is the need to translate complex legal risks into clear, practical guidance for business leaders, often in dynamic and high-pressure environments.

This has shaped my approach to legal leadership, with a strong focus on strategic judgement, simplicity, and ownership of decisions, rather than purely technical analysis.

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

A modern in-house counsel must combine strong legal judgement with a deep understanding of the business and its risk appetite. Technical excellence remains essential, but it is no longer sufficient on its own.

The ability to communicate clearly with non-legal stakeholders, prioritise risks pragmatically, and enable informed decision-making is critical. A common mistake is for legal teams to simply identify risks — or worse, to ask who will assume them — when the real value of in-house counsel lies in recommending whether a risk should be accepted or mitigated in pursuit of the company’s objectives. If we are unable to do so, it often reflects a lack of genuine understanding of the business.

Finally, modern in-house lawyers must be proactive, commercially minded, and comfortable taking ownership of outcomes, not just identifying risks. Leadership, adaptability, and the ability to build trust across the organisation are essential, particularly in fast-moving and increasingly complex regulatory environments.

Are there any key trends that you think in-house lawyers should be monitoring over the next year?

Over the next year, in-house lawyers in multinational and regional organisations should closely monitor trends in tax planning and regulatory enforcement, as tax authorities increase cross-border coordination and scrutiny, particularly in emerging markets. This will require stronger alignment between legal, tax, and business teams to ensure sustainable structures and effective risk management, recognising that sound tax planning ultimately delivers tangible savings for the organisation, with a direct impact on the pricing of goods and services offered to consumers.

In parallel, the adoption of AI and data-driven legal tools will continue to reshape how in-house teams operate, offering opportunities to improve efficiency, anticipate risks, and enhance decision-making — provided that appropriate governance frameworks are in place.