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

Over the past twelve months, I have been closely involved in several transformative projects at Heder Bank.

A key focus has been capital structuring initiatives, including preparation and execution of capital raises (emissions), as well as assessments related to potential listing processes. This has involved close coordination between legal, finance, and external advisors.

I have also worked extensively with structuring and negotiating strategic partnerships and key supplier agreements, particularly in connection with the development of the bank’s daily banking platform. This includes end-to-end responsibility for contracts, from negotiation to implementation, ensuring both commercial alignment and regulatory compliance.

In addition, I have played a central role in strengthening the bank’s governance and risk framework, including policy development and alignment with regulatory expectations. I have also been involved in building the bank’s new organisational structure, supporting the establishment of a scalable and robust organisation aligned with the bank’s strategic direction.

Alongside my legal responsibilities, I am responsible for HR, including organisational development, employment law, and supporting management in building a scalable and robust organisation.

As AI becomes increasingly integrated into legal teams, and the pressure grows to ‘do more with less’, how can GC balance efficiency, quality and human judgement?

In a technology-driven bank, AI is not optional: it is a core enabler for meeting customer expectations around speed, accessibility and tailored services. The role of the GC is therefore not to resist AI, but to ensure that it is implemented in a way that enhances both efficiency and quality, without compromising legal judgement or trust.

My approach is to treat AI as an augmentation tool rather than a replacement for legal expertise. AI can significantly improve efficiency in areas such as contract analysis, document review and knowledge management, freeing up time for more complex, high-value work. However, legal judgement — particularly in areas such as capital markets transactions, regulatory interpretation and strategic partnerships — remains inherently human and context-driven.

To balance these elements, governance is critical. We have established clear internal guidelines for the responsible use of AI, including safeguards related to confidentiality, data protection and regulatory compliance. In a banking context, this is essential to maintain both legal integrity and customer trust.

At the same time, I believe it is equally important to preserve the “human layer” of the legal function. This means maintaining close dialogue with stakeholders, understanding the commercial and organisational context, and exercising sound judgement in situations where there are no clear-cut answers. Legal precision is not only about correctness, but also about applying the law in a way that is aligned with the business and its values.

Ultimately, the balance comes from combining technological capability with human insight. AI enables us to work faster and more consistently, but it is the people behind the technology who ensure that the outcomes are robust, responsible and aligned with both regulatory expectations and customer needs.

What key trends – and challenges – should in-house lawyers be monitoring over the next year?

Over the next year, one of the key trends for in-house lawyers will be the continued acceleration of technology adoption, particularly AI, and its impact on both operational efficiency and regulatory expectations. We are moving from a phase of experimentation to practical implementation, where AI is increasingly embedded in core business processes, including contract management, customer interaction, compliance monitoring and internal decision-support. For legal teams in regulated industries such as banking, this creates both opportunities and challenges: AI can significantly enhance productivity and support better decision-making, but it also raises important questions around governance, data protection, accountability and model risk. In particular, ensuring appropriate oversight, explainability and compliance with evolving regulatory frameworks will be critical, as regulators increasingly focus on how AI is developed, deployed and controlled within financial institutions.

In addition, geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty continues to influence capital markets activity, partnership structures and funding conditions. In this environment, legal functions must be able to support rapid execution while maintaining robust risk assessment. This is particularly important in areas such as capital markets transactions, partnerships and contract negotiations, where legal considerations must be balanced against timing and commercial objectives.