Team size: 5

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

Over the past year I have focused on developing the GC role in combination with a wider responsibility for other functions such as procurement. Our company operates in a complex, regulated automotive environment, and my role has included advising on organisational changes and labour law matters, supporting M&A and ownership structuring in growth companies and leading compliance work. A consistent theme has been balancing legal robustness with pragmatic, business-oriented solutions.

As the world continues to face geopolitical, technological and economic uncertainty, how do you manage legal risk while still prioritising commercial objectives?

In an environment marked by regulatory growth and geopolitical uncertainty, my approach is to embed legal risk assessment early in decision-making rather than positioning legal as a control function at the end of the process. Clear risk framing, proportionality and decision transparency are key. By offering options rather than binary advice, legal can enable management to make informed commercial decisions within acceptable risk parameters.

As the in-house role continues to evolve from legal advisor to business partner, what strategies have you found most effective for stakeholder management and aligning legal advice with business strategy?

I see stakeholder management as central to the GC role. This involves understanding commercial drivers, communicating legal issues in clear, non-technical language and building trust through consistency and credibility. Close collaboration with HR, finance and leadership allows legal advice to be aligned with strategy while still safeguarding the organisation’s integrity and values.

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

Beyond legal expertise, modern GCs must demonstrate a commercial approach, sound judgement, communication skills and strategic insight. The ability to prioritise, lead through complexity and to combine legal precision with practical execution is increasingly critical.