Legal and interim HR director | AstraZeneca
Maria João Maia
Legal and interim HR director | AstraZeneca
Team size: Four
Is there a recent regulatory or legislative change in Portugal or at EU level that has had a broader impact across your international remit? How has your legal team responded?
One of the most significant recent regulatory developments impacting our international footprint is the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which must be transposed by Member States by June 2026.
This Directive represents a step change in how companies approach remuneration, introducing obligations that go well beyond traditional equal pay frameworks. It requires, among other measures, transparency of salary ranges during recruitment, employee rights to access pay information, mandatory gender pay gap reporting for larger organisations, and corrective action where unjustified disparities exceed defined thresholds.
Although Portugal has yet to complete its transposition, the Directive is already having a tangible impact, as organisations must prepare for compliance within a relatively short timeframe.
In response, we have adopted a proactive and coordinated approach across both global and local levels. This has included establishing a cross-functional governance model bringing together Legal, HR, Compliance and Rewards to ensure alignment across jurisdictions while accommodating local nuances. At the same time, we have undertaken a comprehensive pay equity review, including a reassessment of job architecture and the implementation of gender-neutral evaluation methodologies, enabling us to identify and address potential gaps ahead of formal reporting requirements.
In parallel, we are redesigning key processes across recruitment, compensation and performance management. This includes the introduction of structured salary bands, enhanced documentation of pay decisions, and targeted training for managers to operate effectively within a more transparent framework.
Importantly, we are not approaching this solely as a compliance exercise. We see the Directive as an opportunity to reinforce fairness, strengthen employee trust, and enhance our ability to attract and retain talent in an increasingly competitive and international market.
How do you structure relationships with internal stakeholders and external counsel across different jurisdictions to ensure effective collaboration and decision-making?
Structuring relationships across multiple jurisdictions requires both a solid framework and a strong emphasis on trust and day-to-day collaboration. At a structural level, we operate with a hub-and-spoke model: a central legal function sets strategy, policies and risk appetite, while local counsel—both internal and external—bring jurisdiction-specific expertise and ensure alignment with local laws and business realities. Clear roles and decision rights are critical, so we define upfront who owns what, when escalation is required, and how decisions are documented.
However, what truly makes the model effective is how we build and maintain relationships. I place a strong emphasis on trust, transparency and accessibility. Internal stakeholders and external counsel know they can reach us easily, and that we value early engagement rather than late-stage validation. This avoids surprises and leads to better, faster decisions.
We also invest in close and continuous contact, regular check-ins, not just when issues arise. For key jurisdictions or strategic matters, we establish recurring touchpoints and foster a “one team” mindset between internal legal, HR and external advisors. With external counsel, we aim for long-term partnerships rather than transactional relationships. We select firms not only for technical excellence, but also for their ability to understand our business, communicate clearly, and operate in a pragmatic, solution-oriented way. This allows them to act almost as an extension of our internal team.
Finally, we promote transparency in decision-making, sharing context, business objectives and risk considerations openly, so that advice is well calibrated and aligned across countries. Combined with responsiveness and availability on all sides, this creates a collaborative environment where decisions are both well-informed and efficiently executed.
How do you see the role of Portugal-based corporate counsel with international mandates evolving over the next few years?
I believe the role of Portugal-based corporate counsel with international mandates is becoming increasingly strategic, integrated and globally influential.
Traditionally, such roles were often perceived as primarily regional support functions. That perception is changing rapidly. Today, Portugal-based counsel are evolving into true business partners within global organisations, contributing not only on legal risk, but also on broader questions of strategy, operations and transformation.
Looking ahead, the most effective counsel in these roles will be those who combine strong legal and regulatory expertise with a deep understanding of the business, alongside well-developed cross-cultural awareness and stakeholder management skills. The ability to operate with agility in a technology-driven environment will also be essential.
Equally important is the capacity to build trust and maintain close relationships across geographies. In an international context, impact is shaped as much by collaboration and influence as it is by technical legal expertise.
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Legal manager | AstraZeneca Produtos Farmacêuticos
In June 2017, Maria João Maia assumed her current position as legal manager at the Portuguese arm of multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, where she is accountable for a complete range...
