What are the most significant cases, projects, or transactions that you and your legal team have recently been involved in?

Over the past year, our legal department has driven major structural, commercial, and corporate transformations for L’Oréal:

Complex International M&A and Business Integrations: Actively contributing to high-value international M&A activities and leading key local integrations—including the successful business integration of Aesop in Italy, aligning corporate governance, distribution networks, and commercial practices.

Internal Corporate Reorganisation: Spearheading comprehensive internal reorganisations to optimise our corporate structure, drive operational efficiency, and build a highly agile, future-proof legal foundation for our local operations.

Digital & Commercial Transformation: Designing compliant, cutting-edge frameworks for our selective distribution networks to support social commerce, digital customer experiences, and robust antitrust compliance in an evolving retail landscape.

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

During periods of crisis or economic volatility, my approach is defined by three pillars:

Proactive Business Partnership: Rather than acting as a static gatekeeper, the legal team acts as an agile co-pilot. We work hand-in-hand with the executive committee to build flexible, alternative business pathways before risks materialise.

Dynamic Risk Mapping & Legal Readiness: We maintain a real-time regulatory radar to quickly translate complex policy changes (such as supply chain disruptions, geopolitical events, or local inflation regulations) into actionable corporate strategy.

Agile Team Culture: I prioritise clear, direct communication and foster psychological safety within my team. Ensuring that my team feels supported and aligned allows us to remain highly adaptable, focused, and resilient under pressure.

General counsel often speak of the need to be strategic to reach the pinnacle of the profession. What does being strategic mean to you?

To me, being strategic means moving beyond risk mitigation to focus on risk optimisation and value creation. A strategic General Counsel does not simply say “no” to an ambitious marketing campaign or a complex digital tool; instead, they deeply understand the business’s commercial objectives and find the legally compliant path to achieve them. It is about anticipating regulatory shifts—such as upcoming European digital or environmental regulations—and proactively preparing the business to use compliance as a competitive advantage rather than a defensive reaction.

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

The modern in-house counsel must be a versatile hybrid of legal expert, business strategist, and tech-savvy collaborator:

High Business Acumen: You must understand the market, the margins, and the consumer journey as deeply as the commercial teams do.

Technological & AI Literacy: With the rapid rise of digital tools, social commerce, and generative AI, modern counsel must confidently navigate tech landscapes to manage data privacy and intellectual property risks.

Agility and Empathy: The ability to rapidly pivot in times of change while maintaining empathetic leadership is essential to keeping teams motivated and aligned with corporate ethics.

How can general counsel foster a corporate culture that supports ESG principles and compliance across all levels of the organisation?

General counsel can champion ESG by transforming abstract sustainability commitments into structured, daily business habits:

Practical Guidelines over Rigid Bureaucracy: We must provide commercial and marketing teams with clear, interactive toolkits on complex matters like green claims, packaging compliance, and fair labour practices in the supply chain.

Cross-Departmental Collaboration: By co-designing processes with purchasing, marketing, and operations, compliance becomes shared ownership rather than a top-down mandate.

Leading by Example: Aligning our own legal practices, supplier selection, and corporate governance decisions with ESG principles sends a powerful message that ethics and performance are inseparable at L’Oréal.