How do you ensure the legal function supports business resilience during periods of uncertainty or disruption?

The role of the GC is to position the Legal team as an enabler of resilience, not simply a controller of legal risk. This entails anticipating material risks and mitigation plans, ensuring the Legal team is involved early in strategic decisions, protecting the contracts and assets critical to continuity, and establishing clear crisis governance. During disruption, the objective is to come up with options rather than simply identify obstacles: what can we do, how quickly can we do it, what risk are we taking, and how can we mitigate it? Given that, by nature, a crisis or disrupted context is time-sensitive, well-anticipated scenario mapping and perfect knowledge of the business will make the whole difference. At the same time, the legal function itself must be resilient, with appropriate delegation, external support and crisis playbooks. Ultimately, success is measured by whether Legal helps the business continue operating and making sound decisions under pressure.

What is the biggest shift you have seen in the role of General Counsel in the past five years, and how do you see it evolving further?

Clearly, the move from legal adviser to enterprise business leader. Five years ago, many GCs were primarily measured on Legal risk management, Litigation oversight, Compliance, Managing external counsel, etc. Today, they are expected to shape the business strategy, advise the CEO and board on enterprise risk, manage geopolitical and regulatory uncertainty, drive transformation, M&A and restructuring, demonstrate measurable business value, not just legal protection.

For a GC in a technology and payments company such as Ingenico, the change is even more pronounced given sensitivity around security but also regulatory complexity.
GCs are expected to prove their contribution to growth and business outcomes. They’re no longer judged only on preventing issues, but on enabling revenue, transformation and strategic decisions. They are business executives with legal expertise.