What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

carsales has undergone a huge change in the last few years, transitioning from a primarily Australian company to an international group of companies. With its most recent acquisition of Trader Interactive in the second half of 2022, nearly 50% of the group’s revenue is generated outside of Australia. This has created the challenge for me and other executives to transition our roles to a truly global perspective. For me, this means getting comfortable with a different level of exposure to our various businesses. Fortunately, the legal teams across carsales’ businesses are led by people I trust completely, which allows me to focus on global issues. Managing that transition, while still running with major projects, including an $1.2bn capital raise in 2022, has made for a busy and challenging year.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most?

This is really a crystal ball question – ChatGPT and other AI technologies are the big ones that people are talking about at the moment. The potential for these and other technological advancements to augment how in-house legal teams do their jobs is huge, but it is always important to embrace them with an appropriate level of caution. While technology can help us service our internal clients more efficiently, we always need to ensure that we are maintaining our responsibility to protect the business from risk.

Another way of thinking about the impact of technological advancements on in-house teams is the ramifications of the law not keeping up with society from a technological perspective. In-house teams need to be able to think about how a law drafted at a certain time might apply to a very different time and new societal expectations.

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?

To be a successful in-house lawyer in a fast moving, acquisitive company like carsales, you need to be comfortable with uncertainty and change, and flexible enough to pivot along with the business. carsales’ unique culture means that people who are proactive and are willing to go beyond the confines of their job descriptions have incredible opportunities to learn, grow and advance their careers. I want my teams to feel that they are able to provide value to the business far more wide-reaching than their legal expertise.