About

‘To succeed, you need to be passionate about what you do and how it contributes to others and to the overall success of your organisation’, Helen Burgess says. ‘The NRMA group legal is passionate and capable, and a key part of my role is to foster that’. Sitting on the national charity’s executive leadership team, Burgess has, in many ways, transcended the traditional GC-role. Heading a 60-strong cross-functional team, she manages all corporate affairs, alongside company secretarial, governance and risk. ‘Helen has had a major leadership role in NMRA Motoring and Services during a period of significant innovation and transformation’, one private practice source says. Though the lines are blurred between legal and broader commercial issues, she is clear on where her ultimate duty lies. ‘It is a constant and, I think inherent challenge, to focus on strategy and key outcomes but still give independent and “without fear” legal advice. All opportunities have risks and a legal sign-off is not an underwritten guarantee of success’. As well as leading several significant projects at NRMA, Burgess has also transformed the charity’s governance program. She has also made extensive internal changes to the legal function, which is now widely recognised as a high-performing department. Amongst other things, she has significantly reduced legal spend, through a combination of upskilling the team and training the wider business. In her previous role at Sydney Airport Corporation, Burgess led the airport’s $5.6bn privatisation. She began her legal career in private practice at Herbert Smith Freehills, where she specialised in corporate, M&A and finance.