Elona Ganaj – GC Powerlist
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Benelux 2019

Elona Ganaj

General counsel and company secretary | Play Communications

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Benelux 2019

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Elona Ganaj

General counsel and company secretary | Play Communications

About

In January 2018, Elona Ganaj was appointed group general counsel and company secretary of Play Communications, a Luxembourgish entity regulated by Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financière and listed in the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Under this role she is responsible for handling all corporate and commercial matters, supporting investments, business negotiations and M&A transactions and overseeing a diverse team of lawyers. As an integral part of Play Communications, Ganaj is a trusted business adviser by providing a high level of legal guidance to the board of directors to make productive decisions about operations and strategy. ‘I personally believe that the role of general counsel is far beyond of being a lawyer in the corporate [environment]. In a world of continuous change, aggressive competition and disruptive technologies, being agile and embracing the change is of paramount importance. General counsels must feel part of the core business and no longer in supporting roles, but as owners engaged and empowered in raising value, placing legal issues in a business context, embracing risk and making decisions’, explains Ganaj. Describing herself as ‘passionate about the power of innovate technologies’, Ganaj previously worked for Vodafone for 10 years, with the last six years as head of legal in Vodafone Albania, in parallel she also served as head of legal for Vodafone M-Pesa, an electronic money institution subsidiary of Vodafone Albania part of M-Pesa, the world leading mobile money service provided by Vodafone. ‘Working for a decade in Vodafone, a global brand and telecommunication company sculpted my profile as in-house lawyer by shaping my professional profile as a business partner developing a business mind-set by always being close to the commercial needs and bringing value to the business’, explains Ganaj. She also served as a trustee of the Vodafone Albania Foundation until January 2018, an experience which enabled her to connect with the community from a much more strategic position. Ganaj states, ‘by giving me the opportunity to use my voice and connections to help shape the organisations mission in technology and mobile for good’. She lists some of her largest transactions as her successful involvement in two Spectrum acquisitions processes ensuring smooth business activity by being the first in the market to launch 4G technology and pave the way for 5G technology.

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