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Brazil Teams 2019

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Castalia Moloi - South Africa 2024

Senior vice president legal, IP and compliance | Sasol

Castalia Moloi is the senior vice president of legal, intellectual property, and compliance at Sasol, a chemical and energy company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is an admitted attorney...

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Victor Omoighe - South Africa 2024

Group general counsel and company secretary | Samancor Chrome

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Moipone Khojane - South Africa 2024

Group general counsel | Pick n Pay

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Uaboi Agbebaku - Nigeria 2024

General counsel | Nigerian Breweries

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Divya Gahoi - India 2023

Legal counsel | Wells Fargo

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Al Rafeeq Moideen - India 2023

Chief general manager, head of legal | Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals

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Mirela (Catana) Balanoiu - Romania 2023

Head of legal department | Schaeffler Romania

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Mihaela Drăgoi - Romania 2023

Head of legal department | Romaero

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Cristina-Dalia Oproiu - Romania 2023

Manager of legal department | OMNIASIG Vienna Insurance Group

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Voichița Crăciun - Romania 2023

Head of legal and compliance | PAID Romania

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Oleg Roibu - Romania 2023

General counsel | eMAG

Oleg Roibu holds the position of general counsel of eMAG Group, where he oversees the group’s legal, public policy, and sustainability efforts across Central and Eastern Europe and in Brussels....

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Eric-Antoine Fredette - France 2023

General counsel and general secretary | Valeo

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François de Laboulay - France 2023

Directeur juridique | Nokia (Alcatel-Lucent)

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Benoit Balmary - France 2023

Group general counsel | Michelin Group

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Benoit Ternon - France 2023

Head of legal, Europe South | Coloplast

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Doira Díaz - Puerto Rico 2023

General counsel and administrator | Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust

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Thibaut Gregoire - Europe: Latin America Specialists 2023

Executive vice president, general counsel international markets | MasterCard

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Youko Choi - Australia Rising Stars 2023

Practice leader - cash and transactional banking, customer and digital (consumer, business and wealth, technology and COO, legal) | Westpac Banking Corporation

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Moisés Hernández Godínez - Mexico Rising Stars 2023

Senior legal counsel and compliance officer | TC Energy

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Yasser Aboismail - Middle East 2023

General counsel and head of compliance MENA - head of group human rights office - head of global compliance culture and training  | Schindler Group

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Karina Moizo - Uruguay 2023

Legal director | Porto Seguro

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Moises Grinberg Davidson  - Mexico 2023

Lawyer and legal counsel | Artha Capital and Frontier Industrial & Logistics Real Estate

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Soirée Cristina Fernández Melo - Dominican Republic 2023

Legal manager | CARDNET - Consorcio de Tarjetas Dominicanas

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Hui Yi Ooi - Malaysia 2023

Director of legal | mamee-double decker distribution

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Hoi Yean Loi - Malaysia 2023

Legal director, SEA | Kellogg Company

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Lim Kock Hooi - Malaysia 2023

Group general counsel | Hibiscus Petroleum

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Poi San Koh - Malaysia 2023

Director, legal and compliance and company secretary | Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia

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Tadashi Koizumi - Japan 2023

Statutory executive officer and chief legal officer | MetLife

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Koichi Ariizumi - Japan 2023

General manager, legal department | Marubeni

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Kenji Toyoizumi - Japan 2023

General manager, legal department, administration and CSR division | FURUKAWA Electric

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Michico Rizza G. Oi-Daquil - Philippines 2023

Director for legal services | Travellers International Hotel Group (Newport World Resorts)

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Millicent Joie Desiderio-Dime - Philippines 2023

Director of legal services, ethics, regulatory and compliance operations | Accenture

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Peerapat Foithong, Ph.D. - Thailand 2023

Co-department head, legal department | Kasikornbank

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Attachet Phoroi - Thailand 2023

Vice president, legal affairs and compliance | Berli Jucker

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Heloisa Calderaro Pereira - Brazil 2023

General counsel for South America | Imerys

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Juliano Mirapalheta Sangoi - Brazil 2023

Legal manager and data protection officer | Bem Promotora

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Martin Zois - Switzerland 2023

Associate general counsel | Sonova

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Thibaut Grégoire - Benelux 2023

General counsel, international markets and Europe | Mastercard

Thibaut Grégoire has been the general counsel for the Europe region since 2014. He has been leading the legal, compliance, regulatory and public policy support for Mastercard’s businesses in the...

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George Roins - Australia 2023

General counsel and company secretary   | Transport Asset Holding Entity of New South Wales

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Idit Froim - Israel 2023

Senior legal counsel | Wolt Israel

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Vera Voigt - Germany 2023

General counsel and chief compliance officer | Speira

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Rajeev Uberoi - India 2022

Group general counsel and group head of legal and compliance | IDFC - Infrastructure Development Finance Company

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Al Rafeeq Moideen - India 2022

Chief general manager - head of legal | ONGC-MRPL

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Jean-Benoit Devauges - France 2022

Senior vice president, strategic affairs, senior dvisor | Renault Groupe

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Éric-Antoine Fredette - France 2022

Group general counsel and general secretary | VALEO

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Benoit Balmary - France 2022

Group general counsel | Michelin

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Benoit Ternon - France 2022

Chief legal counsel, region Europe South | Coloplast

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Antoine Genevois - France 2022

Group general counsel | EDF Renouvelables

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Dr. Yasser Aboismail - Middle East 2022

General counsel and head of compliance, MENA - global lead compliance culture and training | Schindler

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Anargyros Oikonomou - Greece and Cyprus 2022

General Manager on legal affairs and corporate governance | Public Power Corporation

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Karina Moizo - Uruguay 2022

Legal director | Porto Seguros

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Soirée C.  Fernández Melo - Dominican Republic 2022

General counsel | Consorcio de Tarjetas Dominicanas (CardNET)

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Thibaut Grégoire - Benelux 2022

General counsel international markets and Europe | mastercard

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Eoin Carroll - Ireland 2022

Associate general counsel | Fexco

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Aoife Marrinan - Ireland 2022

Senior director, legal | Gilead Sciences

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Eadaoin Rock - Ireland 2022

General counsel | Central Bank of Ireland

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Aoife Gibson - Ireland 2022

Senior legal advisor | National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA)

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George Roins - Australia 2022

General Counsel and Company Secretary | Transport Asset Holding Entity of New South Wales

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François Stettler - Switzerland 2022

Head of legal global commercial | Logitech

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Benoit Dubé - Canada 2020

Executive vice-president, legal and economic affairs, and corporate secretary | CGI Group

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Tracey Beaudoin - Canada 2020

General counsel and corporate secretary | Packers Plus Energy Services

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Joia M. Johnson - United States 2019

Chief administrative officer, general counsel and corporate secretary | Hanesbrands

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Can you briefly explain how the legal team is structured, highlighting key individuals and their role within the department? Senior lawyers in the team oversee the provision of in-house legal...

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Can you briefly explain how the legal team is structured, highlighting key individuals and their role within the department? The department is composed of three lawyers and one paralegal who...

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Dr Yasser Aboismail - Middle East 2019

General counsel and compliance officer, MENA | Schindler Group

Formerly chief legal counsel for the Middle East and Africa at Eaton Corporation, Dr Yasser Aboismail joined Schindler Group in August 2016 as general counsel and compliance officer for the...

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Eadaoin Rock - Ireland 2019

General counsel | Central Bank of Ireland

Prior to joining the Central Bank of Ireland, Eadaoin Rock trained and qualified in Arthur Cox where she was a senior associate in the financial services group specialising primarily in...

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Aoife Gibson - Ireland 2019

Senior legal advisor | National Treasury Management Agency

‘The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), managed and controlled by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), is a sovereign development fund with a focus on investing on a commercial basis...

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April Miller Boise - United States 2019

Senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary | Meritor

In addition to her time as a law firm partner, a managing partner, and a member of an eight-person law firm executive committee, April Miller Boise has been a general...

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Based in: Paris Principal practice areas: International arbitration, litigation Admissions: Paris, New York, Brussels A partner in Shearman & Sterling’s international arbitration practice, Maude Lebois is highlighted for a more...

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Benoît Le Bars - Private Practice Powerlist: Africa Specialists

Managing partner and founder | Lazareff Le Bars

Number of years practice: 23 Principal practice areas: Arbitrations, alternative dispute resolution, international contracts, international corporation and structuring Languages spoken: English and Spanish What is the geographical focus of your...

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‘I think interestingly business leaders are some of the most creative people I’ve ever met’. Originally a fine arts graduate, Heidi Dubois is passionate about the brands she supports. ‘The...

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Oğuz Sami Sarıkaya leads the in-house legal team of LUKOIL’s operations in Turkey, including four lawyers and two support staff. The team reports to the CEO of LUKOIL-TR group companies...

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Possibly the largest project for the legal team at Total Oil Türkiye, the Turkish subsidiary of the world’s fifth largest oil company Total, was the sale of shares in April...

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Established in 1845 and headquartered in Lausanne, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV) is one of Switzerland’s cantonal banks providing retail and corporate banking products mainly to canton residents. Philipe L’Eplattenier, head...

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Headed by general counsel Andreas Burki, the legal team at insurance and pension solutions firm Baloise Group strives to uphold the company’s smart prevention concept of building a “Safety World”....

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Øivind Burdal - Southeast Asia 2017

Senior vice president and head of legal | Telenor Myanmar

Telenor Myanamar is one of the most prominent telecoms companies in the important sector growth-market of Myanmar. Øivind Burdal, senior vice president and head of legal for the company is...

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MosStroiTransGas, known as MSTG, is a large Russian holding company that has 30 years of experience in the oil and gas construction complex of Russia and CIS countries. MSTG’s 11-...

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one of the leading Russian steel and mining company, a global producer and supplier of iron ore and metallised products, and a regional producer of high quality steel, Metalloinvest is...

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A major oil company with almost 1% of all proven global oil reserves, Lukoil is subject to the same external market forces that are the root causes of the challenges...

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Bronislava Starovoitova - Russia 2015

Chief legal officer | iTech Capital

With several years of experience in both a leading international law firm and in-house, Bronislava currently leads legal activities of iTech Capital, a private equity fund that invests in the...

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Hunt Oil Company of Peru is a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of Hunt Oil Company, a privately-held exploration and production company based in the US with worldwide operations. Hunt Oil Company...

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General counsel Mikko Laaksonen leads a highly proficient and knowledgeable legal department at Teboil, a Finnish organisation that specialise in the importing, marketing, sales and distribution of oil and energy...

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Group general counsel Hans Henrik Klouman leads the legal and compliance department (LEG) at Statoil, a frontrunner in exploration and oil and gas production, and the leading operator on the...

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Tuomas Toivonen - Nordics 2015

Senior legal counsel | Nordea Bank Finland

Tuomas Toivonen joined Nordea Bank Finland in 2008 after working as an attorney at Finnish law firm Borenius & Kemppinen. He has wide experience and is able to drive processes...

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Sari Koivulehto Mäkitalo - Nordics 2015

Vice president (legal affairs) | Raisio Group

The Raisio Group is an international company with expertise in plant-based nutrition, which produces cereal products and animal feeds. Sari Koivulehto-Mäkitalo joined Raisio in 2006, and has since been transforming...

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As the state-owned oil company of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, fully integrated global petroleum and chemicals enterprise Saudi Aramco has a nation’s future resting on its actions. A recent...

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Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production (OOCEP) - Middle East Teams 2016

| Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production (OOCEP)

The legal team at Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production has taken the initiative to make a range of efficiency improvements in the past few years, improving internal processes and...

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Oman Insurance Company (OIC), majority owned by Mashreq Bank, has recently won the award of Commercial Lines Insurer of the Year and the Most Innovative Insurer- Pension Product by the...

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Lois Allela - Middle East 2015

head of legal: Europe, Middle East, East Africa | Aggreko, United Arab Emirates

For Lois Allela, her ‘strategic contribution and visibility at board level’ are areas which have been particularly important to her throughout a high-powered in-house career. Supporting European, Middle Eastern and...

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Marlene Connolly is the group counsel international for information security software specialists Forcepoint, previously known as Raytheon|Websense, which has business operations in the Irish region complementing its existing US business....

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Eadaoin Rock - Ireland 2015

General Counsel | Central Bank of Ireland

Eadaoin Rock’s recent promotion to GC follows five years as the function’s deputy head. A leading regulatory specialist in Ireland’s financial services sector, Rock has helped the national bank navigate...

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Antoine Mac Donncha - Ireland 2015

Head of Legal Unit | Department of Finance

‘I have been very privileged to have been a heart of key elements to the recovery of the Irish economy’, Antoine Mac Donncha says. ‘I am enormously proud of the...

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Caoive Collins - Ireland 2015

General Counsel | Project Management Group

Construction specialist Caoive Collins, Project Management Group’s general counsel, prides himself on being a facilitator to capital project delivery. PM Group is currently operating across 35 countries worldwide, spanning a...

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Rajeev Uberoi - India 2016

Group general counsel and group head of legal and compiance | Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC)

Dr Rajeev Uberoi is one of India’s most respected banking and finance lawyers. A specialist in operational risk management with more than 30 years’ experience in the financial services sector,...

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Francois-Xavier Olivieri - France 2016

director legal and regulation - energy management and trading | Engie

Francois-Xavier Olivieri has been part of France’s gas sector since 1998 when he joined the Gaz de France Group (GDF) (which was later turned into GDF SUEZ and now Engie),...

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Loïc Legouet - France 2016

general counsel | Amundi Asset Management

Managing 105 full-time equivalent employees in 21 businesses scattered across 11 different jurisdictions, is in itself a challenging assignment. Loïc Legouet has implemented an ingenious and efficient legal business line...

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Paul Lanois - France 2016

Assistant vice president and senior legal counsel for cross-border legal | Credit Suisse

Paul Lanois, senior legal counsel of cross-border legal at Credit Suisse, extends his responsibility to business initiatives across EMEA and guides the development of marketing tools such as online tools...

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Antoine Genevois - France 2016

general counsel - reactors and services business group | AREVA Group

Antoine Genevois has over 12 years of understanding of AREVA Group’s business across the USA and Europe, having held a number of roles. During that time he has reorganised the...

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Jean-Benoit Devauges - France 2016

deputy general counsel | Renault

Jean-Benoit Devauges joined Renault in 2000 after spells at the Foreign Service, where he spent 15 months in India with the French Foreign Minister, completing the bar exam and then...

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Benoit Balmary - France 2016

group general counsel | Michelin

Benoit Balmary oversees the 20 legal departments housed within global automotive giant Michelin Group. Balmary took up his current position of group general counsel in 2014 and has since won...

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Usually comprising five individuals – four lawyers, including general counsel, Emmanouil Asikis, and a legal intern – the Deloitte Greece in-house legal team has been extremely busy over the past...

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Dustin Isaacs, vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, leads the highly skilled four member in-house legal team at Turquoise Hill Resources, a major Canadian headquartered international mining company. Turquoise...

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Canada’s largest refiner of oil, Imperial Oil, has a supremely talented and experienced in-house legal team led by highly regarded vice-president and general counsel Peter Dinnick. With a wealth of...

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Tracey Beaudoin - Canada 2016

General counsel | Packers Plus

Tracey Beaudoin started her tenure at Packers Plus Energy in 2009 when the company was on a mandate to fuse industry expertise with the ability to build a legal team....

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Oi is the largest telecoms company in Latin America, and despite a troubling 2016 that saw it apply for bankruptcy protection from the state, managed to accrue $8.4bn in revenue...

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Hoi Yean Loi - Asia Pacific 2014

Legal manager | Vale Malaysia Minerals

Vale is the world’s second largest mining company. ‘Practical, very efficient and dedicated’ Hoi Yean Loi heads a small team covering all legal aspects of central and northern Malaysian operations,...

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The legal team for the Australian branch of multinational professional services firm Deloitte is made up of 22 members and is headed by Rachel Besley, the company’s general counsel, board...

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Thibaut Gregoire - Benelux 2019

General counsel Europe | Mastercard

Experienced in the technology and payments industry and as the general counsel for Mastercard’s operations in Europe, Thibaut Gregoire leads the legal, compliance, regulatory and public policy functions across 55...

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Juliano Mirapalheta Sangoi - Brazil 2018

Senior legal counsel and compliance officer | Zenvia

Juliano Mirapalheta Sangoi, has served at Zenvia Mobile Serviços Digitais since 2016, managing the company’s tax compliance, labour, litigation, contractual, corporate, IP and other legal affairs. With five years of...

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Tullow Oil is a major independent African oil company operating in Ghana and other parts of West Africa, East Africa, Pakistan, Brazil and the UK with its headquarters in London,...

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Leading South African video entertainment company MultiChoice Holding operates under various brands including Dstv, M-Net, SuperSport and GOtv and was formed out of the subscriber-management branch of the M-Net Terrestrial...

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Héloïse Deliquiet - Switzerland 2018

Head of legal | Stragen Pharma

Héloïse Deliquiet began her career as a lawyer in an American private practice law firm in Paris. She eventually moved to the biggest French law firm, Fidal where she served...

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Pierre-Etienne Boin - Switzerland 2018

Head legal seeds and biotechnology – deputy group general counsel | Syngenta

As a senior legal leader with extensive business orientation, Pierre-Etienne Boin prides himself for his international agricultural-biotechnology experience with leading Swiss life sciences company, Syngenta. Boin started his career with...

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Rajeev Uberoi - India 2018

Chief general counsel | IDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance Company)

As chief general counsel at IDFC, Rajeev Uberoi has an important responsibility of serving the company as general counsel and group head of legal and compliance. He joined IDFC in...

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Headquartered in Warsaw, with branches in Russia, Pakistan, Belarus and Ukraine and equity interests in 30 subsidiaries, the state-controlled Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) holds a dominant position in...

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Multinational Russian energy company LUKOIL has had a presence in Romania since 1998, and currently has 310 distribution stations around the country, employing more than 3,000 people across its network...

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Marysabel Maldonado de Coindet - Central America 2018

Corporate regional legal manager Central America | Terra Petroleos (Grupo Terra)

At the beginning of 2009, Marysabel Maldonado de Coindet was selected as the only lawyer, alongside two engineers and two financial managers, to assist with due diligence for a divestment...

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A major Russian energy company with almost 1% of all proven global oil reserves, Lukoil is engaged in the business of extraction, production, transport and sale of petroleum, natural gas...

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China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) - China Teams 2018

| China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)

CNOOC was founded in 1982 and is the largest offshore oil and gas producer in China. The state owned and operated company is headquartered in Beijing, however its footprint reaches...

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Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (ORPIC) - Middle East Teams 2018

| Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (ORPIC)

Led for many years by legal and compliance manager Lorenzo Bruttomesso, the Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) legal team moves onto a new chapter in 2018 as...

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OMAN OIL COMPANY EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION LLC (OOCEP) - Middle East Teams 2018

| OMAN OIL COMPANY EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION LLC (OOCEP)

Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production (OOCEP) was recently named as the fastest growing oil and gas company in the Middle East by a mining industry publication. It has therefore...

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OiLSERV operates as the leading regionally founded and independent oil and gas services company in the MENA region with main operations in Abu Dhabi, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Tunisia and...

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Established in 1993 as a wholly owned company of the government of Dubai, ENOC has grown to be one of the leaders in the regional energy industry. Comprising multiple subsidiaries,...

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The Dragon Oil legal team has taken a major role in the corporate restructure of the business on the back of its multi-billion dollar takeover by Emirates National Oil Company...

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BCV Group (Banque Cantonale Vaudoise) is one of Switzerland’s biggest banks and a pillar of the Vaud economy, having more advisors than any other bank in the canton, with a...

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The legal team is led by general counsel Andreas Burki who, as well as managing the legal affairs of the business, presides over the tax division of the group. The...

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As one of Ireland’s largest commercial forestry businesses Coillte manages approximately 7% of the country’s land. The company is owned by the state and operates via three distinct businesses: the...

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Olga Samoilenko - Russia 2017

Senior associate general counsel (Europe) | Emerson

A legal academic in addition to her high level professional in-house legal experience, Olga Samoilenko was previously a lecturer at Sakhalin State University before taking on a role as a...

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Led by director of legal and chief legal officer Sandeep Kapoor, US-headquartered global venture capital firm Sequoia Capital has an Indian legal team of five lawyers in addition to a...

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India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is a multinational energy business headquartered in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, and the largest oil and gas exploration and production company in the country. Headed...

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Since its founding in 1964, IOCL has emerged as India’s largest business enterprise with a turnover in excess of $65.3bn recorded in its most recent financial results. Having a proven...

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Antoine Mac Donncha - Ireland 2017

Head of legal unit | Department of Finance

Joining the Department of Finance as the only lawyer in 2009 in the aftermath of the worldwide crash is testament to Antoine Mac Donncha’s resilience as a pioneering in-house counsel...

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Adina Calfa-Dudoiu - Central and Eastern Europe 2017

Legal director | Rosia Montana Gold Corporation

With over 14 years of experience in both private practice services and in-house legal counselling, Adina Calfa Dudoiu has experience of handling legal matters in the mining, telecommunication, media, audio-visual...

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Previously based in Malaysia, animal feed business Gold Coin Group’s headquarters was relocated in June 2017 to Singapore. Xae Hoyy, who leads the team and is now based there, managed...

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Aboitiz Power Corporation (APC) is a holding company with investments in power generation and distribution companies in the Philippines. Supporting its projects across the country, APC’S legal team is responsible...

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Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) acts as holding company for a diverse range of businesses involved in the industrials, consumer goods, utilities and financials sectors; this provides a varied and challenging...

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Antoine Vignial - France 2018

Secretary general | Saint-Gobain

The provision of legal advice to historic multinational Saint-Gobain is provided by a number of different in-house lawyers with a range of specialties. Among them is secretary general Antoine Vignial,...

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Benoit Ternon - France 2018

General counsel | Philip Morris France

Reflecting on his career thus far, Benoit Ternon is pleased to have been able to operate in diverse roles at a number of different organisations, and places this as both...

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François Graux - France 2018

General counsel | ENGIE

François Graux joined world energy giant Engie in 2013 as general counsel, leading a legal team which employs 490 lawyers across more than 40 countries. Managing about 60 lawyers at...

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Antoine Genevois - France 2018

General counsel | Framatome

Antoine Genevois began his legal career in 2000 at Thales Group, where he provided support to set up the company’s compliance program and the litigation associated with the sale of...

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Eric-Antoine Fredette - France 2018

Group general counsel and secretary | Valeo

The multinational French automotive products supplier Valeo is a constituent of the CAC 40 Index and conducts its operations through four distinct divisions that service the automotive and aftercare markets:...

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Jean-Benoit Devauges - France 2018

Deputy general counsel | Renault

Handling corporate matters, projects and transactions at the French automobile multinational Renault, deputy general counsel Jean-Benoit Devauges continues to impress peers both within Groupe Renault and among France’s wider in-house...

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Benoit Balmary - France 2018

Group general counsel | Michelin

Benoit Balmary joined the French tyre manufacturer Michelin in 2014. Reporting directly to the company’s executive president, Balmary presides over a department of more than 200 people spread across 20...

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Multichoice Africa is a leading internet and video entertainment company with a significant presence on the African continent. The company’s legal team provides support across four distinct regions: South Africa,...

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Uaboi Agbebaku - Africa 2017

Company secretary and legal adviser | Nigerian Breweries

Uaboi Agbebaku started his legal career in 1995 when he joined the Lagos based law firm David Garrick & Co. Following a seven year career in private practice, Agbebaku joined...

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Antoinette Absaloms - Africa 2017

Legal counsel, West Africa business unit | Coca-Cola Central East and West Africa

Widely commended by peers for her leadership, motivation and personal drive, Antoinette Absaloms has had an outstanding in-house career of 16 years, providing legal support to businesses in 31 countries...

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Antoinette Absaloms - Africa 2015

Operations counsel | Coca-Cola Central East and West Africa

Supporting Coca-Cola’s African business across 20 geographies, Antoinette Absaloms handled the launch of “Coke Studio” across five African countries, including all media and digital marketing components. During her previous role...

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Lois Allela - Middle East 2017

Head of legal Europe, Middle East and East Africa | Aggreko

Lois Allela’s career path has been, in her own words, ‘interesting’, and undoubtedly set her up incredibly well for her current position as head of legal for Europe, Middle East...

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About

Can you briefly explain how the legal team is structured, highlighting key individuals and their role within the department?

The team is led by Thalles Paixão, who is the final decision-taker regarding strategic matters. Supporting him are Eduarda Berredo (municipal/state taxes manager), Fernando Franco (federal taxes manager) and Pedro Nepomuceno (in-house consultant). Both managers oversee a team of lawyers who are responsible for taking care of tax litigation and advisory in their respective area of expertise. Together with the consultant, they perform tax planning, take tactical decisions and provide support for the director to decide on strategic positions. As stated above, they are supported by a number of lawyers, two of which have been standing out lately: Julia Villares and Ana Carolina Oliveira, both specialists in tax litigation and advisory.

What are the most significant cases and/or transactions that your legal team has been involved with in the last two years?

Support to Oi’s debt restructuring plan (“recuperação judicial”), which, by the time it was approved by its creditors, was the largest debt restructuring in Latin America. The team also managed to obtain favourable rulings in tax litigations, helping with the cash flow needed to enable Oi to invest in its core business. Two cases worth mentioning are the exclusion of ICMS (State VAT) from the PIS/COFINS tax basis (up to R$3.1bn in tax credits) and the cancellation of several ICMS tax assessments due to origin vs destination issues (approximately R$1bn of cash savings).

How important have “soft skills” or personal attributes outside of technical legal skill been to the team’s success, and which “soft skills” do you feel are most important for an in-house lawyer to possess?

Very important. Being able to communicate with people from different backgrounds is by far the most valuable soft skill an in-house lawyer could have and that is why our team is being successful. An in-house lawyer often have to deal with professionals who are not from the legal department, like accountants, economists, engineers etc. So being able to communicate with all those people efficiently makes a world of difference when it comes to delivering solutions to the company’s problems.

How can in-house legal teams be an integral part of their firm’s business? How does the legal team demonstrate its value to the company?

By being able to provide insight to the high-level executives on how the business could be done more efficiently from a legal standpoint, by insuring that the firm’s decisions comply with the tax rules, thus avoiding future tax and criminal liabilities that could be harmful to its executives, and by actually generating savings (from tax, for instance) for the company.

What political, economic or regulatory changes have impacted the company and the team the most recently?

The ongoing economic crisis in Brazil made tax litigation a lot more difficult, since the Brazilian government (including the Judiciary branch) has become considerably more biased towards issuing rulings in favour of the tax administration. Besides that, the economic crisis has also made the banks grow a lot more conservative regarding the offering of guarantees, which are needed to enable tax litigation according to Brazilian law, since the Brazilian tax authorities are very reluctant in accepting guarantees other than bank guarantees or cash, thus making tax litigation even more challenging. On top of that, the tax administrations at the state level are making use of criminal prosecution to force the taxpayer to pay taxes it does not agree with.

Focus on…

BRAZILIAN TAX

Practicing law in Brazil is certainly not an easy task. Since new bills are published on a daily basis, a Brazilian lawyer needs to be kept up to speed every day, otherwise its knowledge will become obsolete in a very short notice.

While the above may be the truth for most of lawyers, for tax lawyers it is even more challenging. Brazil is subdivided into 27 state-level entities, which are further divided into municipalities. Each of these entities has tax administrations and produce tax law themselves. As such, a tax lawyer has to strive to stay updated not only in regards with federal legislation, but also with also with state and municipal legislation.

Besides that, all of the states and the majority of capital municipalities have tax courts (at administrative level), each producing case law, which further extends the necessity of a tax lawyer for devoting time to be informed, since knowing tax precedents is as important as the law for conducting both tax litigation and tax planning or advisory. In addition to that, there is also the judicial courts, which also issue tax rulings not necessarily uniform throughout Brazilian territory. After all of that, the reader may think this is all a competent tax lawyer must do in order to practice tax law in Brazil with excellence. No, not even close! This is necessary but far from being sufficient to be considered as a skilled practitioner. This is the basic, the knowledge that anyone who wishes to be highly regarded has to have to be considered as such.

Then the tax lawyer has to understand the rest of the code of laws with a certain degree of proficiency, since tax law is a law of superposition. In other words, it is not possible for a tax lawyer to practice law without having basic knowledge of contract law, corporate law, labour law, intellectual property law and so on. It also has to understand the business of its employee as well as have some financial knowledge and a good grasp of accounting.

Finally, the in-house lawyer and team needs to be multidisciplinary and being able to communicate with people with different backgrounds effectively. All of these skills are necessary in order to deliver the results expected by a corporation from its legal tax team.

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Lois Allela

Head of legal Europe, Middle East and East Africa

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