About

After being called to the Quebec Bar in 1997, Caroline McNicoll started her career as a litigator in a medium-sized law firm in Quebec City. However, three years later an encounter with a client opened her eyes to the benefits of a career on the international scene. McNicoll went on to complete a Master’s degree in law with a specialisation in international business and upon graduation joined Bombardier Transportation, where she worked as a core member of a cross-functional team. After working for several years in a similar role at Quebecor World, the Canadian commercial and industrial printing company, McNicoll joined Pharmascience, where she currently serves as general counsel and corporate secretary. Since joining Pharmascience in 2007, McNicoll has significantly changed the legal department of the specialist pharmaceutical company, introducing changes mainly to adapt to the changing needs of the organisation and changing market conditions, and to continuously improve the quality of services. Notable improvements include proper technology systems for the management of legal and corporate secretariat files, standardisation of the legal procedures and documents and development of the corporate governance function. McNicoll is particularly proud of the evolution within a few short years of the legal function from a centralised ‘avoiding legal problems’ role to a cross-functional business team embedded across the entire organisation. McNicoll has made her mark on Pharmascience by building a highly skilled legal team that not only provides legal support, but became a true business partner and core member of each business unit of the company. Dedicated legal counsels are now part of the leadership team of all commercial business units and key centers of excellence and are empowered to closely collaborate with all stakeholders in alignment with the organisation’s strategic objectives. ‘I am proud to say that I have been able to develop a highly performing team that is recognised for its competency, its understanding of priorities, its sound judgment and for its enabling approach’, McNicoll states.