About

Jay Safer assumed the position of vice president, general counsel and secretary of IBM Canada in 2001. Prior to joining IBM, Safer worked in a mid-size full service law firm combining both corporate work and commercial litigation. Within IBM he worked solely within the legal department, having at some point legal responsibility for every area of the company. He claims, ‘the opportunity to take on management responsibilities came early and grew over time’. He has been fundamental towards the high expertise levels and productivity of his team and when discussing his career highlights he says, ‘I know that I am fortunate to be able to say that we have hired some of the best lawyers in Canada. The respect we have for each other, and the true collegial and sharing spirit resulting, flowed easily and naturally’. Safer has taken a guiding role in ensuring the legal department is recognised within the company as adding tremendous value. He achieves this through negotiations where he is mindful of ensuring the business is aware of requests which would impact the financial deal and solution expectations. He also encourages brainstorming in order to analyse complex presentations for customers. His team truly has achieved recognition for bringing value-added to the table. He states that he has managed to achieve this through a number of factors which he believes his team brings to the table: ‘Experience, insight, analytical ability, and personality have helped develop these relationships where legal input affects strategic direction. A win-win situation for sure’. Lately he has been particularly proactive in concentrating on developing subject matter expertise, product and business knowledge, increased use of tools, personal development including continuing legal education, productivity, community, and accountability.