Canada 2025
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
General Counsel + Head of Legal, Privacy, AI & Ethics | ModiFace
Directeur des Affaires juridiques / Secrétaire corporatif | Groupe Helios
General counsel and chief privacy officer | Bond Brand Loyalty
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO)
Vice President, Legal and Chief Governance Officer | Vancouver Airport Authority
General Counsel – Citibank Canada, Country Counsel - Canada | Citibank Canada
Chief corporate services officer & general counsel | Ontario Energy Board
Chief legal and human resources officer | Pan American Silver
Chief legal officer and corporate services officer | Draganfly
Executive vice president, chief development officer and general counsel | Empire Company
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Computershare Trust Company of Canada
Senior vice president, general counsel, ESG & corporate secretary | RioCan REIT
Vice president of legal, Canada | Restaurant Brands International Inc
Associate Director of Education, Organizational Transformation, Accountability, and Legal | Toronto District School Board
VP, Head of Corporate Affairs, Legal and ED&I, ESG | ArcelorMittal Dofasco
Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary | Rogers Communications
SVP Legal, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Compliance Officer | Descartes Systems Group
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Doman Building Materials Group
Chief operating officer and general counsel | Insight Productions
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Badger Infrastructure Solutions Ltd.
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Spin Master
General counsel, executive vice president and corporate secretary | Coca-Cola Canada
Vice President, Commercial and Regulatory Affairs & General Counsel | Prince Rupert Port Authority
Chief legal officer & corporate secretary | Altus Group
EVP, Chief Legal and Public Affairs Officer | Oxford Properties Group
Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary | Teck Resources Limited
Executive vice-president, chief legal and governance officer | TELUS
Chief Administrative Officer, VP Legal, Corporate Affairs and HR | Kraft Heinz Company
Senior vice president, general counsel and secretary | Morguard Corporation
Chief Legal, ESG and Governance Officer | Ontario Power Generation
Vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary | CPKC
Premier vice-président à la direction, affaires juridiques | National Bank of Canada
Chief legal and governance officer | Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC)
Executive vice president and chief legal officer | George Weston Limited
Vice-president and general counsel | McDonald's Restaurants of Canada
Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Just Energy
Senior Vice President Legal, north America infrastructure | Acciona Infrastructure Canada
Managing Partner, General Counsel, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer | BGO
BGO
Senior Vice President, Legal Counsel & Corporate Secretary | Colliers International Group Inc.
EVP, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | Open Text Corporation
Executive Vice-President, Legal Affairs, Compliance and Secretariat | La Caisse
Premier vice-président et chef des affaires juridiques | Boralex
General Counsel and Group Head, Legal & Regulatory Compliance; Member of Executive Committee | BMO
Executive vice president and chief legal and regulatory officer | Shaw Communications
Senior vice president, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary | Toronto Dominion Bank (TD)
Executive vice president, law branch, and general counsel | Alberta Energy Regulator
SVP, Legal, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Cenovus Energy
On behalf of Legal 500, I am delighted to introduce the GC Powerlist: Canada 2025.
This edition recognises the general counsel and in-house legal teams who play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s corporate and legal landscape. Through our research, we met with professionals who not only provide expert legal guidance but also influence strategies, drive transformation and help their businesses thrive.
Across Canada, general counsel are stepping well beyond traditional roles. They are central to the navigation of complex regulations, enabling innovation, advancing sustainability and governance priorities, and supporting their organisations through rapid change. The GC Powerlist: Canada 2025 celebrates those who combine deep legal expertise with leadership, vision and purpose.
As Agostino Lucarelli, Head of Legal Affairs at Helios Group, puts it: ‘Our team works closely with the top management to ensure that legal strategies directly support our business objectives. I play an integral role in shaping the company’s direction.’
Many emphasise partnership as the foundation of success. Alexa Abiscott, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary at ApplyBoard, explains ‘We truly are an enabling function with our business and strategy teams across the organisation. We maintain extremely high trust relationships throughout the company and are included early in many new initiatives, not as an afterthought.’
Innovation and transformation are equally central. Fernando Garcia, Chief Legal and People Officer at Opta Group, reflects ‘Legal departments must evolve from being reactive to becoming proactive and integrated business partners, using technology to anticipate risks and accelerate outcomes.’
Joshua Kane, Vice President, Legal and General Counsel at STEP Energy Services, adds ‘Our philosophy is that it’s not about saying no to risk, it is about ensuring our business group understands the risk they take in exchange for the expected reward.’
The spirit of collaboration also runs deep across Canada’s legal community. Empowering people to lead and thrive is a strategic imperative: when individuals flourish, so do their organisations.
These insights reflect a broader shift within Canada’s legal community: from risk management to value creation, from technical advice to strategic influence, and from individual expertise to collective impact.
We are proud to present this year’s GC Powerlist: Canada, a celebration of legal professionals who are redefining the future of corporate law and connecting local insight with global impact.
On 26 March, Legal 500 partnered with Portuguese law firm PLMJ to bring its renewed sustainability‑focused conference series to Lisbon with the ESG Forum: Portugal 2026. The half‑day event gathered senior leaders from the legal, financial, energy and sustainability spheres for a concentrated programme hosted at PLMJ’s offices. Throughout the sessions, speakers explored the regulatory, governance and enforcement forces reshaping ESG strategy in Portugal, offering a clear cross‑sector perspective on how organisations are adapting to an increasingly complex and fast‑moving landscape.
The event opened with some welcome remarks from Legal 500 editor Francisco Castro, who emphasised the value of events that bring the in‑house community together to learn, exchange experiences and build meaningful professional networks. In his welcome address, he highlighted the growing complexity of ESG obligations across Europe and the increasing pressure on organisations to adopt integrated, business‑wide approaches to compliance, risk management and strategic planning. By underscoring the need for practical, grounded discussion rather than abstract theory, he set the tone for a programme designed to deliver actionable insight and foster collaboration among practitioners navigating a rapidly evolving ESG landscape.
Followed an opening brief delivered by PLMJ’s Managing Partner, Bruno Ferreira, who provided a concise yet comprehensive overview of the ESG priorities defining Portugal in 2026. He outlined the expanding influence of EU regulatory frameworks on corporate reporting, due diligence and governance, noting how these requirements are reshaping expectations around data quality, transparency and accountability. His remarks positioned ESG not as a peripheral concern but as a central driver of corporate behaviour, capital flows and long‑term competitiveness in the Portuguese market.
The first panel, moderated by João Marques Mendes, Partner at PLMJ and joined by Cláudia Teixeira de Almeida of Banco BPI, Nuno Moraes Bastos of GALP and Diogo Graça of REN, explored how corporate governance and sustainable finance are shaping Portugal’s energy transition. The discussion examined how boards and executive teams are adapting oversight structures to manage transition‑related risks and how legal, compliance, sustainability and procurement functions are increasingly intertwined in project governance. Panellists described the growing influence of financing structures on project execution, noting that lenders’ expectations around ESG metrics, contractor performance and transparency now shape governance decisions from the earliest stages. They also addressed the operational constraints that continue to challenge Portugal’s transition ambitions, including permitting timelines, grid capacity limitations and delivery risk. While acknowledging the complexity of EU‑level frameworks, speakers emphasised that these standards also present strategic opportunities to harmonise practices, unlock investment and strengthen Portugal’s competitive position in the energy transition.
Following a short break, the second panel turned to litigation, liability and the emerging enforcement era surrounding sustainability claims. Moderated by Raquel Azevedo, Partner at PLMJ and featuring contributions from Carla Góis Coelho of PLMJ, Carlos Martins Ferreira of Jerónimo Martins, Filipa Rodrigues Carmona of Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Céline da Graça Pires of NOVA, the session examined the rapid rise of ESG‑driven disputes, investigations and regulatory actions. Panellists discussed the typical trigger points for scrutiny, ranging from sustainability reports and corporate websites to marketing materials and investor presentations, and highlighted how these touchpoints are increasingly tested by regulators, competitors, consumers and NGOs. They analysed recent case law developments and their implications for Portuguese organisations, noting the emergence of more stringent evidentiary standards around disclosures and due‑diligence obligations. The panel concluded that sustainability claims can no longer be treated as aspirational messaging; they now carry the weight of binding legal obligations, requiring more rigorous internal validation and cross‑functional coordination.
The forum concluded with closing remarks from Francisco Castro, after which attendees were invited to continue their conversations over a light lunch, providing a relaxed setting to deepen connections and reflect on the themes explored throughout the morning.
Legal 500 extends its thanks to PLMJ for its collaboration in bringing this conference format to Portugal’s in‑house legal community. The team looks forward to returning soon for the launch event of this year’s GC Powerlist: Portugal.
