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.
Legal 500’s GC Summit Netherlands brought together leading in-house counsel and legal experts at The Renaissance in Amsterdam for a half-day of focused discussions and networking. The programme provided practical insights into how legal teams are adapting their roles amid growing geopolitical, technological, and regulatory pressures.
The event opened with a presentation by Mariken van Loopik, partner at Linklaters, who examined how geopolitical developments are reshaping expectations of legal advisers. The session highlighted the increasing need for both in-house and external counsel to adopt a more strategic approach, integrating compliance, risk management, and commercial awareness into their work.
The next session turned to the growing use of artificial intelligence in legal practice. Moderated by Allan Cohen, senior research editor at Legal 500, the panel featured Anastasia Scrève of LEGALFLY, Mateusz Wrzesinski of Barilla, and Gitte Groenewold-Wong of Prosus. The discussion focused on practical steps for using AI tools responsibly, with speakers addressing issues such as data protection, accountability, and day-to-day governance. Panellists shared approaches that help legal teams use technology effectively without compromising professional standards.
After a networking break, the summit moved to sustainability and reporting obligations in the session on legal pitfalls and climate reporting in 2025. Moderated by Daniella Strik, partner at Linklaters, the panel brought together Marco Frikkee of KPMG, Suzanne Debrichy of PostNL, and Anne-Lize van Dusseldorp of Aalberts N.V. The speakers discussed the legal risks associated with forward-looking climate statements, the challenges of preparing 2025 annual reports, and the practical decisions general counsel must navigate as climate-related disclosures expand.
The programme continued with a session on the evolving role of the general counsel, considering how senior in-house lawyers balance legal risk with wider organisational priorities. Speakers shared examples of how GCs contribute to business strategy, embed legal thinking into operational decisions, and support their organisations in fast-moving environments.
The summit concluded with a discussion on regulatory developments in the financial sector. Moderated by Allan Cohen, the session featured insights from Fleur de Roos of Fourthline and Mischa Menheere of Investancia Group. Panellists considered shifting supervisory expectations, cross-border complications, and emerging areas of regulatory focus, offering practical guidance for legal teams working in financial and corporate contexts.
We extend our sincere thanks to our headline sponsor, Linklaters, and to LEGALFLY for their support. We look forward to welcoming attendees again at the next edition of the GC Summit Netherlands.
