Central and Eastern Europe 2019 – GC Powerlist
GC Powerlist Logo

Central and Eastern Europe 2019

  • Industries

  • Powerlist

Adam Puchalski

Director of legal projects | Bank Pekao

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The proposed merger of Bank Pekao and Alior Bank – the...

Adina Calfa

Group general counsel | E-Infra (Electrogrup Infrastructure )

Transport and infrastructure

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? At the beginning of the year I took over the role...

Adina Gutiu

General counsel | LUKOIL Romania

Energy and utilities

What are the unique challenges of working as an in-house lawyer in Romania? In terms of talent, Romanians are very smart, ambitious, innovative and eager to prove themselves as professionals....

Agnieszka Dzięgielewska-Jończyk

General counsel | Skanska Central Europe

Industrials and real estate

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? This year the Skanska Company is implementing a new corporate governance...

Agnieszka Gotlibowska-Horoszczak

General counsel | ITI Neovision

Sports and media

After gaining experience in corporate departments working for leading Polish and international law firms, Agnieszka Gotlibowska-Horoszczak focused on media and telecommunication law. She worked in legal departmens of MTV Networks...

Agnieszka Kozar

Senior counsel, Poland, Baltic States and PMI SCE | Philip Morris Polska Distribution

Food, beverages and tobacco

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? As of June 2019 I lead legal team for Philip Morris...

Agnieszka Michalska

Counsel Poland, European Union (EU) department | Philip Morris Polska Distribution

Food, beverages and tobacco

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Philip Morris is transforming from a company focused on selling cigarettes...

Agnieszka Modras

Chief legal officer | Bank Pocztowy

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? In 2018-2019, the Bank has been engaged in two complex proceedings...

Agnieszka Skowronek

Head of legal M&A | Eurocash Group

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The sale transaction by Eurocash of 100% of shares in PayUp...

Aleksandra Burda-Kiryłło

Head of legal department | Abstra

Sports and media

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? During my career at Abstra (the largest producer of YouTube video...

Aleksandra Wasilewska

Counsel, Poland, European Union (EU) department | Philip Morris Polska Distribution

Food, beverages and tobacco

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? During the last two years I was involved in the project...

Alexandru Berea

Executive director - legal division | Banca Comerciala Romana

Financials

Alexandru Berea is one of the key individuals in the senior management team of Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) – a member of Erste Bank Group – as well as a...

Alina Dumitrascu

Head of legal | Enel Distributie Romania

Energy and utilities

To name only few of the reasons for this nomination, Alina Dumitrascu is not only a true professional with impressive legal and regulatory knowledge, she is also a game changer,...

András Lévai

Legal director | Market Construction

Industrials and real estate

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? At my previous company, we managed the establishment of a brand...

Andreea Alexandrescu

Legal director | Carrefour Romania

Consumer products

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? In 2016, Carrefour Romania acquired 86 supermarkets operated by Rewe Group...

Andrej Farkas

Head of legal department | ECO-INVESTMENT

Financials

Andrej Farkas is involved in several transactions simultaneously, efficiently organising external lawyers and management of ECO-INVESTMENT and its subsidiaries within the CEE region. He is famous for proposing high-level business-oriented...

Andrii Humenchuk

Head of legal | SocialTech

Information technology

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I joined the SocialTech team in November 2018, and among the...

Andrzej Gładysz

Director | PZU

Financials

Andrzej Gładysz is an extremely experienced in-house lawyer and manager, working in financial markets for 28 years, including participation in the creation of legislation being the basis for insurance activity,...

Andrzej Gruchalski

Legal director | Zara Polska (Inditex Group)

Consumer products

Andrzej Klimek

Head of legal and compliance department | Idea Getin Leasing

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The merger – registered in February 2018 – between Idea Leasing...

Anna Atanasow

General counsel – global markets | CCC

Consumer products

We are delighted to nominate Anna Atanasow, who is general counsel, global markets at CCC, who has performed her role since 2015 and over this period actively acted in wide...

Anna Drozd

Legal counsel | Eiffage Polska Serwis

Industrials and real estate

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Since March 2018 I’ve been involved in the construction of an...

Anna Kamińska

Head of legal and administration | Grupa Pracuj

Commercial and professional services

Anna Kamińska is head of legal and administration in Grupa Pracuj, a leading provider of solutions that help companies with employee recruitment, retainment and development. Kamińska always has an innovative...

Anna Ryzhova

General counsel | Ciklum Group

Information technology

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I would highlight three projects in the past two years, including...

Anton Petrov

Head of international legal affairs | First Investment Bank

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Considering that almost every large transaction naturally involves some sort of...

Arina Dobrescu

Regional legal manager | Tenaris Silcotub

Industrials and real estate

If I were to describe Arina Dobrescu in a few words, those would be energetic, compassionate, friendly, hardworking, forward thinker, nature lover, reliable, responsible. I’ve known Dobrescu for more than...

Artur Chrzanowski

Head of legal department | Eiffage Polska Serwis

Industrials and real estate

How important are “soft skills” or personal attributes outside of technical legal skill, and which “soft skills” do you feel are most important for an in-house lawyer to possess? There...

Bartosz Kwiatkowski

Head of legal UGI East region | AmeriGas Polska (UGI International Subsidiary)

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? One of the most important transactions I’ve participated in and supported...

Camelia Nicoara

Legal and public affairs director - Central South Europe | Michelin

Consumer products

Camelia Nicoara has more than nine years as an in-house lawyer at Michelin. She started her in house career with Michelin in 2005 and after five years as promoted to...

Catalin Istrate

Legal director Poland and Eastern Europe, hygiene and home | RB Poland

Consumer products

Catalin Istrate is an outstanding general counsel, managing the legal issues of RB entities in several jurisdictions. We appreciate a lot his great efforts in ensuring clear and transparent communication...

Christian Blatchford

General counsel | ENERGO-PRO

Energy and utilities

Christian Blatchford, general counsel for ENERGO-PRO, should, in my opinion be listed amongst the distinguished corporate counsel in (at least) Central and Eastern Europe. Blatchford joined ENERGO-PRO as general counsel...

Daiga Muizniece

General legal counsel | VIA SMS group

Financials

We are happy to nominate Daiga Muizniece for the GC Powerlist. Over the past 11 years Muizniece has worked in both corporations and big four tax and law firms, covering...

Dawid Książczak

General counsel | AmRest

Food, beverages and tobacco

Dawid Książczak is nominated for managing the legal affairs of AmRest, which is not only the largest CEE food chain operator but also a European company listed in Poland and...

Dawid Radziszewski

Member of the management board, general counsel | Selvita

Healthcare

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? In 2019 I led a corporate split of Selvita into two...

Denys Khrenov

Legal and corporate affairs director | AB InBev Efes Ukraine

Food, beverages and tobacco

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The most important project of the previous two years was legal...

Denys Melnykov

Chief legal officer | Agroecology

Food, beverages and tobacco

Dominika Niewiadomska-Siniecka

General counsel | Aion

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Participating in the process of the acquisition of a Belgian bank,...

Dr Anna Szepietowska

General counsel | Poland Sotheby’s International Realty

Industrials and real estate

What are the characteristics of important transactions that you have been involved in during the last two years? The transaction model in the real estate market is changing into a...

Dr Bálint Csere

Chief legal adviser | OTP Bank

Financials

Dr Tímea Halkó

Director, legal and global operations management | Gedeon Richter

Healthcare

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Setting up from scratch the structure of the global compliance system...

Edyta Werońska-Karcz

Head of legal department, country legal coordinator | Société Générale Oddział w Polsce

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I have taken from Societe Generale (SG) London negotiations of ISDA...

Elena Iacob

Head of legal and compliance department | Alliance Healthcare Romania

Healthcare

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? In the one year since I joined Alliance Healthcare Romania, I...

Florina Mariana Homeghiu

Country legal manager | Coca-Cola HBC Romania

Food, beverages and tobacco

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I am very happy that my daily work includes a lot...

Gábor Kukovecz

Head of legal and operations | Diageo

Consumer products

Gabriela Popescu

Head of legal | Microsoft

Information technology

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The role that I have at Microsoft is uniquely structured, as...

George-Mihai Popa

Corporate legal director | E.ON Romania

Energy and utilities

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years?   Legal and compliance advice on local due diligence process for...

Gligorije Brajkovic

Head of legal department | UniCredit Bank Serbia

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The Victoria Group restructuring; UŠĆE Tower 2 project finance; K2 project...

Grzegorz Wojasiński

Head of legal department Europe Central North | Michelin Polska

Consumer products

Michelin Polska has operated from 1994 and is the largest tyre factory in Poland, as well as one of the largest Michelin plants in the world. It currently has approximately...

Ielyzaveta Badanova

Deputy head of legal department | Naftogaz of Ukraine

Energy and utilities

Ielyzaveta Badanova is an exclusively qualified Ukrainian energy law professional, who is well-experienced in international energy law, EU law, Ukrainian gas market law, and more. She has an excellent career...

Ioana Regenbogen

Head of legal and corporate affairs | ING Bank Romania

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? When speaking about transactions I must start by saying that a...

Iryna Kravtsova

General counsel | Raben Ukraine

Transport and infrastructure

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Raben Ukraine conducted a major recent change in corporate structure. An...

Iwona Dorota Gajek

Managing director and country head of legal | BNP Paribas Bank Polska

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? My largest project was the acquisition of the core business of...

Izabela Makowska

Director | mBank Hipoteczny

Financials

For the last six years Izabela Makowska has held the position of head of legal at mBank Hipoteczny in Warsaw. Overall, she had been working with mBH for nearly 20...

Jakub Kudła

Head of legal (media law) | Ringier Axel Springer Polska

Sports and media

With over 20 years of experience in the media legal sector, Jakub Kudła has had legal support to the company’s Poland daily operations, that often included establishing high profile projects....

Jakub Laskowski

Director of sports legal and administration | Legia Warszawa

Sports and media

Jakub Laskowski has worked with Legia Warszawa (the biggest and one of the most successful football club in Poland, which boasts over 100 years of tradition) since 2013. Currently, as...

Jakub Staśkiewicz

Head of legal and compliance | Vision Express Polska

Consumer products

Jakub Staśkiewicz is currently head of legal and compliance at Vision Express Polska, the biggest retailer in the Polish market in scope of correction glasses and optical services. He has...

Jan Klouda

Vice president, legal affairs, risk management and corporate security | Vodafone Czech Republic

Telecommunication services

Janusz Szurski

Group general counsel and head of the legal office | PKN Orlen

Energy and utilities

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The squeeze-out project in relation to the shares of UNIPETROL. An...

Jarosław Wolak

Director of the legal department | mBank

Financials

I recommend placing Jarosław Wolak in the GC Powerlist. He was able to remain an expert while at the same time become a brisk manager with a keen feeling of...

Joanna Blaszczyk

Head of legal | Polski Fundusz Rozwoju (PFR)

Financials

Joanna Blaszczyk stands out amongst general counsel known to me in the way she handles complex projects against tight deadlines. Her role with the Polish Development Fund requires a combination...

Jolanta Tropaczyńska

General counsel | Orange Polska

Telecommunication services

[Nominated for] leading the largest acquisition by Orange in Poland of the BlueSoft group, a software company specialising in providing tailored solutions for blue chips. The acquisition strengthens Orange’s skills...

Jovan Velkovski

Director of legal, personnel and general affairs | JAT Tehnika

Transport and infrastructure

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Having in mind that Jat Tehnika is a completely state owned...

Judyta Sawicka

Head of legal | Globalworth Poland Real Estate

Industrials and real estate

Almost from the beginning of Globalworth’s business activity in Poland, Judyta Sawicka has lead the legal department currently consisting of sixlawyers and provided legal assistance in the real estate acquisitions...

Kamila Bury

General counsel | Capgemini Polska

Commercial and professional services

Kamila Bury is a very experienced lawyer with experience gained in international law firms and corporations. She is a lawyer who currently supervises the legal affairs of a very large...

Kamila Dutkowska-Wawrzak

Project management lawyer | Panattoni Development Europe

Industrials and real estate

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? One of the most important transactions I was recently finalising was...

Karolina Sulma

General counsel | Skanska Property Poland

Industrials and real estate

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Amongst others, I have been involved in several divestment transactions with...

Katarzyna Fidala

Head of legal | Getin Noble Bank

Financials

Katarzyna Fidala is head of legal in Getin Noble Bank, she has extensive experience in the banking sector as a former head of legal at Deutsche Bank PBC. She specialised...

Krzysztof Cyran

Legal counsel | G2A.COM

Consumer products

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...

Krzysztof Mazurek

Legal and compliance director CEE | Bayer

Healthcare

Krzysztof Mazurek is a highly experienced lawyer, being focused on pharmaceutical and life science issues throughout his well thought-out career. He has gained knowledge holding positions in distinguished international law...

Krzysztof Nowak

General counsel | Pfleiderer Group

Materials and mining

Krzysztof Nowak is recognised as an entrepreneurial, results-oriented legal adviser with extensive experience and unique technical skills. Nowak [has shown] unique expertise in analysing, structuring, negotiating and closing complex transactions,...

Leonid Cherniavskyi

Head of legal | Sanofi Ukraine

Healthcare

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The previous two years appeared to be extremely active in terms...

Linda Szegvari

Chief legal counsel | MET Hungary

Energy and utilities

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I am very happy and proud to have participated in the...

Livia Dumitrescu

Legal and external affairs director | Vodafone Romania

Telecommunication services

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Vodafone Romania’s now finalised acquisition of UPC Romania, announced on 1...

Lukáš Zapletal

Legal and security director – Czech Republic and Slovakia | Coca-Cola HBC Česko a Slovensko

Food, beverages and tobacco

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? In 2018 Coca-Cola HBC Česko a Slovensko stepped into a totally...

Łukasz Szymanski

General counsel, business integrity officer | Unilever Poland and Baltics

Consumer products

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Starting from a transactional perspective I can mention the spreads business...

Maciej Czajkowski

Head of legal | EuroCash Group

Financials

Maciej Czajkowski is the head of legal, in charge of implementing and executing major processes [of Eurocash Group], varying from data protection to employment and restructuring. He is a well-versed...

Maciej Pochmara

Head of legal | RealCo Property Investment and Development

Industrials and real estate

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I have been involved in the investment process regarding “Młyn Maria”...

Maciej Szczepański

Head of legal | OLX Poland

Consumer products

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? In the last two years, OLX operations in Poland mainly focused...

Magdalena Cholewa-Klimek

General counsel | Mota-Engil Central Europe

Industrials and real estate

Magdalena Cholewa-Klimek is a business oriented legal professional with more than 15 years of experience, working for companies in the construction and real estate sectors of the Central and Eastern...

Małgorzata Klukowska

Head of legal services Central Europe | DP DHL

Transport and infrastructure

DP DHL Group is the world’s largest multinational package delivery and supply chain management company, that operates in over 220 countries and has more than 400,000 employees. Małgorzata Klukowska is...

Marcin Bryniarski

Chief legal and compliance officer | Oknoplast

Materials and mining

It is a great pleasure to nominate Marcin Bryniarski for a GC Powerlist as an outstanding and experienced counsel serving in the position of chief of legal and compliance officer...

Marcin Dąbrowski

Head of legal department and commercial proxy | METRO PROPERTIES

Industrials and real estate

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Strategy development, implementation, organisation and management of the Praktiker Polska debtor...

Marcin Golec

Head of legal | Sapiency

Information technology

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The transaction involving the acquisition of Dotpay by Nets Denmark. How...

Marcin Prell

Bank director, head of legal services area | Santander Bank Polska

Financials

Marcin Prell is a top legal counsel who was responsible for creation of the main legal department teams in top Poland-based banks from 1992 until today. He started at Wielkopolski...

Marcin Szlaszyński

Head of legal department | Nest Bank

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? During the last two years in Nest Bank, we’ve faced a...

Maria Paszto

Head of legal | MetLife Slovakia

Financials

Maria Paszto is a very competent and professional lawyer with extensive experience in the insurance industry.

Marta Anna Techman

Head of legal, compliance and antitrust | MediaMarkt Polska Group (Media Saturn Holding Polska)

Sports and media

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? As the head of legal, compliance and antitrust at MediaMarkt Polska...

Marta Ziółkowska-Nasińska

Regional legal counsel | Ferrero

Consumer products

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I have assisted in introduction of several new Ferrero products on...

Mateeas Anne Marie

Legal head | Novartis

Healthcare

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? At Novartis Romania, we are committed to improving the wellbeing of...

Michał M. Rosłon

Chief legal officer | LS Airport Services

Transport and infrastructure

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? There are a number of agreements I’ve been involved with. Among...

Michal Toman

In-house lawyer | FORTUNA

Hotels, restaurants and leisure

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I’ve played a central role in establishing the in-house legal practice...

Mihaela Scarlatescu

Head of legal and compliance department | A&D Pharma (part of DR Max Group)

Healthcare

Mihai Rotaru

Deputy head of legal division | Banca Transilvania

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Although every transaction is relevant in its own way and it...

Minerva Ionita

Legal and compliance manager | Arctic

Consumer products

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? An important project is WEEE management (waste electrical and electronic management)....

Nataliya Lezhneva

Chief law officer | A-100 Development

Industrials and real estate

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The A-100 Development group of companies is one of the most...

Olga Lukyanova

Head of law department and compliance officer | Henkel Ukraine

Consumer products

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? For the last two years we have had a tremendous number...

Patrycja Poppe

Counsel European Union (EU) department | Philip Morris Polska Distribution

Food, beverages and tobacco

Patrycja Poppe is a well-versed business-oriented lawyer who knows precisely what is needed and how it should be delivered. She is always available for additional questions. She has very good...

Pavel Rozehnal

Group chief legal and compliance officer | Home Credit International

Financials

Piotr Bielarczyk

Managing director of legal and operational division, general counsel | Bank Ochrony Srodowiska

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Three significant transactions include successfully renegotiating the leasing agreement for the...

Piotr Jakubowski

Chief legal officer | Operator Chmury Krajowej (Domestic Cloud Provider)

Information technology

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The management of legal services and strategic negotiations regarding an agreement...

Piotr Piekutowski

General counsel | Onwelo

Information technology

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I am responsible for providing sophisticated legal and compliance advice in...

Rafał Gąsiorowski

Legal counsel CE | Fox Network Group Poland (integrating The Walt Disney Company CEE)

Sports and media

How important are “soft skills” or personal attributes outside of technical legal skill, and which “soft skills” do you feel are most important for an in-house lawyer to possess? In...

Rafał Kłoczko

Chief counsel, business, IP and privacy | CD Projekt

Information technology

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I was involved in negotiation of a contract with Keanu Reeves...

Rafał Kwiatkowski

Chief operations officer | EPP

Energy and utilities

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The acquisition of 12 major shopping centres and retail parks in...

Rafał Poznalski

Legal and compliance manager - LG Electronics Central Europe | LG Electronics

Consumer products

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? A case in the field of labour law regarding the employer’s...

Rafał Świstak

Legal and international affairs director, member of the management board | F.B.I. TASBUD

Industrials and real estate

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I think is really difficult to choose clearly the most important...

Stanisław Chajewski

Director, legal department | Centralny Ośrodek Informatyki

Information technology

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Navigating complex negotiations between several parties with opposing interests regarding intellectual...

Stanisław Sopel

Head of legal | G2A.COM

Consumer products

Stanisław Sopel has been at G2A for nearly three years, and as head of legal is a member of G2A’s board responsible for the company’s growth. He also sits on...

Stefania Dinu

CEE legal counsel | AbbVie

Healthcare

Stefania Dinu is an incredible lawyer with a wealth of experience in the pharmaceutical sector. She has a great power in interacting with the business and combining the legal advice...

Svetlana Romanova

Chief legal officer | Metinvest

Financials

Tadeusz Szymaniec

Head of legal | Samsung Electronics Polska

Consumer products

We are pleased to nominate Tadeusz Szymaniec for this year’s GC Powerlist as an outstanding and experienced counsel serving position of head of legal in Samsung Electronics. We have worked...

Tobiasz Adam Kowalczyk

Head of legal and public policy | Volkswagen

Consumer products

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I was responsible for acquiring multiple strategic plots of land for...

Tobiasz Szychowski

Vice general counsel | Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo (PGNiG)

Energy and utilities

Tobiasz Szychowski has gained his experience at major law entities, in particular being a head of litigation and ADR department at one of the largest Polish law firms for over...

Tomasz Krajewski

Senior counsel | Citi

Financials

Tomasz Krajewski is one of the most competent and innovative in-house lawyers operating in the Polish banking sector. He is actively involved in the implementation of open banking solutions in...

Urszula Wiśniewska

General counsel | Tauron Polska Energia

Energy and utilities

Since the beginning of 2017, Urszula Wiśniewska has worked as a chief legal officer, [managing] a team of 120 lawyers and specialists from one of the largest capital groups in...

Wojciech Jabłoński

Head of legal department | PKO Bank Polski

Financials

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? I would say that the most important challenge in the field...

Wojciech Kowalewski

General counsel Poland | Siemens Poland

Industrials and real estate

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? The legal team supported all major Siemens infrastructure projects in Poland...

Yaroslav Simonov

Director, legal affairs | SCM Holdings

Industrials and real estate

Yaroslav Teklyuk

Director for legal affairs and government relations | Naftogaz of Ukraine

Energy and utilities

Yaroslav Teklyuk is a highly qualified Ukrainian lawyer, well experienced in numerous areas, including litigation, bankruptcy and restructuring, energy and tax laws. Previously, he worked at Vasil Kisil and Partners,...

Zuzanna Kopaczynska-Grabiec

Director of legal and compliance department | wonga.pl

Financials

What changes have you made to the workings of the legal department during your time in your current role? How has that affected the wider company? I have been working...

Since first being published as The Corporate Counsel 100, The Legal 500’s GC Powerlist series has grown exponentially since its beginnings in 2013. It started by covering four of the world’s most established legal markets, and whilst the core objective of the publication – highlighting the most capable, outstanding and innovative in-house counsel in a jurisdiction – has remained the same, the reach and scope of the GC Powerlist has since become almost unrecognisable. Now present in a vast array of jurisdictions and with a portfolio of 70 unique editions, the GC Powerlist series has firmly been established as the “go-to” title that assesses and features leading corporate counsel across the globe.

Now, we at The Legal 500 are evolving the GC Powerlist series even further, deepening our commitment to highlighting and exploring issues and challenges at the forefront of the minds of leading in-house lawyers. Therefore, this and future editions of the GC Powerlist will have a very different look to their predecessors. Instead of profiling individual counsel or in-house legal teams, more incisive insights from in-house thought leaders on the topics of the day will be featured extensively throughout our new look GC Powerlist publications.

With an abundance of feedback from senior in-house legal professionals across Central and Eastern Europe as well as their counterparts in private practice, this year’s edition of the GC Powerlist: Central and Eastern Europe is the largest ever by some distance. In addition to in-depth qualitative information via interviews, we also obtained feedback in the form of a short survey, offering concise information about some of the most important topics in market. The results can be seen on the opposite page in chart format.

As the data shows, a large percentage of respondents indicated they were part of the management structure or executive committee of their organisation. Thus, it can be seen that amongst CEE in-house lawyers, there is a high degree of integration between legal and decision making processes in their organisations, showing how entrusted the senior in-house lawyer has become in the region. The second question evinces a clear majority of respondents increased interaction with the business thanks to threats of cybersecurity breaches and data protection issues, indicating these well-publicised and dangerous matters could serve as an opportunity for in-house counsel to further integrate with business colleagues. The third question relates to usage of law firms, and qualities that CEE based counsel would prefer to see demonstrated by them. The results show that business alignment and organisational understanding is the quality prized by most respondents, with communication and resourcing the next two most popular, showing that the law firm in CEE who best understands a client would be most likely to win business in the region. All of these topics – as well as several others – are afforded more in-depth analysis and discussion within these pages, and can be found within the interview transcripts within this publication, as well as in the nominator quotes provided by our sources.

It was my pleasure to speak to and extensively interview CEE-based counsel, each with their own priorities and challenges, and I would like to thank our sponsors – EY Law and Zięba & Partners – for supporting this publication. I’d also like to thank our extensive network of law firm partners and in-house counsel in the region whose opinions we canvassed during the course of the research. Of course, feedback is valuable and welcomed, so if there are any comments or suggestions please feel free to get in touch with these.

Last but not least, I would like to congratulate all those featured in this year’s list. Their selection means they have been identified as in-house counsel who are amongst the standard bearers of the profession, and as specialists who confront and manage commercial and legal challenges in a way that marks them as market leaders.

EY

EY logo

EY is proud to be supporting The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Central and Eastern Europe. In this event, we are celebrating the recognition of in-house counsel in a region which is steadily gaining in importance in terms of inbound investment and geopolitical status.

Congratulations to those who participated in this effort, to general counsel who submitted their profiles and achievements and to The Legal 500 staff for their hard work in evaluating and ranking these submissions.

The in-house legal function is being disrupted every day. Legal issues are becoming complicated and extremely demanding, the leadership of organisations is relying on the GCO in order to navigate through new areas of risk and to reach creative solutions. Moreover, technology is changing completely all the traditional areas of this function, in terms of workflow, delivery of service and communication with counterparties, recipients of the service and external counsel. Moreover, data is becoming a critical issue in terms of monetization, design, privacy and management of cyber risk.

This already challenging landscape is further disrupted by geopolitical developments with a global impact which affect CEE significantly for historic and commercial reasons. It should not be forgotten that a number of countries in this geography have been part of the EU for less than two decades while others are in the process of modernisation.

Identifying challenges is not enough for GCs in this region. They must constantly adapt and show agility, transforming themselves and members of the function. More importantly, they must educate other stakeholders within the organisation to ensure compliance and conformity with legislative amendments, global tax initiatives or political actions like sanctions and trade measures. They must work hard to convince colleagues and C-suite executives to act proactively instead of retroactively, whilst ensuring that the commercial objectives and competitiveness of their organisation is not overly compromised. Finally, they are key drivers in the creation of a culture embracing acceptance, diversity, gender equality and work-life balance.

EY has worked hard to understand the concerns and objectives of the GCO. For this reason, we have been investing heavily in order to create a “Better Working World” for in–house counsel. The acquisition of Riverview Law in 2018 and Pangea 3 in 2019 has given us a market leading ability to reimagine and redesign this function. Our service model has expanded empowering us to work with the GCO in order to respond to the above challenges.

We have significantly strengthened our legal advisory capabilities in core areas like labour and employment law, financial services law, transactions law, digital law and corporate and commercial law. Building on our multidisciplinary model, we can bring to any GC the whole range of the EY services.

In addition, we have embedded Legal Function Consulting, our Legal Operations Platform and Forensic and Integrity Services into our service offering to the GCO. With Legal Function Consulting, we aim to assist GCs in their task to optimise their resources and improve the productivity and quality review of their function. This transformation exercise creates the need for new tools that will enable the GC to achieve the envisaged results. One of these tools, is our Legal Operations Platform, a modular and bespoke solution, the backbone of a contemporary in-ouse legal function, tailored to the needs of any organisation, of any size, language or cross-border presence.

Finally, the continuous strive for transparency and integrity has been the driving force behind the close co-operation between EY Law and EY Forensic and Integrity Services, enabling GCs to process and review bulk data and conduct forensic analysis. We hope that our services will continue to make your life easier and will enable you to spend your valuable time where it most needed.

This event is for all of you. The people and the teams which are leading the way, pushing for innovation, quality, excellence. Congratulations to all of you. This recognition will most certainly work as a stimulus for further progress and hard work in the interests of your organisations.

Zieba & Partners

Zieba & Partners logo

Another year has flown by and we again find ourselves celebrating the achievements of in-house lawyers. We, as a firm, and I personally, am proud and delighted to be involved in this cause for another year, having sponsored The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: CEE since its inception in 2017.

A lot has happened in the last year to make the role of a CEE general counsel even more challenging. In Poland alone, we have faced significant changes to criminal and civil procedures, the VAT system, employment law, and real estate ownership rights.

The title ‘GC Powerlist: CEE’ is deceptive, as it suggests that general counsel in CEE only operate in the Central and Eastern Europe region, which fails to reflect the fact that Polish and CEE companies are becoming more and more global. As a private practice lawyer, I have seen a dramatic change in the nature of our assistance. Five years ago, approximately 75% of our work was of a domestic nature, with the remaining being international. Today, that proportion is completely flipped, with 75% of our work being international. For a CEE general counsel, the consequence of this is significant, resulting in a multiplication of duties and tasks. In the past it may have been enough for a CEE in-house lawyer to focus on the home and immediate neighbouring markets, however, today it is imperative for a CEE general counsel to be abreast of global changes.

And the global economic climate isn’t making a general counsel’s life easy. Ongoing topics such as Brexit and sanctions against China are having a wide impact on CEE businesses. Add to the mix the pressures of efficiency and the introduction of new technology, and you have a general counsel facing a highly challenging and shifting environment.

The GC Powerlist: CEE is a “who’s who” of senior in-house lawyers who have demonstrated that they are able to not only face but succeed in this challenging world, and have shown vision and purpose in doing so. They add real commercial value to their businesses and are increasingly recognised at the highest level. A number of the GCs listed already occupy seats at the boardroom table.

The GC Powerlist: CEE is a definitive line-up of the most innovative, focused and solution-minded in-house lawyers in the region, and we at Zięba & Partners look forward to the possibility of meeting and, where possible, working with this group of leading individuals.

Our sincere congratulations to all those featured.

Jones Day Hong Kong Roundtable 2024

The Legal 500 was thrilled to join a selection of top Jones Day partners and a hand-picked group of 15 the most prominent GCs in Hong Kong for a freewheeling and no-holds-barred discussion on geopolitical risk management at a time of global transition. Steve Brogan, managing partner of Jones Day from 2002-2022 flew over to lend his considerable expertise to the discussion, as did Partner-in-Charge Hong Kong Joelle Lau. Joining them to give expert briefings on the topics of the day were partners Peter Wang, Dr Qiang Xue, James Fidler, Samuel Ngo and Charles Chau. The conversation moved from sanctions and counter sanctions, to the increasing pre-eminence of the Asian economy, to the philosophy of the rule of law in times of crisis.