About

John Kajander has held a number of roles atypical for a legal professional. He has previously served as Brigade Chief of Operations in the United States armed forces reserves and undertook a 14 month combat tour where he was responsible for organising around 6,000 troops in often difficult circumstances. This ability to produce excellent work under pressure has come in useful in his time as legal counsel. Kajander’s in-house career has been largely spent at General Motors, where he began as an executive attorney in March 2006. He was appointed regional counsel of their consolidated international operations department and worked as a transactions specialist dealing with cross-border joint ventures and collaborations in a number of jurisdictions including China, Russia, India and the Middle East. His impeccable work during these deals, and his collaboration with senior management in the company saw Kajander handed the role as general counsel at SAIC General Motors, a joint venture between General Motors and SAIC. His role in the company covers everything from routine legal advice to offering strategic business guidance to senior management. He oversees a team of 17 lawyers that deals with a range of issues, from compliance polices, insurance, joint ventures and large asset purchases. Kajander serves as executive director of the company and is a prominent figure in the region’s automotive sector. Part of Kajander’s success in the sector can be attributed to his time spent as an engineer at General Dynamics and Ford at the start of his career.