How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

In general, it is an advantage for our organisation that it is relatively flat and agile. Gathering of relevant risk information and risk assessments can be executed swiftly, helping us to navigate during periods of instability or crises, thereby ensuring the organisation’s resilience.

The legal strategy in Gabriel is closely aligned with the overall business strategy, ensuring that legal considerations support the goals of the Gabriel Group.

Our focus is on early risk identification and identifying potential legal challenges before they escalate. Maintaining up-to-date knowledge of relevant laws and regulations ensures that we remain compliant during changing circumstances.

It is our overall approach to manage legal risks during periods of instability or crises by proactive legal risk management and supporting the organisation with relevant legal knowledge in different scenarios.

What are the major cases or transactions you have been involved in recently?

As Gabriel Holding A/S is a noted company on Nasdaq OMX Copenhagen I am in many ways limited in disclosing the cases and transactions that I have been involved in. However, since it has already been made public the Gabriel Group is working on selling its FurnMaster activities. During my last 6 years with Gabriel, I have been on the other side of the table, in purchasing different companies, so it is interesting to be on the selling side this time.

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company?

It is difficult to pinpoint because in Gabriel we have been working with sustainability practices for so many years, so such practices are well integrated into our core business operations. Since 1995/96 we have been reporting on sustainability topics, in the beginning mainly related to the environmental impact and later more broad sustainability topics. This year for the first time we will be reporting according to CSRD. In my role as group general counsel, I participate as a central part of the implementation team contributing with my legal experience deciphering the legal framework behind the disclosure requirements of CSRD. I believe that it creates value and ownership working interdisciplinary with sustainability practices, thereby creating a group understanding of why and how such practices can be integrated in all processes and what value it brings, and not just for reporting purposes or requirements.