Finland 2025 – GC Powerlist
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Finland 2025

Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel

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  • Industries

  • Powerlist

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Anastasiia Milne

Legal director | Fazer

Food, beverages and tobacco

Andreas Elving

Chief legal officer and general counsel | Ahlstrom

Materials and mining

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Anna-Maria Palmroos

Chief legal officer | Ilmatar

Energy and utilities

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Annamari Ahlmark

Senior vice president general counsel and chief compliance officer | Luvata

Materials and mining

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Anne Teitto

Senior legal counsel | Sampo

Insurance

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Anne Vainio

Senior corporate counsel and company secretary | Elisa

Information technology

Antti Lavonen

General counsel and secretary to the board of directors | F-Secure

Information technology

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Anu Tuomola

Executive vice president legal affairs and member of corporate management team | SOK

Information technology

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Ara Haikarainen

Chief legal officer | Patria Group

Industrials and real estate

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Ari Syrjäläinen

General counsel | Aktia

Financials

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Arno Glöckner

Group general counsel | SPX FLOW

Energy and utilities

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Åsa Thunman

Executive vice president and general counsel | Sandvik

Materials and mining

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Avonte Campinha-Bacote

General counsel | Oura Health

Healthcare

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Eero Mäkeläinen

Head of legal | Sinebrychoff

Food, beverages and tobacco

Eeva Airamaa

Country corporate counsel | ABB

Industrials and real estate

Elina Kaura

Executive vice president legal and compliance, and group general counsel | Assemblin Caverion Group

Industrials and real estate

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Elina Saviharju

Senior vice president legal and general counsel | Terveystalo

Healthcare

Esa Niinimäki

Chief legal officer | Nokia

Information technology

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Esa Hyttinen

Group general counsel | Olvi Group

Food, beverages and tobacco

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Essi Weseri

General counsel | Marimekko

Consumer products

Fei Lu

Head of legal, compliance and governmental affairs | Suunto

Consumer products

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Hanna Bromels

Chief legal officer    | Ålandsbanken (Bank of Åland)

Financials

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Hanna Kyrki

Executive vice president legal, compliance and security | Veikkaus

Sports and media

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Hanna Vahtola

Group general counsel | Maillefer

Industrials and real estate

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Heikki Untamala

Director legal and compliance | Consti

Industrials and real estate

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Helena Sneck

Chief legal officer | Bluefors

Information technology

Heli Vahvelainen

General counsel | Elenia

Energy and utilities

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Jaakko Liljeroos

Chief legal officer | Pihlajalinna

Healthcare

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Jaana Eklund

Board member and general counsel | Helen

Energy and utilities

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Jaana Klinga

General counsel | ILOQ

Information technology

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Janette Liespuu

Head of legal and compliance | Meyer Turku

Transport and infrastructure

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Janne Simula

Senior vice president and general counsel | Finavia

Transport and infrastructure

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Johan Nybergh

Chief legal officer | Neova Group

Food, beverages and tobacco

Johannes Frände

Executive vice president and general counsel | KONE

Industrials and real estate

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Juha Hölttä

General counsel | Valio

Food, beverages and tobacco

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Juha Jauhiainen

Corporate general counsel | YIT

Industrials and real estate

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Juha Mäkelä

General counsel | UPM

Materials and mining

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Juha Surve

Group general counsel | eQ Asset Management

Financials

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Juhani Pitkänen

Senior vice president and group general counsel | Valmet Automotive

Consumer products

Juhani Ristaniemi

Executive vice president and general counsel | Outokumpu

Materials and mining

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Jukka Hakkila

Group general counsel | Kemira

Materials and mining

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Jussi Koskinen

Head of group legal | Nordea

Financials

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Jussi Sokka

Executive vice president legal and governance and general counsel | S-Pankki

Financials

Jussi Tokola

General counsel | TietoEVRY

Information technology

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Jutta Karlsson

Group general counsel | Amer Sports

Consumer products

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Juulia Kurunsaari

General counsel | Ilmarinen

Insurance

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Kaarina Ståhlberg

Senior vice president legal and M&A | Posti Group

Transport and infrastructure

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Kai Erlund

General counsel, head of legal and compliance | Yle

Sports and media

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Kaisa Keski-Vähälä

Head of legal and commercial | Fujitsu Finland

Information technology

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Kaisa Latva

General counsel | Glaston

Materials and mining

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Kari Hietanen

Executive vice president, corporate relations and legal affairs | Wärtsilä

Industrials and real estate

Karim Tähtivuori

Head of legal | Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB)

Financials

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Kati Levoranta

Executive vice president legal and general counsel | Fortum

Energy and utilities

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Katriina Vainio

General counsel | Vaisala

Industrials and real estate

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Kimmo Karihtala

General counsel | Normet Group

Industrials and real estate

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Lasse Luukkainen

Director of legal affairs | Kesko

Consumer products

Laura Määttänen

Chief legal officer | Nordkalk

Materials and mining

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Liisa Krogerus

Senior vice president and general counsel | SRV

Industrials and real estate

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Liisa Tilli

Head of legal affairs | Finnvera

Financials

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Linda Magnusson

General counsel | Veritas

Insurance

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Lotta Väisänen

Head of compliance, legal and indirect procurement | Alko

Consumer products

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Mari Tyster

Executive vice president, legal and communications | MuniFin

Financials

Maria Parker

General counsel | Taitokaari

Industrials and real estate

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Marina Louhija

General counsel | Fingrid

Energy and utilities

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Merja Harju

General counsel | Atria

Food, beverages and tobacco

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Merja Karhapää

Vice president, group legal affairs | Sanoma

Materials and mining

Micaela Thorström

Executive vice president legal and general counsel | Stora Enso

Materials and mining

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Miika Arola

Group general counsel | Metsä Group

Materials and mining

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Mika Kervinen

General counsel | Digia

Information technology

Minna Frände

Head of legal | Microsoft

Information technology

Minna Raitanen

General counsel | Rovio Entertainment

Food, beverages and tobacco

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Mirkka Vainikka

General counsel | Oddlygood

Food, beverages and tobacco

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Nina Kiviranta

General counsel | Metso

Industrials and real estate

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Olli Nikitin

General counsel | Koskisen

Materials and mining

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Outi Aaltonen

Senior vice president and general counsel | Cargotec

Transport and infrastructure

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Pasi Erlin

General counsel and member of the executive management team | Taaleri

Financials

Paula Salminen

Head of legal affairs | OpusCapita

Information technology

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Pekka Ala-Vähälä

General counsel | Fastems

Industrials and real estate

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Petter Sandström

General counsel and member of the management team | Oriola

Healthcare

Piia Vuoti

General counsel | Elo

Financials

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Rasmus Oksala

General counsel | Valmet

Information technology

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Riikka Hartikainen

Head of legal, Finnish branch | Swedbank

Financials

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Riku Korpela

Director, legal and sustainability | Matkahuolto

Transport and infrastructure

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Saana Nurminen

General counsel | Solita

Commercial and professional services

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Saija Kivinen

General counsel | Telia Finland

Telecommunication services

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Sami Koski

General counsel | Mehiläinen

Healthcare

Sami Pauni

Executive vice president corporate affairs and legal, group general counsel, member of the global executive team | Huhtamaki

Food, beverages and tobacco

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Sami Sarelius

Senior vice president and general counsel | Finnair

Transport and infrastructure

Sami Takila

Senior vice president, legal | Enersense International

Energy and utilities

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Sanna Tuominen

Chief legal officer | Digita

Information technology

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Sara Leclerc

Group general counsel and senior vice president enterprise risk management and ESG | Goodpack

Materials and mining

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Sari Koivulehto-Mäkitalo

Chief legal officer, legal affairs and corporate responsibility | Raisio

Food, beverages and tobacco

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Sari Petäjäniemi-Soininen

General counsel and human resources director | Tamro

Healthcare

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Sebastian Jägerhorn

Execuive vice president legal and compliance | Karl Fazer

Food, beverages and tobacco

Selma Nieminen

Chief legal officer | Epassi Group

Information technology

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Sirpa Poitsalo

General counsel and secretary of the board | Konecranes

Industrials and real estate

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Susanna Tusa

General director and vice president | Nokian Tyres

Consumer products

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Taina Tirkkonen

General counsel and senior vice president human resources | Hiab

Transport and infrastructure

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Tanja Blomqvist

General counsel | Ren-Gas

Energy and utilities

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Tarja Vihinen

Chief legal officer | Eltel

Energy and utilities

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Tarmo Nikkilä

General counsel | Skanska

Industrials and real estate

Taru Kovanen

General counsel | Siili Solutions

Information technology

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Taru Uotila

Senior vice president legal and sustainability and general counsel | Aspo

Industrials and real estate

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Teemu Sipilä

General counsel and member of leadership team | VR Group

Transport and infrastructure

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Teija Kerminen

Chief legal officer | LähiTapiola

Insurance

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Tiia Ryhänen

General counsel | Korkia

Energy and utilities

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Tiina Lencioni

Head of legal and compliance | Lidl Finland

Consumer products

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Tiina Halmesmäki

General counsel | CapMan

Industrials and real estate

Tommi Mustonen

General counsel | ReOrbit

Industrials and real estate

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Tuomas Santala

General counsel | ARE Group

Industrials and real estate

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Tuomo Leino

Executive vice president, general counsel, secretary of the board and head of sustainability | Rapala VMC

Consumer products

Viljami Aarbakke

Legal director | Fortum

Energy and utilities

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Congratulations to everyone featured on our first ever standalone GC Powerlist Finland, which is long overdue. Previously, our coverage of this major European economy was limited to an edition covering legal teams in the Nordic region all the way back in 2016, when the world was very different, so we are close to a decade without our highlighting the Finnish GC community – happily, we are rectifying that with this publication! 

Thank you to everyone who interviewed with us for this project, as these interactions allow us to showcase insights from the world’s top GCs to a wide audience, and hopefully contribute to the knowledge base of the profession as a whole. I have picked some highlights to share from our research below. 

Through our GC Powerlist initiative, we hope to build bridges between general counsel so that they can learn from each other and help in their career development, which we know can be indispensable to individuals’ professional growth. Elina Kaura, executive vice president for legal and compliance and group general counsel of Assemblin Caverion Group, gives a great example of this: 

“Jutta Karlsson, currently the Group General Counsel for Amer Corporation, was my boss at Pöyry PLC from 2016 to 2019. Her trust and belief in me allowed me to shine and gave me the confidence to trust myself. I learned a great deal from her professionally, but even more importantly, I discovered that authenticity and joy in work and life in general are the key ingredients to reaching the next level when in the right environment to thrive. This principle guides me today in how I conduct myself and how I treat others.” 

Chief legal officer of Nokia Esa Niinimäki spoke about some of the unique insights and career that becoming a GC can provide 

‘One of the best parts of being a general counsel is the “general”: being exposed to so many areas of law with the different talented individuals in one’s own organisation. For me the most frequent activities include legal work relating to strategic growth areas of our business, M&A, commercial deals, IPR, litigation, regulatory tsunami, board work, ESG/sustainability, AI, people and culture. Another aspect where I derive a huge amount of satisfaction is how Chief Legal Officer is positioned in our company as a key contributor to strategic discussions:  a big part of my work as a Group Leadership Team member does not relate to legal and compliance at all but is rather about acting as a strategic partner to the business, CEO and Board relating to their key considerations.’ 

Taru Uotila, Senior vice president, legal and sustainability, and general counsel of Aspo, spoke eloquently of the importance of a general counsel in managing risk during less-than-ideal business conditions: 

‘We have witnessed an unprecedented number of significant crises during the past years – pandemic, Russian war in Ukraine, geopolitical tensions, climate crisis, and huge challenges in the global food chain. As the general counsel and member of our global executive team, I have been navigating through these crises and the VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) environment together with my team by partnering with the businesses to manage the impacts of uncertainty and disruption, participating in the executive management’s decision-making in the process. It is important that a general counsel represents stability, analytical support and active participation in alignment of the most strategically important topics. Creating a safe environment for the senior leadership, enabling them to focus on the right things, is the most important value-add a general counsel can provide.’  

And, summing up, Andreas Elving, chief legal officer and general counsel of Ahlstrom gave a succinct appraisal of the benefits of an experienced GC for a company:

‘In-house lawyers have one of the best vantage points in a company to be silo-breakers. In our day-to-day jobs, we are exposed to a number of different internal and external topics across the spectrum of commercial, regulatory, financial and other angles, and we are therefore uniquely positioned to connect dots. Using that position to provide outside-in perspectives to our business colleagues can foster interesting discussions and creative solutions in partnership with our stakeholders.’ 

But most importantly, congratulations to all featured in our first-ever standalone Finland GC Powerlist edition. We hope this is the start of a series of publications celebrating the best and brightest in the Finnish in-house legal community, as we know that the hard work of GCs is often not celebrated as much as it should be.  

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Supported by

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GC Powerlist Japan 2025

The Legal 500 was proud to host the third edition of the GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 at the Capitol Hotel Tokyu, honouring the top General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Directors, and senior in-house legal professionals operating at the highest level of Japan’s corporate legal landscape. Held in Tokyo, this year’s reception welcomed around 100 of the most respected and senior corporate counsel from across Japan. It was an unrivalled success, and cements Legal 500’s status as the leading force in legal media supporting the achievements of in-house counsel in Japan. The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 marks the continuation of our commitment to recognising excellence in-house, and this year’s edition represents the most competitive and selective list to date.

Joe Boswell, lead editor of the GC powerlist publication at The Legal 500, opened the evening with an introduction that reflected on the growing prestige of the Japan list. He emphasised how the Powerlist has grown stronger each year, both in scope and quality, making the task of selection more difficult. This year’s honourees emerged from a deeply competitive field, making their recognition even more meaningful.

Boswell extended heartfelt congratulations to all honourees and acknowledged the critical support of key partners and sponsors who made the evening possible. Special thanks were given to Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, JustLegal, and SS&C Intralinks for their generous sponsorship and ongoing collaboration.

In a moment of reflection, Joe paid tribute to Tim Mackey, chief legal officer at SoftBank, who sadly passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. Tim had contributed to the Powerlist in each of its three editions and was known not only for his exceptional legal acumen but also for his warmth and generosity.

The evening featured insightful remarks from distinguished speakers representing our partners and the broader legal community: Mischa Mulligan, Japan Director at SS&C Intralinks; Hiroki Kodate, Partner and Management Committee Member at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune; Jeremy White, Global Co-Chair of M&A for Morrison Foerster; and, representing those awarded in the Powerlist, Naoki Hamada, General Counsel for Japan at HSBC.

Each speaker provided reflections on legal innovation, leadership, and the evolving role of in-house counsel in Japan’s corporate landscape. Their remarks added valuable context to the achievements celebrated throughout the evening.

The formal awards segment celebrated this year’s GC Powerlist honourees. With assistance from long-time collaborator Isaac Uchiyama who read out awardees’ names, recipients were invited to collect their certificates, pose for photographs, and be formally recognised by their peers.

Certificates were presented on stage by Hiroki Kodate or Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Jeremy White of Morrison Foerster, whose participation further underlined the deep support of the Japanese and international legal communities.

The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 reception reaffirmed Legal 500’s commitment to spotlighting the very best of in-house legal talent. With record levels of interest and unmatched quality among candidates, the Japan edition continues to solidify its place as one of the most respected publications in the global GC Powerlist series.

We extend our sincere congratulations to all honourees and thank our partners, sponsors, and speakers for making the evening a success.

We look forward to returning to Tokyo again next year. As a parting gift, you can view Naoki Hamada’s excellent keynote address below, where he touches on a lot of issues and themes that many other GC, whatever country they operate in, will recognise:

‘Good evening, everyone. I am Naoki Hamada of HSBC. I am very pleased to be here speaking to you today. It is a great pleasure and honor, and at the same time, I feel a bit overwhelmed being surrounded by the busiest and most expensive lawyers in the industry—even if I know that nobody will be charging us for their time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Legal 500 for organizing such a great event, and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, SS&C Intralinks, and Just Legal for sponsoring and supporting it. And, huge congratulations on the recognition each of you is receiving, which is truly a great accomplishment and the result of your hard work and the accumulated trust the entire industry has placed in you.

It must be emphasized that this award is given only to general counsels. Being a general counsel means a lot more than just being a subject matter expert. You are a most reliable strategic partner for the business, and I am sure that you have distinguished yourself from the crowd by your ability to identify underlying risks, devise legal solutions, ensure the right processes and governance for corporate decisions, influence others, and educate the next generation of lawyers. This is what you are being recognized for.

Looking back on my career, I have been hugely helped by lawyers in other companies through various industry communities. When I joined the in-house world 12 years ago from a Japanese law firm, large international banks were all struggling with a huge wave of regulatory reform. Back then, I was relatively new to that particular area of finance, and my hiring was somewhat potential-based. Nonetheless, I was assigned to lead the regulatory reform efforts locally. My predecessor had left the bank before I joined, there was no sufficient handover, and I was completely lost as to what to do. What helped me most were the industry peer group discussions, where in-house counsels from major banks would get together to discuss common issues. I learned so much from what was discussed there and absorbed as much as I could. Without that network, I am sure that I wouldn’t have survived that time.

However, our situation today is far more difficult. The changes in the landscape we face today are unprecedented. Technological developments and the corresponding shifts in geopolitical and industrial landscapes are completely unpredictable, and the speed at which they happen is far faster than before. We might face a time that requires us to pivot, forcing us to redefine how we add value and rebuild the way we work. That is somewhat intimidating. But, I am confident that a way forward will be found through the collective wisdom and effort of the people in this room. I would like to be a part of that, and this network of people is enormously valuable and truly priceless.

Finally, let’s have a drink and celebrate our achievements for now – before your CEO calls asking you to join a call! Thank you so much.’