Julien Vandenbussche joined asset management and investment group, Tikehau Investment Management in in January 2016 and has been central to creating the legal department and assisting the company in its expansion through the creation of more foreign offices across the board. He has also centralised the fund structuring business of the company, which has enabled a ‘smooth and fast’ development of the business, making it centralised and rationalised. Vandenbussche comes from a private practice background and is commended for successfully creating a value-adding function to the organisation in his first in-house role.

Whilst in private practice, he focused on investment funds, asset management, private equity and real estate. Discussing traits that are integral to moulding a leading in-house counsel, Vandenbussche concedes, ‘being a legal expert but simultaneously part of the business as general counsel with the ability of a business partner, and collaborating closely with the business to make projects come together in a similar legal environment’- factors which have been crucial to his success.