France 2025
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
SVP General Counsel/ I&C Officer France & Northen Europe | The Adecco Group
Group general counsel, vice president legal, risks and compliance, company secretary | Colas Group
Group general secretary and general counsel | Expleo Group
Executive Vice-President, General Counsel & Compliance Officer | Mérieux NutriSciences
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | Forvia
General counsel and corporate secretary, member of the Airbus executive committee, chairman of Airbus UK | Airbus
Executive vice president and group general counsel | Capgemini
General counsel for EMEA, for IP/IT and global vendors | Ipsos
Chief Legal Officer of Renewables Global Business Unit of ENGIE and VP Excom member of Global Energy management and Supply (in charge of Legal, Ethics and Compliance) | ENGIE GREEN
Directrice juridique Eni gas & power France SA | Eni Plenitude France
Group corporate social responsibility director and general counsel | VERALLIA
General Counsel, Senior Vice Predident Legal, Contracts and Compliance | Thales
Legal Director – Cross-Functional Projects (Directeur Juridique - Projets Transverses) | Carrefour
Senior Legal Manager - Real Estate & Infrastructure, EMEA | EQUINIX
General Counsel / Directeur Juridique Groupe | Tokheim
Group General Counsel and Secretary of the Board of Directors | Dassault Aviation
Gerenral Secretary and Execurive General Counsel | Pluxee
Executive vice president, legal affairs and internal audit | Bureau Veritas Group
Directeur Exécutif,  Société du Grand Paris | Société des Grands Projets
Associate Group General Counsel - Head of Telecom Media Technology & Southern Europe | Atos
Groupe General Counsel & Secretary of the Board | Tarkett
Group general counsel and general secretary | Valeo
Group General Counsel and Member of the Management Board | Vivendi
Group General Counsel and Secretary of the Board of Directors | Eramet
Director of legal affairs and privacy data protection officer | Radio France
Group General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | Séché Environnement
Secretary General and General Counsel | Safran Electronics and Defense
Directeur des Affaires Juridiques de l'Audit et du Contrôle | Atalian
Vice president, group general counsel and company secretary | Dassault Systèmes
Group General Counsel and member of the Executive Committee | VallourecÂ
Vice-président exécutif pour les affaires juridiques et Directeur juridique | Tetra Pak
Vice President and General Counsel France | Schneider Electric
Group General Counsel and General Director for Continental Europe | Greycoat
Directeur des affaires juridiques holding Total SA | Total Exploration & Production
Legal Director M&A, Corporate and IP, Equans France | EQUANS
Executive director legal and compliance, audits and risks, professional interaction excellence | Roche
Secrétaire générale et directrice juridique (secretary general and general counsel) | La Banque Postale
On behalf of Legal 500, I am delighted to introduce the GC Powerlist: France 2025.
This edition recognises the general counsel and in-house legal teams who play a pivotal role in shaping France’s corporate and legal landscape. Through our research, we met with professionals who not only provide expert legal guidance but also influence strategy, drive transformation, and support business growth.
Across France, general counsel are stepping well beyond traditional roles. They are central to navigating complex regulations, enabling innovation, advancing sustainability and governance priorities, and guiding their organisations through periods of rapid change. The GC Powerlist: France 2025 celebrates those who combine deep legal expertise with leadership, vision, and purpose.
As Julie Duvivier, Head of Legal at Klépierre, explains: ‘The legal team is not only there to manage risks but to enable performance and support the company’s ambition with pragmatic, business-oriented advice.’
Her words capture a wider sentiment shared by many of this year’s GCs, that legal excellence is no longer limited to protecting the business, but to helping it move forward responsibly and effectively.
This mindset also defines how French legal leaders approach uncertainty. As Nathalie Dubois, Legal and CSR Director, puts it ‘Periods of instability are the right time to circle back to our essential values: from a technical perspective, rigorous risk analysis and from a team perspective, solidarity, collaboration, transparency and respect.’
Her emphasis on values and collective strength reflects a defining quality of France’s in-house community: resilience built on shared principles and trust.
Transformation, meanwhile, is not just technological but human. Benoît Ternon, General Counsel at Coloplast, reminds us that innovation must serve purpose ‘For us, AI is less about disruption than about maturity: it challenges us to rethink our ways of working, to enhance analytical depth, and to focus human expertise where it matters most; judgment, strategy, and impact.’
Finally, resilience in practice depends on preparation and proximity. As Malak Tazi, Group General Counsel at Club Med, observes ‘Frequent and regular contacts with teams on the ground; making sure the right processes are in place before the crisis happens.’
These insights reflect a broader shift within France’s legal community: from risk management to value creation, from technical advice to strategic influence, and from individual expertise to collective impact.
We are proud to present this year’s GC Powerlist: France, a celebration of legal professionals who are redefining the future of corporate law and connecting local insight with global impact.
On 26 February, Legal 500 returned to Lagos to launch the latest edition of the GC Powerlist: Nigeria, hosted at the exclusive Metropolitan Club and attended by more than 100 senior in‑house lawyers from across the country. The evening brought together many of Nigeria’s most influential corporate counsel for a programme that blended recognition, thought leadership and high‑level networking in a setting that reflected the prestige of the series. Honourees were celebrated for the impact they have made within their organisations, their contributions to the wider legal ecosystem and their ability to drive innovation and strategic value across sectors ranging from finance and energy to technology and consumer markets.
The event opened with remarks from David Freeman, Global Business Development Manager at Legal 500, who spoke about the significance of the GC Powerlist in Nigeria and the evolving role of in‑house counsel as strategic leaders. He highlighted the growing influence of general counsel in shaping governance, regulatory engagement and business transformation, setting a purposeful tone for the evening.
The programme continued with insights from two distinguished speakers. Adedoyin Afun, Partner at Bloomfield, offered a forward‑looking analysis of Nigeria’s regulatory and transactional landscape, noting the increasing pressures and opportunities facing in‑house teams as they navigate compliance shifts, cross‑border transactions and the expectation to operate as commercial partners. He was followed by keynote speaker Angela Omo‑Dare, retired General Counsel of Stanbic IBTC Group, whose reflective address on leadership, ethics and the long‑term development of legal teams resonated strongly with the audience. Drawing on her extensive career, she underscored the GC’s role as an ethical steward, culture‑shaper and trusted adviser to senior leadership.
After the formal proceedings, guests enjoyed dinner and continued discussions on emerging trends shaping the Nigerian legal landscape, from regulatory reform and investment flows to legal operations and talent development. The atmosphere remained warm and engaged throughout, reinforcing the sense of community that has become synonymous with the GC Powerlist.
Overall, the GC Powerlist: Nigeria 2026 launch event ultimately reaffirmed Legal 500’s commitment to celebrating and elevating the work of general counsel in one of Africa’s most dynamic markets. With its combination of high‑calibre speakers, strong industry representation and meaningful recognition, the event stood out as a defining moment in the 2026 calendar and further strengthened the platform’s role as a convening force for leadership and professional excellence within Nigeria’s in‑house legal community.
Legal 500 extends its sincere thanks to Bloomfield Law for its invaluable support of this year’s publication.
