Team size: Seven
  
What are the most significant cases, projects and/or transactions that you and/or your legal team have recently been involved in?

Over the past few years, our legal team has been involved in numerous strategic initiatives across Europe and Emerging Markets. However, if I were to highlight one particularly significant set of projects, it would be the integration of recently acquired entities in Europe and Emerging Markets.
These integrations represented far more than legal formalities; they were complex transformational journeys that required close alignment between business strategy, culture, and compliance. The legal function played an instrumental role in shaping the overall integration strategy, serving as a cornerstone to ensure coherence across jurisdictions, prevent organisational silos, and act as a catalyst for collaboration.

Each phase of integration unfolded through successive waves, which demanded adaptability and continuous learning. With every new phase, I made sure that we, as a Team, leveraged the lessons learned from previous experiences to anticipate risks, streamline decision-making, and improve efficiency. This approach helped us evolve from simply managing transitions to actively driving them.

Crucially, our mindset was never to replicate existing Coloplast processes and impose them on newly integrated organisations. Instead, we remained open to change, identifying best practices from the acquired entities and using them to challenge, simplify, and improve our own existing frameworks. This openness to learning and re-invention has become a defining feature of how we operate as a legal team.

From the early post-acquisition due diligence to the creation of harmonised governance and compliance structures, legal has acted as a strategic partner and enabler of growth. Working hand in hand with all the departments involved, we ensured that integration was not only legally compliant and efficient, but also culturally cohesive and forward-looking. Ultimately, these projects have demonstrated that legal can be both a guardian and a driver of transformation, helping the organisation stay agile, connected, and ready to evolve.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

Managing legal aspects during periods of instability requires a combination of structure, adaptability, and trust. My approach is anchored in three principles: collaboration, dynamic prioritisation, and continuous alignment with the business.

Collaboration within the team is key. With a footprint spanning multiple countries and cultures, we rely on open communication and mutual support. Every challenge is a collective effort, no one operates in isolation. This ‘one team’ mindset allows us to respond with speed and cohesion, turning uncertainty into coordinated action.

During turbulent periods, priorities can shift daily. To stay agile and focused, I implemented a Task Mapping Dashboard that helps us continuously reassess our priorities based on impact, urgency, and strategic value. This living tool ensures that our efforts are channeled where they truly matter, providing clarity and transparency both within the team and with senior management.
Resilience also depends on constant alignment with our business stakeholders. We maintain regular dialogue with leadership and operational teams to stay close to emerging risks, strategic shifts, and evolving organisational needs. Legal must remain connected to the business pulse: pragmatic, forward-looking, and ready to adapt.

This approach has proven particularly important in the current context. Earlier this year, Coloplast entered a period of transition, with a change in leadership as our CEO, Kristian Villumsen, stepped down in May 2025 and an interim CEO took over. At the same time, our previous strategic cycle came to an end on 30 September, paving the way for the launch of a new five-year strategy, “Impact 4.” Such moments naturally bring organisational adjustments and a temporary reduction in visibility.
Rather than viewing this as a crisis, I see it as an opportunity to reinforce our collective agility and resilience. For my Team, this means staying close to the business, ensuring continuity, and providing clarity amid change. By remaining transparent about priorities, supporting decision-making, and anticipating the implications of strategic evolution, we help the organisation navigate uncertainty with confidence.

In essence, resilience is built on clarity, empowerment, and communication. My goal is to ensure that my team members are seen as a source of stability and trust, a partner that helps the organisation stay compliant, decisive, and future-ready, even in times of transformation.

How does your team contribute to the overall business strategy of the company? Can you share an example of a recent legal-led initiative that had a significant impact?

The legal department plays an active role in shaping the company’s strategic direction by continuously seeking ways to simplify, accelerate, and strengthen decision-making. One of the most impactful initiatives we have recently implemented is the introduction of AI-driven tools, including an internal legal chatbot designed to support our stakeholders with routine queries.
This innovation has transformed the way we operate. By automating recurring and relatively low-value requests (such as basic contract questions or policy clarifications), the chatbot allows internal stakeholders to access reliable information quickly, while freeing up our time to focus on more strategic matters. The result is a double gain: faster response times for the business and greater capacity for my team to engage on topics that truly drive impact.

We see this not only as a technological achievement but as a cultural shift. Every member of the team contributes to the chatbot’s continuous improvement, providing feedback, refining answers, and identifying new use cases. This customer-centric mindset ensures the tool evolves in line with the organisation’s real needs, while fostering ownership and innovation within the legal function itself.

Of course, we remain humble: this is a collective learning journey, and we are still refining our use of AI responsibly. But the early results are promising: we are seeing measurable efficiency gains and stronger engagement from our stakeholders. More importantly, it reinforces the perception of legal as a forward-thinking, solution-oriented partner that adds tangible value to the business strategy.

What is a cause, business or otherwise, that you are passionate about? Why is this?

A cause I am particularly passionate about is fostering a true ‘speak-up’ culture, one that empowers people to express themselves openly, share ideas, and challenge constructively. I had the chance to be an ambassador for our Inclusion & Diversity workforce, and I really enjoyed it.

For me, trust is the foundation of any successful team. Building that trust requires creating an environment where every voice matters, where feedback flows both top-down and bottom-up, and where people feel safe to raise concerns or propose improvements without fear of judgment. This mindset has been central to how I lead and how I encourage my team to operate across regions.
Promoting a speak-up culture goes beyond compliance; it’s about building psychological safety and encouraging accountability. It is also about inclusion, ensuring that diversity of thought and experience genuinely shapes the way we make decisions. In practice, this means holding regular feedback sessions (‘pause for passion’ as we call them in Coloplast), celebrating transparency, and treating constructive disagreement as a sign of strength rather than dissent.

In times of rapid change, openness and trust are what keep teams resilient and connected. I firmly believe that by fostering dialogue, we not only strengthen our ethical foundation but also our collective creativity. A culture where people can speak up is a culture that can evolve. And that is the type of organisation I strive to help build every day.