About

Christian Sommer boasts an extensive and varied career at Vodafone, the telecommunications giant which accounts for 33% of mobile market shares in Germany. Sommer joined Vodafone in 2001 in the capacity of senior legal counsel, and subsequently moved up the ranks to a number of more senior roles. Some of the roles he’s taken on within the company include executive legal counsel and head of legal partner markets, Vodafone’s franchising line of business which is now active in more than 70 countries. Sommer has been central to overseeing its cross-jurisdictional operations throughout the business, giving him invaluable experience as a legal professional: ‘Supporting this business from scratch gave me the opportunity to getting exposure to literally all types of business behaviours, cultures and subsequently legal regimes. It gave me the unmatched opportunity to develop and apply different negotiation and communication skills’ he claims. Assuming his current position as group legal director in November 2011, one of Sommer’s career highlights is his involvement in the implementation of a legal contract lifecycle management system, the first of its kind in Vodafone and an industry leading solution. This implementation was recently recognised by the Financial Times, a testament to Sommer’s competence as a leader and thinker. Most recently Sommer has been tasked with the legal support of the joint venture between Vodafone and Liberty in the Netherlands, and between Vodafone and Idea in India.