About

Starting his professional career with German IT law boutique firm Bartsch und Partner, in Karlsruhe, Dr Olaf Johannsen took his first in-house role with Otto Group before joining Lufthansa Technik in 2011, progressing to his current role as head of legal Americas in 2016. ‘Working closely with the business is one of the main advantages of an in-house position’, Dr Johannsen explains. ‘This very close alignment resulted in many highlights over the years. Naming some of them would certainly include the complex negotiations in course of a large outsourcing project at the Otto Group as well as a major patent claim for Lufthansa Technik. And of course today, leading a team with extraordinary team members who are responsible for all legal matters in the entire region of the Americas is a true highlight on a day-to-day basis’. Always a team player, Dr Johannsen is keen to emphasise his status as just one part of an overall effort by the Lufthansa Technik legal function: ‘The legal department of Lufthansa Technik is part of the group-wide legal department of Lufthansa and all changes are a true teamwork success rather than the success of a single member. For example, led by Dr Hans-Joachim Arnold, we developed a group-wide legal strategy to ensure that every in-house counsel is as close to the business as possible, prepared for the digital transformation of our business as well as our legal department and an integral part of a strong team that is strongly supported by our leadership’.