Torsten Hildebrand – GC Powerlist
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Germany 2019

Torsten Hildebrand

General counsel | WERTGARANTIE Group

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Germany 2019

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Torsten Hildebrand

General counsel | WERTGARANTIE Group

About

Torsten Hildebrand joined the WERTGARANTIE Group as general counsel in 2017. At WERTGARANTIE he is responsible for all legal, regulatory, governance and compliance matters of the organisation and part of the leadership team. Prior to his current role, Hildebrand had a successful 13-year spell at AIG in a number of positions, finally as head of legal for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Hildebrand explains that his move from private practice to an internal position was an important landmark in his career: ‘The perspective, the interaction with stakeholders, the complexity and variety of legal work as well as the collaboration with diverse and cross-functional teams have become a new dimension. The entrepreneurial freedom that AIG and WERTGARANTIE have given me has also positively moulded me as a business lawyer’. Over the past two years, Hildebrand has formed a pioneering team and brought the legal department closer to the company’s business units. ‘General counsel must seize opportunities that are also recognised by the company. This requires a committed and future-oriented team that is willing to add value’. He also works closely with the IT team to explore, develop and implement new automated processes and task management tools, has applied new agile working methods that help manage instructions more efficiently and implemented a strong document management and filing system that supports the administration and reporting of the legal department. The last three years have been very busy for both Hildebrand and his team: ‘In addition to our daily work, we have carried out several key projects with significant impact on our business, which have shaped the workload of my team. We reorganised the group structure, established a new support unit for the board of directors and the supervisory board, identified a panel of external lawyers supporting us internationally, ensured compliance with the GDPR and implemented the EU Insurance Distribution Directive. From a business perspective, a major achievement was the regulatory approval of a new line of business in mandatory motor vehicle insurance to insure so-called light electric’. His advice to aspiring general counsel is: ‘Immerse yourself in the business, be proactive and contribute to a sustainable business strategy. Let people understand that the in-house legal function adds value. Lead with trust and respect to ensure employees give their best’. In addition to his current activities as general counsel, he teaches regularly at the Faculty of Law of Leibniz University Hannover.

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