Eoin Gillen is APAC General Counsel at BNP Paribas, based in Hong Kong. Eoin leads a team of c.140 legal professionals based in 12 jurisdictions across APAC supporting BNP Paribas Group’s activities in the region. His team includes specialist lawyers supporting the Corporate and Institutional Banking, Wealth Management and Asset Management business lines as well as transversal teams covering corporate, digital, employment, non-contentious regulatory, litigation and regulatory investigations. Since taking the role of APAC General Counsel in 2020, Eoin has overseen a progressive and ongoing modernization of the legal department, working to enhance efficiency and control costs while also building a robust control framework to manage operational risks. He has also worked to promote the adoption and use of technology within the team and his teams have helped to automate the production of routine documentation, supporting the expansion and scalability of flow businesses and freeing up time to focus on development of new products, activities and markets and related legal risk management. His teams have also built expertise in sustainable finance and coordinate across product lines and regions to share best practices on this fast-evolving area. 

Eoin joined BNP Paribas in 2008, working first in the London office before relocating to Hong Kong in 2010. He is an experienced lawyer who spent much of his career advising on derivatives, securities and financial regulation, having previously headed the APAC Global Markets and Regulatory Advisory legal teams at BNP Paribas. He also previously held the position of Head of Legal for Greater China & South Korea, managing territory legal teams in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. Before joining BNP Paribas, he trained and worked with a top law firm in London and also worked as a legal structurer on the credit trading desk of one of the largest structured credit investors in the UK. Eoin holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Cambridge University. 

What is one leadership principle or practice that has had the greatest impact on your career as a GC?