Group general counsel and chief counsel East Hemisphere | Ethos Energy
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group head of legal and compliance | SAES Group
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Managing director legal southern Europe | FedEx
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Repower Italia
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Assistant general counsel | MoneyGram International
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal Italy at BBVA – corporate and investment banking | BBVA
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Director head of legal – Italy and Spain | eBay
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel | ERG Power Generation
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel | Leonardo
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel | Benetton Group
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of group strategic legal affairs | Assicurazioni Generali
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Global general counsel | Gucci
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel | Assicurazioni Generali
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Associate group general counsel, global legal head for resources and services industry and group head of litigation and dispute resolution | Atos
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Ferrari
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Juventus
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal shared services Italy | Kering
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Ansaldo Energia
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Atlantia
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel | Cementir Holding
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal and compliance | Nestlé Group
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel, corporate secretary and board member | Generali Group
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel | Intesa Sanpaolo
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal and compliance – Europe | Nokia
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal and compliance | Boehringer Ingelheim Italia
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Senior vice president legal | DAZN group
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Chief legal officer | Ferrero International
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal and corporate affairs | Hearst Italia Group
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Chief legal officer | Amplifon
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
EU operations legal director and AGC | Amazon
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Banca Carige
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal | Barclays
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal for Italy | Shell Italia E&P
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Rai – Radiotelevisione Italiana
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of group general legal affairs | Assicurazioni Generali
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Salvatore Ferragamo
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal – Italy | PayPal
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | TeamSystem
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | UniCredit
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel, head of legal and compliance | Schindler Italy
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Avio
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Chief legal officer | Tenova
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Legal director | Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company Italy
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
SVP regional general counsel, chief risk officer | NTT Data EMEA
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | DS Smith
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal and corporate affairs | Enel Green Power
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal and compliance | Snam
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel | Fiera Milano
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Legal director | Hewlett Packard Enterprise
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal | Iliad Italia
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal and corporate affairs | DeA Capital
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Legal director | Prada
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Aviva Italy
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Sky Italia
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel | Giuseppe Zanotti
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Bosch Italia
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel | Ariston Group
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group vice president – legal southern Europe | Discovery Networks International
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group associate general counsel | Autogrill
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Althea Group
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Senior counsel head of gas and oil and international arbitration | Edison
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | OVS
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of International Legal | Intesa Sanpaolo
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal advisory DCM and risk transfer | Banca IMI
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal | Automobili Lamborghini
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Wind Tre
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Legal director | Mercury Luxury Group
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel Europe | GE Power Services
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Legal affairs director | Kone
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Vice president legal affairs | Prysmian Group
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel Italy | Next Energy Capital
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group legal counsel | Angel Company
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Senior vice president and chief legal officer | Pirelli
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel | Gardant
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Air Liquide Italy
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Technogym
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Maserati
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Valentino
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel | Geox
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head legal global wealth management | UBS
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Bottega Veneta
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Senior legal counsel | Poste italiane
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Replay
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of corporate and legal; secretary of the board of directors | Prelios SGR
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Business development director – M&A legal affairs | Kimbo
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Legal affairs director southern Europe and regional compliance officer | Hilti Italia
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel | Trussardi
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Moncler
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Aeroporto di Bologna
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel and chief compliance officer | Pillarstone
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Comau
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Group general counsel | Luigi Lavazza
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Rizzani de Eccher
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal and corporate affairs | Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Vice president legal affairs Italy | AstraZeneca
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
VP, global legal, general counsel | Versace
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Chief legal and corporate affairs officer – board secretary | Brembo
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Director of legal services contracting | Accenture
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
Head of legal affairs | Net-a-Porter Group
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
General counsel | Denso Thermal Systems
#GCPowerlist Italy 2022
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges and disrupted the daily lives of everyone, and the business world is no different. Companies worldwide now commonly have a remote approach to work, place greater attention on their employee’s wellbeing and remain scarred by significant repercussions on financial performance. In this new scenario general counsel have assumed the roles of leaders in their organisations – closely collaborating with business partners and driving
the decision-making process, with increased responsibilities to take action in a continuously changing environment.
This year’s Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Italy 2022 emphasises the strategic position that in-house counsel came to assume. As one in-house lawyer put it ‘General counsel ought to be leaders for their co-workers and their actions should aim at the improvement of the company. They must balance business needs with compliance rules, sustainability and the health and safety of their employees.’ Italian general counsel have earned a seat at the decision-making table, giving advice beyond the purely legal domain on matters such as risk management, security, data protection, ESG and digitalisation.
Italy is the third largest economy in the Eurozone, and its strategic position has always attracted international business thanks to the direct entrance to the European single market, Northern Africa, and the Middle East. The outbreak of Covid-19 has dramatically affected global economies; however, Italy’s growth was positive, and it is expected to progress in the following years. In-house legal teams have been crucial in adapting to the new environment, adopting flexible thinking, and embracing innovation to keep up with their companies’ agendas while also mitigating risks.
Italy’s in-house lawyers have proven their leadership and resilience by developing a whole new skillset to navigate unprecedented crisis and promote the well-being of their teams and their internal clients. They demonstrated how they can add value to their companies by addressing changes and finding viable solutions. They have also become leaders of change – keeping up with digitalisation and innovation, speeding up the processes of corporations and increasing their efficiency. The pandemic accelerated the turn to technology, representing an exceptional opportunity to change the way legal teams operate and embrace their versatility.
A profound gratitude is extended to every in-house lawyer who participated in this edition of the Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Italy 2022. In this edition, we acknowledge your leadership role in overcoming the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic and highlight the value that you bring to your respective organisations. I am extremely honoured to present this list of Italy’s most outstanding, resilient, and acclaimed in-house lawyers.
Sara Maggi
Researcher:
GC Powerlist Series
Events like this are welcome spotlight on the crucial role of GCs in business. In the past year, GCs have been continuing to deal with the fallout of the pandemic, but also taking on a range of new responsibilities.
Compliance is a core part of GCs’ work and companies are having to comply with rapidly evolving regulatory regimes in multiple areas, which are often diverging between different jurisdictions.
Closer scrutiny is being paid to governance standards and corporate behaviour more generally. Expectations, notably on workplace conduct, environmental responsibilities and other ESG-related issues, are greater. Employees, stakeholders, governments and the public alike
expect businesses to disclose more- and do more
-about multiple urgent problems: climate change, data privacy, labour practices, pollution.
In response, the last few years have seen GCs step out of the shadows, moving from ancillary consultant to primary partner. GCs have never had a more important role: to make a mistake in any of these areas is to risk serious reputational damage, fines or worse.
Alongside these already-expanded, high-pressure responsibilities, GCs are now becoming more involved in the big decisions. Instead of having
to deal with the legal implications of an already
made strategic decision, GCs are at the table, involved in strategic discussions. GCs have more of say in large transactions and spend more time in close conversations with their company’s boards.
Our fast-moving world is driving a change in how GCs work and when they become involved. Before, a GC might be tasked with defining the legal
limits of an already-agreed proposal. But the time constraints of today’s fast-moving and competitive market mean this approach is no longer tenable. Now, GCs are working in parallel with other leaders, embedding legal factors in the core of corporate strategy.
Advances in ‘legaltech’ could help ‘automate’ this first part of a GC’s work and free up their time. Machine learning tools, such as those that already help with document review, may ease some of the burden on GCs and allow them to concentrate on the more difficult (and interesting) parts of the job.
As a full-service firm focused on corporate advice, we see the difference first-hand. GCs are
a key contact when we are undertaking market changing restructurings and transactions. Few understand a business’s risks and opportunities better than the GC, and that expertise is valuable. Likewise, we bring our own expertise, won of long experience. Where a large multinational business might undertake a single transformational transaction once in a decade, Freshfields lawyers will likely have done ten similar deals in the past year.
Experience is also important in ESG, which has become a key consideration in all our work. Freshfields has made ambitious global commitments and measurable targets, and we are making good progress. We are proud to be drawing upon more diverse perspectives and we see first hand the benefits of diversity, both in our teams
and when working with our clients.
We all need to think more carefully about how we do business. For example, Freshfields has been carbon neutral since 2007,and since 2015 has done so through Freshfields REAP, a reforestation programme that strengthens the livelihoods of over 8,000 farmers in East Africa. But drastic changes to business models can be needed. Some businesses are under pressure to dispose of high-carbon assets, for example, while others face criticism for perceived unsustainable practices.
Our sustainability practice works with our other teams to help seize opportunities and manage risks of their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, handling everything from advanced
due diligence around corporate transactions to some of the highest-profile climate change-related lawsuits in the world.
We think sustainability will be yet another consideration for GCs- if it’s not already. And, adding in this final extra responsibility, we see the GC of today and the future: a sophisticated lawyer with a generalist knowledge, able to see the strategic big picture and fill in the local detail.
Congratulations to everyone on this year’s Powerlist, which highlights the evolving responsibilities of the GC in a changing world. We look forward to working with you.
It has been a great pleasure to host the GC Powerlist: Italy 2022 at the Armani Hotel, in Milan. Nearly thee years after the event last took place, the fifth edition of the event was a great success. Our head of GC Powerlists Gurpartap Basra and research editor Margherita Birri congratulated the talented GCs for their brilliant work. Every year it is harder to select from such capable figures. We, therefore, congratulate each of the GCs for facing continuous challenges and coming out stronger than before. A special thank you to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, our sponsor, who supported The Legal 500 for the third consecutive edition.