Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?  

The company has a turnover of over €4 billion and owns several major financial holdings. Over time, all this has generated costs and inefficiencies in the management of legal practices. With my inclusion, we started a reorganisation of the office and of the management policy for external legal advisors. We succeeded in proposing new forms of collaboration with external legal counsel and introduced systems of procedures and controls on the work of consultants and members of the legal department, achieving significant organisational improvements.
 

Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years?  

It is foreseeable that over the next five years the general counsel will consolidate its role in assisting the CEO and top management with legal issues relevant to the Group, leading the delivery of integrated and commercially focused legal solutions and supporting the global business to enable its strategic objectives and growth. In this role, the general counsel will progressively assume greater risks and responsibilities in terms of corporate business development and will be relevant in the interpretation of legal systems as never before.
 

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?  

Our company has launched the ‘close the Gap, let’s reduce the differences’ campaign on gender equality and inclusion and has also adhered to the UN Women Empowerment Principles (WEP), as well as presented the first appointment of its Academy, a cultural and educational operation open to all employees and members. I am proud to have introduced such important principles into the legal department and I believe that our working environment is ‘truly’ inclusive and fair. Compliance with D&I and the WEP is not just a ‘formal’ matter. It represents an organisational pillar of our company and thus of our legal department.