Team size: 25

Career Biography

Natsue is an accomplished general counsel and senior executive with over 20 years’ experience advising senior management, boards of directors and audit committees in multinational corporations across Asia, North America and Europe.

She brings deep expertise in areas including legal, IP, compliance, risk management, corporate governance, global group company management, M&A oversight and data privacy.

With proven ability to navigate complex regulatory landscapes across diverse industries such as finance, medical devices, automotive and gaming (gambling), she aligns governance frameworks with shareholder and investor priorities while fostering a culture of compliance and ethical leadership in organisations. Natsue is an award-winning thought leader and trusted partner to senior management seeking strategic, independent and globally informed oversight.

With a strong commitment and vision for the next generation of in-house legal professionals, she is advancing a mission to transform the legal function into strategic, ethical and analytical business partners that can drive sustainable organisation growth.

Qualifications and Awards: US licensed attorney (New York) and Certified Information Privacy Professional/US; named in the GC Powerlist Japan 2023/2024/2025; received Privacy Law Professional of 2024 award; appointed CLO and Japan Ambassador for the Global Council for Responsible AI.

What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past twelve months?

I provided end-to-end legal support for the M&A transactions involving GAN and Stakelogic, including comprehensive reviews of transaction documents (agreements, PR materials, regulatory filings, and licensing matters) and continuous legal advice through closing. I also addressed overseas litigation risks by coordinating with local external counsels on multiple lawsuits. I delivered intensive legal support on election-related activities through close collaboration with the business and external counsel, establishing a practical compliance framework, preparing materials for law enforcement and concluding the matter without incident, materially strengthening compliance across the organisation.

I also played a central role in establishing legal, IP and data privacy organisational foundations for the newly launched gaming segment and to support the smooth post-merger group integration of acquired group companies. I aligned understanding of the Group’s organisational structure, management policies and roles and responsibilities, while establishing effective cross-functional collaboration among legal, IP and data privacy teams. Assistance with key legal matters was key, including multi-jurisdictional licensing arrangements, regulatory investigation responses, the establishment of a new overseas office, a significant debt recovery efforts abroad, etc. I provided 100% shared IP support, delivering end-to-end services across prosecution, brand protection, invention creation, dispute management, global strategy and training, thereby reinforcing technological competitiveness and business risk control within the gaming business.

What are the key trends that in-house counsel should be monitoring over the coming months?

One of the most important trends for in‑house counsel to monitor is the rapidly growing set of legal and regulatory issues related to technology, particularly cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, including generative AI. As digital transformation accelerates, legal teams must stay ahead of evolving regulations, enforcement trends and emerging risks involving data protection, system integrity, AI governance and responsible use. In‑house counsel are increasingly expected to work proactively with IT, security and risk management teams to design practical governance frameworks covering incident response, third‑party and AI tool adoption, data usage and accountability. This reflects a broader shift toward anticipatory, cross‑functional legal leadership, to protect the organisation while also enabling innovation and scalable use of new technologies.

What is a cause, business or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

I am deeply passionate about developing the next generation of in-house legal professionals and redefining the role of the legal function within organisations to become strategic, ethical and analytically driven business partners. To that end, I am committed to building legal organisations that cultivate commercial understanding, sound judgment and a strong sense of professional responsibility. My goal is to foster legal teams that not only safeguard the organisation, but also enable sustainable innovation, trustworthy governance and long-term value creation, to become a forward-looking legal function that is essential to building resilient and responsible businesses.