Team size: 40

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

Two projects that are particularly exciting are helping design and implement the successful joint venture for procurement between Vodafone and Telenor: Vodafone and Telenor Agree Strategic Procurement Partnership – Vodafone.

I also led the legal team that provided the extensive and innovative legal advice for a successful launch of Vodafone’s pan-European logistics hub in Luxembourg: Vodafone opens pan-European logistics hub in Luxembourg – Vodafone

Can you describe an instance where your legal advice directly influenced business strategy or commercial objectives?

The team try and do this every day: we have found that when we are involved early enough in the process, we can ask the right questions which may influence the business strategy and commercial objectives in a positive way. A concrete example is influencing the business to implement a new third party risk management tool.

How have you implemented AI within your legal team to improve efficiency while maintaining quality and governance – and keeping the human element?

We are most proud of the work done in assessing the risks generated by variations in a contract, as compared to our playbooks, using an AI tool in our contract management process. We are implementing mark-ups in a more automated way. This is always subject to careful human review. We have found that the combination of digital and human is highly effective.

Organisations are facing increasing regulation across jurisdictions. How do you embed compliance across the business?

The legal and compliance functions have the privilege of being the conscience of an organisation. Speaking up and guiding the business are expected of us and we must use this power. This starts with understanding the obligations and benefits of the regulation and then being able to translate this into actionable and pragmatic advice which is tailored to the audience. We are also using digital and AI tools to speed up the process.