Namibia 2026
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
Group Legal and Company Secretary | Ongos Valley Development
Head: Legal Compliance and Company Secretary | National Disability Council of Namibia
Executive: Regulatory & Corporate Legal Services | CRAN - Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia
Legal Advisor and Licensing Services | Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory (NAMFISA)
Manager: Legal, Complaince and AML | Mobile Telecommunications (MTC)
Anti-Money Laundering Manager(Financial Crime), Governance and Compliance Department | Letshego Holdings NamibiaÂ
Manager: Corporate Communications and Legal ServicesManager | Electricity Control Board (ECB)
Company Secretary and Senior Manager for Legal, Risk and Compliance | Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board
General Manager: Governance, Legal and Risk Management | Namibian Agronomic Board
Chief Legal Advisor and Company Secretary | Namibian Ports Authority
Head of Governance, Risk and Compliance | Electricity Control Board
Manager Legal, Complaince, Risk, and Compnay Secretary | Namforce Lide Insurance
Legal Director and Company Secretary | Namibia Breweries
Head of Legal Services and Regulatory Affairs | Telecom NamibiaÂ
Chief Risk and Legal Officer | GIPF (Government Institutions Pension Fund)
Head of Legal, Governance & Compliance, and Company Secretary | Letshego Holdings NamibiaÂ
Head of Legal Services an Company Secretary | Namibia Water Corporation
Chief Legal, Compliance and Risk Officer | Mobile Telecommunications (MTC)
On behalf of Legal 500, I am delighted to introduce the inaugural GC Powerlist: Namibia 2026. This first edition highlights the general counsel and in-house legal teams who play a crucial role in shaping Namibia’s corporate and legal landscape. Through our research, we spoke with professionals who not only provide expert legal guidance but also influence strategy, drive transformation, and support business growth. We were thrilled to receive a strong volume of nominations from Namibian law firms and in-house teams, reflecting the country’s dynamic and highly engaged legal community.
Across Namibia, general counsel are increasingly moving beyond traditional advisory roles. They are central to navigating complex and evolving regulatory frameworks, enabling innovation, supporting governance and compliance priorities, and guiding their organisations through periods of rapid change. The GC Powerlist: Namibia 2026 celebrates those who combine deep legal expertise with leadership, vision, and tangible impact.
Managing uncertainty and building resilience is a common theme. As Josephine Shigwedha explains:
‘Resilience is built through discipline, foresight, and integrity. By maintaining focus, remaining committed to excellence, and grounding all actions in the law, the legal function can serve as a stabilising force during periods of uncertainty.’
A complementary perspective emphasises operational discipline and accountability, as Wahliet Bauleth says:
‘I treat a crisis as both an operational event and a governance test… speed cannot come at the cost of accountability.’
Technology and transformation also feature prominently. As Shigwedha notes, automation is shifting legal teams ‘away from purely reactive roles towards more strategic, data-driven functions,’ while Bauleth emphasises that AI is a ‘force-multiplier in operational compliance rather than a substitute for legal judgment.’ Taken together, these perspectives highlight the strengths of Namibia’s in-house legal community: resilient, strategically minded, and forward-looking.
Legal teams are increasingly doing more than managing risk; they are helping shape business strategy, informing key decisions, and delivering measurable impact. The GC Powerlist: Namibia 2026 reflects this shift across the country’s legal community: from risk management to strategic influence, from technical advice to business impact, and from individual contribution to collaborative excellence. We are pleased to present this inaugural GC Powerlist in Namibia, recognising the legal professionals who are shaping the future of corporate law while connecting local insight with global influence.
The recent news that elite US firm Sullivan & Cromwell had apologised to a judge over AI hallucinations in a court filing prompted a collective wince from the legal profession.
But while some lawyers remain wary of AI, others are striking a more open-minded note, and at the LexisNexis AI Forum hosted this Wednesday (20 May) by Legal 500 and Legal Business, panelists argued that the risks are far outweighed by the opportunities.
Barbara Zapisetskaya, principal technology counsel at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, made the case that hallucinations and other potential pitfalls can be overcome with a shift in mindset.
‘What makes a difference,’ she said, ‘is empowering your lawyers to take responsibility for AI output – helping them become active AI operators, not just passive AI users. You have agency to decide whether you agree with the output or not.’
Zapisetskaya was among a line-up of leading in-house figures speaking on two panels, which covered everything from practical steps for AI implementation to the key decisions GCs need to be making in the coming months.
Financial Times general counsel Dan Guilford began by stressing the importance of building the right culture for AI adoption. In addition to proactively upskilling himself, Guilford talked about how he had implemented a voluntary weekly ‘show and tell’ meeting for team members to share successful use cases – or an exercise that became a gratifying measure of progress.
Other panelists discussed how increased in-house productivity is altering the dynamic with their external counsel.
While some see the use of AI by law firms as a precursor for reduced fees, Russell Davies, head of global operations for legal and compliance at Dentsu, said that faster results – however they are delivered – are something to be valued.
GSK assistant general counsel Anthony Kenny agreed, saying that while there was an expectation that external counsel would be utilising AI, the focus should be on the value of the output, rather than an overemphasis on identifying AI use as a justification to reduce fees.
Speaking on the second panel, MUFG EMEA general counsel James Morgan stressed the critical importance of education, noting that educating the C-suite on the advantages and risks of AI is just as important as enabling large in-house teams to use these tools.
Shanthini Satyendra, vice-chair of the AI Committee, Society for Computers & Law, CEO and founder of Manisain, offered a reminder of the importance of making the connection between tasks and the purpose behind them, extolling the virtues of identifying use cases for AI that can solve a meaningful problem.
Zapisetskaya concurred, adding that one of the most important tasks for GCs across the next six to twelve months is to create AI playbooks and templates, noting that ‘it is easy for lawyers to see problems – much harder for lawyers to see opportunities.’
There was also broad agreement among panellists that GCs should focus on upskilling their junior lawyers on AI, rather than – as some may expect – cutting back their workforce. As Satyendra summarised: ‘Some people are replacing human capital with AI without thinking about what’s required to make AI work. Retain your people and train them up.’
The panels were moderated by Emma Millington, head of the UK Lexis+ Finance Group, and LexisNexis director of segment management Stuart Greenhill.
