Team size: 25 globally: 19 in legal and 6 in public affairs

What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

When I joined STX Group as Group General Counsel just over two years ago, the organisation was scaling up rapidly on a global level. The legal team at the time was small, underpowered, and constantly in catch-up mode. My challenge was to quickly identify the skills we needed and to shift toward a more proactive and structured approach to meet increasing demand.

The strategy to achieve this involved bringing in top-tier talent, including a new leadership team as well as regulatory and finance experts. All business units were allocated Legal Liaisons, a lawyer in the legal team responsible for oversight and management of their legal needs. We also launched several initiatives to adapt to the growing complexity of the business. These included improvement projects in contract governance, template standardisation, corporate governance, and guidance on complex finance transactions.

We now have a world-class legal team that has transformed into a true strategic partner for the business. We are empowered to focus on where we add the most value — and where we most enjoy our work.

Continuous improvement remains a key part of our approach, but the changes are now incremental, building on the substantial transformation we’ve achieved over the past two years.

Do you have an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works, without incurring a large expense?

The new legal strategy introduced a range of innovations, but I’d like to highlight the contract governance and template standardisation projects.

The contract governance project involved defining clear roles and accountability throughout the contract lifecycle, and institutionalising escalation points when needed. This structure allows our contracts team — an operational team — to work more efficiently and quickly, while still managing risk appropriately.

The template standardisation project involved a thorough review of all existing templates. We significantly reduced their number and improved their usability, legal robustness, and consistency. The team also developed accompanying guidelines and playbooks, which enabled the contracts team to take on a much larger role in negotiating and executing standard contracts.

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?

To succeed, you must truly understand the commercial realities of the business and its strategic objectives. This allows you to provide actionable advice that enables the business to move quickly, without compromising on significant legal or reputational risk. You’re not just a lawyer — you’re a business partner.

Another essential quality is agility. Our sector evolves rapidly. As in-house lawyers, we need to pivot quickly, adapt to new regulatory environments, and respond to crises with little warning.