Team size: Three

Career Biography

Elisa Azevedo is a Legal Counsel and Compliance Specialist at Volkswagen Group Digital Solutions Portugal, where she has played a key role in establishing and strengthening the company’s internal legal and compliance function, with responsibilities spanning compliance, integrity and data protection within the Volkswagen Group in Portugal. 

With a background in law and over a decade of professional experience across legal, public sector and technology environments, Elisa’s career has combined early exposure to different legal and organisational contexts with a progressive focus on corporate legal and governance functions. This trajectory has shaped a broad-based profile, enabling her to operate across legal advisory, compliance and organisational control functions within complex structures. 

Since joining Volkswagen Digital Solutions Portugal in 2023, Elisa has been directly involved in the establishment of the company’s Compliance function, contributing to the design and implementation of the internal structures, processes and controls that underpin the organisation’s compliance framework. In doing so, she has helped establish the foundation for a more structured and consistent approach to compliance across the business, while driving initiatives aimed at embedding ethical standards and accountability in day-to-day operations. 

Her role spans the design and implementation of the company’s corporate compliance and integrity framework, including policies and controls related to conflicts of interest, anti-corruption principles and third-party interactions. In parallel, she provides legal advisory support across the organisation, including corporate housekeeping matters, contract review and negotiation, and the coordination of external counsel for specialised legal matters. 

From a data protection perspective, Elisa supports the organisation’s GDPR compliance framework across its full lifecycle, including the management of data subject requests, data breach handling, maintenance of records of processing activities and the integration of privacy requirements into internal processes and business initiatives. She also contributes to internal training and awareness initiatives across her areas of responsibility, helping to strengthen understanding and ownership of compliance and data protection topics across the organisation. 

Beyond her internal responsibilities, she plays an active role in aligning practices across the Volkswagen Group, engaging with counterparts in other entities to support consistency and coordination across jurisdictions. This includes contributing to the development and reinforcement of shared approaches across legal, compliance and data protection topics within the Group. 

She also acts as a key interface between the internal function and senior management, supporting reporting processes, contributing to risk discussions and participating in internal decision-making processes. This positioning reflects a high level of trust and has been central to ensuring that legal, compliance and data protection considerations are embedded early in strategic and operational discussions. 

Elisa is recognised for combining structured legal thinking with a pragmatic and business-oriented approach, enabling her to translate complex regulatory requirements into practical solutions. Her career reflects consistent progression within the Group, culminating in a role focused on strengthening and further developing Volkswagen Digital Solutions Portugal’s internal legal and compliance capabilities.

What piece of work or project over the past year are you most proud of, and why was it particularly significant for the business? 

Helping to build the Legal, Compliance and Data Protection function at Volkswagen Group Digital Solutions Portugal has been one of the most rewarding challenges of my career so far. 

Rather than being a single project, this has been an ongoing effort to create the structures, processes and standards that enable the business to grow while maintaining strong legal and ethical foundations. As the company continued to expand, there was a growing need for clear frameworks, practical guidance and closer support to the business across a wide range of topics. 

What makes this work particularly meaningful is the opportunity to help shape these foundations at a relatively early stage of the company’s development. Building policies and processes is important, but ensuring that they are understood, accepted and applied in practice is where the real value lies. Seeing legal, compliance and data protection considerations become part of everyday discussions and decision-making has been especially rewarding. 

For me, the most significant achievement is not any individual document or process, but contributing to a culture where governance, integrity and business objectives can develop together rather than being seen as competing priorities.

What skills or experiences have been most important in your development as an in-house lawyer so far?

One of the biggest lessons I have learned as an in-house lawyer is that technical legal knowledge is essential, but rarely enough. 

Communication can be underestimated in legal roles. Technical knowledge only creates value when it can be translated into practical guidance that the business can understand and act upon. In-house lawyers operate between legal requirements, business objectives and operational realities, and this requires the ability to have open conversations, build trust and sometimes deliver difficult messages in a constructive way. 

Adaptability has been equally important. Businesses evolve quickly, priorities change and legal teams are constantly required to respond to new challenges. Throughout my career, I have learned that effective legal support is not about applying rules in isolation, but about understanding the context in which decisions are being made and identifying solutions that are both legally sound and workable in practice. 

My experience across legal, compliance and data protection has reinforced this perspective and taught me the importance of balancing risk awareness with a pragmatic approach that enables the business to move forward responsibly.

What excites you most about the future of the in-house legal profession, and where do you hope to continue developing your career?

I appreciate the increasingly strategic role that legal teams play within organisations. In-house lawyers are no longer expected only to review contracts or provide legal opinions; they are increasingly involved in shaping decisions, managing risk, supporting innovation and helping organisations navigate complex regulatory environments. 

I’m particularly interested in the continued integration of legal, compliance and data protection functions. These areas are closely connected, and when they work together effectively, they can provide much greater value to the business than when they operate independently. 

Looking ahead, I hope to continue developing as a trusted advisor and to contribute to the growth of integrated legal and compliance functions within international organisations. My goal is to continue growing in roles that combine technical expertise, stakeholder engagement and the opportunity to influence how organisations approach governance, integrity and responsible business practices.