South Africa 2026
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
Group General Counsel and Company Secretary | iOCO Holdings
Chief legal and compliance officer and company secretary | Cassava Technologies
Senior counsel: group legal (RSA, UK and Mozambique) | Premier FMCG
Director of legal services | Tsebo Solutions Group
Group chief executive - legal and regulatory officer | MTN Group
Group company secretary and head of global company secretariat | Prosus Group
Executive Head of Legal, South Africa | American Tower Corporation
General Counsel Corporate and Investment Banking | Absa Corporate and Investment Banking
Head of Employer Relations and Wellness | Multichoice Support Services
Executive: legal, secretarial and human resources | Clover
Legal manager (South Africa) | Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO)
Legal director: South Africa and Sub-Sahara Africa and company secretary | Haleon
Group company secretary and governance officer | African Rainbow Minerals
Legal Director and COmpany Secretary | Heineken Beverages
General Counsel, Vice President Legal and Compliance | Securitas
Director: Legal services Group South Africa, and company secretariat | BMW South Africa
Group company secretary and head: governance ethics and legal | First Rand Group
General counsel: EMEA and Central Asia (interim group general counsel: global) | The Weir Group
General manager: corporate legal, company secretary and security | Engen Petroleum
General counsel and company secretary Africa and Middle East | John Deere
Head of Bank Legal & Group IT Legal Advisory Centre | Information Technology
Senior manager legal, general legal counsel | Sasol
Legal director and executive director:South Africa | Colgate-Palmolive
Company Secretary and Legal Counsel | GZ Industries South Africa
Executive director - corporate, external and legal affairs | Microsoft South Africa
Senior Vice President: Legal, Governance and Risk (Middle East and Africa) | NTT Data
On behalf of The Legal 500, I am pleased to introduce the GC Powerlist: South Africa 2026.
This edition recognises general counsel and in-house legal leaders who are shaping the strategic direction of some of the country’s most significant organisations. Our research this year reflects a legal community operating at scale: across multiple jurisdictions, in highly regulated sectors, and against a backdrop of economic pressure, political complexity and rapid technological change.
Across banking, mining, telecommunications, insurance and mobility, South African GCs are not confined to technical advisory roles. They are embedded in business strategy, regulatory engagement and transformation agendas, often operating at board and executive level. What stands out is a consistent focus on clarity of judgement, disciplined governance and commercial realism.
Bilal Bokhari, Head of Group Legal at Sanlam Group, captures this shift from reactive adviser to strategic partner:
‘Our role is to enable confident decision-making by integrating legal insight into strategy, rather than acting as a reactive checkpoint. We work closely with the business on major transactions and disputes, regulatory engagement and transformation initiatives, shaping decisions early, anticipating regulatory expectations and creating execution certainty in complex environments.’
In a heavily regulated environment, that approach has included leading regulatory strategy across jurisdictions, co-ordinating submissions and approval processes, and strengthening regulatory trust while enabling execution. It is a model increasingly familiar to global GCs: legal as an architect of outcomes, not merely a reviewer of risk.
Ken Njuguna, Head of Legal for Sub-Saharan Africa at Uber, reflects on operating where law and innovation do not always align neatly:
‘As a legal leader, my role has been to provide the business with the confidence to move forward – balancing risk with opportunity and enabling meaningful, sustainable growth in highly regulated markets.’
His experience of navigating volatile regulatory environments, product launches and business model transitions across the region illustrates the premium placed on legal teams that can combine technical depth with commercial agility.
Technology, unsurprisingly, remains high on the agenda. Yet the most compelling contributions this year move beyond generic enthusiasm and focus on practical implementation. Victor Omoighe, Group General Counsel and Company Secretary at Samancor Chrome Limited, describes a grounded approach to AI adoption:
‘When supervised properly, AI allows the team to minimise manual, routine and low-value work, and maximise time spent on the work that requires them to draw on their expertise and practical experience in order to shape and customise solutions for internal clients.’
The emphasis is not on novelty, but on discipline: using technology to enhance judgement rather than dilute it.
Resilience also emerges as a defining theme. Whether dealing with complex competition litigation, mineral rights disputes, large-scale M&A, or pandemic-era regulatory change, the most effective legal leaders demonstrate structured crisis management, multi-disciplinary collaboration and a clear articulation of risk appetite. As Anna Isaac, Group Executive: Chief Legal, Risk, and Compliance at Vodacom Group, notes of the Covid period:
‘Clear record-keeping and documentation were essential for managing disputes that might emerge later. Maintaining transparent communication with all role players, both within the organisation and externally — including, but not limited to, regulators — was equally critical.’
Taken together, these perspectives reflect a maturing in-house market. South Africa’s leading GCs are increasingly measured not only by technical excellence, but by their ability to embed governance into strategy, translate complexity into commercial action, and build teams capable of navigating sustained uncertainty.
The GC Powerlist: South Africa 2026 recognises those legal leaders who are doing precisely that: operating across borders, engaging constructively with regulators, adopting technology with care, and positioning Legal as a driver of institutional strength. We are proud to present this year’s cohort, whose work demonstrates that sophisticated, strategically integrated in-house practice is firmly established within South Africa’s corporate landscape.
On 26 March, Legal 500 partnered with Portuguese law firm PLMJ to bring its renewed sustainability‑focused conference series to Lisbon with the ESG Forum: Portugal 2026. The half‑day event gathered senior leaders from the legal, financial, energy and sustainability spheres for a concentrated programme hosted at PLMJ’s offices. Throughout the sessions, speakers explored the regulatory, governance and enforcement forces reshaping ESG strategy in Portugal, offering a clear cross‑sector perspective on how organisations are adapting to an increasingly complex and fast‑moving landscape.
The event opened with some welcome remarks from Legal 500 editor Francisco Castro, who emphasised the value of events that bring the in‑house community together to learn, exchange experiences and build meaningful professional networks. In his welcome address, he highlighted the growing complexity of ESG obligations across Europe and the increasing pressure on organisations to adopt integrated, business‑wide approaches to compliance, risk management and strategic planning. By underscoring the need for practical, grounded discussion rather than abstract theory, he set the tone for a programme designed to deliver actionable insight and foster collaboration among practitioners navigating a rapidly evolving ESG landscape.
Followed an opening brief delivered by PLMJ’s Managing Partner, Bruno Ferreira, who provided a concise yet comprehensive overview of the ESG priorities defining Portugal in 2026. He outlined the expanding influence of EU regulatory frameworks on corporate reporting, due diligence and governance, noting how these requirements are reshaping expectations around data quality, transparency and accountability. His remarks positioned ESG not as a peripheral concern but as a central driver of corporate behaviour, capital flows and long‑term competitiveness in the Portuguese market.
The first panel, moderated by João Marques Mendes, Partner at PLMJ and joined by Cláudia Teixeira de Almeida of Banco BPI, Nuno Moraes Bastos of GALP and Diogo Graça of REN, explored how corporate governance and sustainable finance are shaping Portugal’s energy transition. The discussion examined how boards and executive teams are adapting oversight structures to manage transition‑related risks and how legal, compliance, sustainability and procurement functions are increasingly intertwined in project governance. Panellists described the growing influence of financing structures on project execution, noting that lenders’ expectations around ESG metrics, contractor performance and transparency now shape governance decisions from the earliest stages. They also addressed the operational constraints that continue to challenge Portugal’s transition ambitions, including permitting timelines, grid capacity limitations and delivery risk. While acknowledging the complexity of EU‑level frameworks, speakers emphasised that these standards also present strategic opportunities to harmonise practices, unlock investment and strengthen Portugal’s competitive position in the energy transition.
Following a short break, the second panel turned to litigation, liability and the emerging enforcement era surrounding sustainability claims. Moderated by Raquel Azevedo, Partner at PLMJ and featuring contributions from Carla Góis Coelho of PLMJ, Carlos Martins Ferreira of Jerónimo Martins, Filipa Rodrigues Carmona of Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Céline da Graça Pires of NOVA, the session examined the rapid rise of ESG‑driven disputes, investigations and regulatory actions. Panellists discussed the typical trigger points for scrutiny, ranging from sustainability reports and corporate websites to marketing materials and investor presentations, and highlighted how these touchpoints are increasingly tested by regulators, competitors, consumers and NGOs. They analysed recent case law developments and their implications for Portuguese organisations, noting the emergence of more stringent evidentiary standards around disclosures and due‑diligence obligations. The panel concluded that sustainability claims can no longer be treated as aspirational messaging; they now carry the weight of binding legal obligations, requiring more rigorous internal validation and cross‑functional coordination.
The forum concluded with closing remarks from Francisco Castro, after which attendees were invited to continue their conversations over a light lunch, providing a relaxed setting to deepen connections and reflect on the themes explored throughout the morning.
Legal 500 extends its thanks to PLMJ for its collaboration in bringing this conference format to Portugal’s in‑house legal community. The team looks forward to returning soon for the launch event of this year’s GC Powerlist: Portugal.
