James Ford – GC Powerlist
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Southeast Asia 2017

James Ford

Senior vice president and general counsel, international | GlaxoSmithKline

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Southeast Asia 2017

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James Ford

Senior vice president and general counsel, international | GlaxoSmithKline

James Ford - United Kingdom 2023

Senior vice president. group general counsel | GSK

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About

James Ford, senior vice president and general counsel, international, leads a department of 115 legal professionals based in 37 locations covering China, Japan, India, Australia and all major cities in Southeast Asia. This includes anti-trust, transactional work, dispute resolution, data privacy and anti-bribery. Being responsible for such a broad range of countries requires a specific skill set, says Ford: ‘Leading across so many jurisdictions requires cultural sensitivity and the ability to deliver locally without compromising the essential relationships and mandates that exist between local operating companies and headquarters in London and Philadelphia’. At GSK the international legal department prioritises its efforts in alignment with the objectives of the three different businesses in the region, covering pharmaceuticals, vaccines and consumer healthcare products. The legal teams operate with an ‘enterprise hat’ to ensure that legal advice and decision making is independent in approach while taking into account the needs of the overall enterprise. In all cases the client is GSK plc not an individual subsidiary or local business unit. Adding real value to the business, Ford and his leadership team have implemented a model and a culture that supports these principles as well as training the lawyers to be effective ‘business partner guardians’. A good example of this was a 2016 initiative to advise the many markets across Asia on best-practice when entering into competitive tenders for vaccines and pharmaceutical products – very much local solutions incorporating certain minimum GSK wise standards and approaches. This initiative was led by the legal department, drawing in expertise from compliance, medical and commercial where appropriate. GSK’s values of transparency, respect for people, integrity and patient/consumer are considered an essential part of all operations at GSK, including the legal department. Under Ford’s management, GSK’s lawyers are a key part of this ethical compass.

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