About

Recipient of numerous legal awards and constantly recognised by peers in the industry for her outstanding contribution to the in-house market, Diane de Saint Victor has extensive experience in both executive management and non-executive board roles at tier one corporations in Europe and the US. As general counsel and company secretary for ABB, the leading Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation, her focus has been on corporate governance, international policy and government relations, risk management, M&A, compliance and regulatory matters. During her career at ABB she has led fundamental and cultural change processes, embedding integrity and compliance as one of the key values in the group, something which de Saint Victor stresses is critical in an industry with a high risk profile. She has also shifted IP as a true strategic asset, changing from a defensive to an offensive approach. ‘What I am probably most proud of is my leadership over legal colleagues at ABB and how we are nurturing legal talent, preparing the next generation of lawyers for the challenges ahead’, says de Saint Victor. As a consequence of this mentality, she has successfully established legal as a full member of the business team with absolute independence and a strong governance focus, while striking the right balance between ‘serving and controlling’ as well as ‘acting as decision makers in many instances, not just as advisors’. Prior to joining ABB in 2007 she was the senior vice president and general counsel of the Airbus Group, the European aerospace and defence company. Earlier in her career she worked in key legal positions at SCA, Honeywell International, General Electric and Thales. de Saint Victor was previously a non-executive director at Barclays and is currently a member of the board of the American Chamber of Commerce in France. In 2015 she was awarded the Directors Roundtable leading global honor for general counsel entitled “World Recognition of Distinguished General Counsel”, in recognition of her distinguished career in New York. In 2016 she was named by the Ethisphere Institute (New York) to its list of “Attorneys Who Matter”.