About

Héloïse Deliquiet began her career as a lawyer in an American private practice law firm in Paris. She eventually moved to the biggest French law firm, Fidal where she served as an attorney partner for 13 years, working her way up in the firm. After 17 years of activity, she had the opportunity to move to an international agribusiness company called Limagrain, initially as the head of IP and then as the group general counsel. In this role she spread the culture of private practice law firms, with one instance being the theme of time management. She was responsible for reducing the time length of many meetings to be more productive. ‘I helped members of my team present legal issues in a synthetic way with a conclusion bringing different options to the management, highlighting the risks of each option’. Deliquiet has also encouraged her team to be innovative, creative and not afraid to suggest changes to internal processes. Her current position as head of legal for Stragen Pharma is based in Geneva, where she also heads up risk management and compliance. Deliquiet’s background in private practice within litigation was a ‘major help’ to her when handling litigation files in-house. ‘I believe that my involvement in risk management and compliance issues, with other colleagues, was absolutely necessary for my posture as an in-house lawyer’, says Deliquiet. In addition to her day-to-day role, she is a board member of a listed company Olympique Lyonnais group, which has proved beneficial to fully understanding the concerns of the board members of the companies she has worked for. Her advice for other in-house lawyers is: ‘Be involved in all strategic matters, whatever it takes. Always bear in mind that the ultimate issue for top management is the development of the business but also their potential personal liability. Taking risks is the essence of business development, and lawyers are here to bring their added value mitigating and managing the risks. Do not underestimate management issues and consider coaching if appropriate’.