Switzerland 2024
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
Vice president, regional general counsel EMEA & APAC | VF Corporation
Vice president, associate general counsel Europe | Philip Morris International
General counsel corporate, M&A and finance, and vice president | gategroup
Executive vice president and global general counsel | Fresenius Medical Care
Vice president, chief counsel intellectual property and EMEA regional general counsel | TE Connectivity
Head legal and compliance asset management | Helvetia Insurance Group
Group general counsel and corporate secretary, member of the group management | Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli
Senior legal director, legal affairs global functions | Japan Tobacco International
Head legal portfolio and pipeline (Europe and Canada) | Takeda
Elisabeth Leimbacher is head counsel portfolio and pipeline at Takeda, a 242-year old leading pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. In her role, Elisabeth leads a team of internal lawyers advising...
General counsel and chief operating officer | HFS Helvetic Financial Services
Deputy chief legal and compliance officer, director of corporate and commercial legal | FIFA
Group general counsel, chief compliance officer, ESG head,board secretary | Recipharm
Vice president and regional general counsel Americas and EMEA | Align Technology
Senior vice president and chief counsel | Mondelēz International
Vice president – associate general counsel EMEA | Baxter International
Senior Vice President, Legal & Regulatory Affairs, and Chief Compliance Officer | Japan Tobacco International
General counsel and member of the executive leadership team | Clariant International
Group general counsel | Zurich Insurance
Katja Roth Pellanda joined Zurich Insurance group as deputy group general counsel in April 2020 and was promoted group general counsel as of October 1, 2020. She is a member...
General counsel, member of the executive management team, head of risk, head of compliance | Calibrium
Born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark, with a master’s degree in law from the University of Copenhagen as well as a both a JD and an LLM in tax from...
Executive vice president and group general counsel | Nestlé
General counsel, chief compliance officer EMEA and APAC | PHC Holdings Corporation
General counsel Switzerland | McDonald's Suisse Restaurants
Secretary general board affairs and chief governance officer, member of the group executive committee | Audemars Piguet
Group chief legal and compliance officer and general counsel | Verisure
Chief corporate affairs officer and general counsel, company secretary | Salt Mobile
General counsel and company secretary | Accelleron Industries
General counsel, chief information officer and chief of cybersecurity | Rising Tide - Novintum Medical Technology
Regional general counsel Europe and head of legal and compliance | Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
Samim Ahmed Ranju is the regional general counsel, Europe, at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, the Swiss subsidiary, and the European HO of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, India. As the head of legal,...
Vice president global legal and compliance | La Prairie Group
Together with her team of 12 legal professionals located in Zurich, Shanghai, and New York, Saskia Eschmann is responsible for all legal, intellectual property, and compliance matters of luxury skincare...
Vice president, legal, international (EMEA and APAC) | Restaurant brands international
General counsel | Swiss Post
Thomas Schönholzer is a business-oriented, internationally experienced, hands-on and agile general counsel and secretary to the board, with wide and varied expertise across different TMT, industry and healthcare sectors. He...
Senior vice president and general counsel | Philip Morris International
It brings me great pleasure to present The Legal 500’s highly anticipated GC Powerlist: Switzerland 2024. This publication celebrates the outstanding abilities of the leading general counsel in the confederation. Within its pages, we embark on an enlightening journey, exploring crisis management and resilience-building amidst instability, the adoption of emerging technologies, the integration of diversity and sustainability into the daily tasks of general counsel, and insightful perspectives on M&A transactions from some of our distinguished powerlisters.
The GC Powerlist: Switzerland stands as a highlight in our in-house legal research team’s portfolio each year. This edition is marked by its diverse content, with featured in-house lawyers offering unique perspectives, addressing specific challenges, and sharing personal journeys that serve as a wellspring of inspiration for their peers.
One prominent theme that emerged from our research is the increasingly critical role of in-house legal teams in fostering resilience within their organisations. Recent years have underscored the necessity for legal teams to remain flexible and agile in responding to rapid changes in the legal and regulatory landscape during times of instability and crisis. To effectively navigate such challenges, it is imperative for the legal function to intimately understand the organisation’s business strategy and resilience plans, translating new laws and regulations into actionable guidance for management promptly. Judith Bischof, general counsel at Clariant, emphasises the integration of legal teams into crisis management efforts: ‘the legal team is integrated into crisis management teams to provide timely legal advice and support. The key is to foster collaboration between legal and other departments and to stay proactive in addressing legal challenges during turbulent times.’ Eyal Tavor, general counsel at Deloitte Switzerland, expands on the importance of leadership and providing the necessary tools for legal teams to navigate crises proactively: ‘More than ever, it lies within the responsibility of the person leading the internal legal department to ensure proper development opportunities for their team members in areas beyond legal expertise and skills in order to be in a position to proactively create additional substantial value and navigate appropriately. The necessity to really understand the organisation’s business, the challenges it faces during periods of instability or crisis and the overall strategy it pursues in such times is an absolute must in order to be in a position to align the legal strategy with the broader business strategy and thereby helping the business to grow and succeed even further.’
With a global focus on ESG issues, Swiss-based in-house lawyers are at the forefront of embedding sustainability practices within their departments. Emmanuel Grand, group general counsel at Recipharm, underscores the pivotal role of general counsel in ESG initiatives: ‘The general counsel will continue playing a pivotal role on ESG moving forward, not only in the context of our recently established ESG Committee, with a special emphasis on governance and corporate governance, but also on all our reporting activities, and liaising directly or indirectly with relevant stakeholders’. Diana Imbach Haumueller, head of legal and compliance group asset management at Helvetia Group, highlights the importance of diversity and inclusion in promoting motivation within teams: ‘ I am convinced that diversity and inclusion are a key success factor for any team. Therefore, when recruiting I focus also on these aspects. I am lucky enough to work in an environment where I am flexible to accommodate specific needs, for example, for working parents or ambitioned athletes. Together with an open mind, innovative working models such as home and flex office as well as a true spirit to use those models helped me to build a highly competent, diverse, and inclusive team. Especially in challenging times, it is crucial to have a motivated team. This promotes efficiency and resilience, which is a key element for a high-performing legal team. I truly believe that more diverse and inclusive teams are in a better shape to tackle the challenges of today’s work environment’.
On behalf of The Legal 500, I extend sincere gratitude to all who contributed their time and insights to the research process. Congratulations to all featured in the 2024 edition of the GC Powerlist: Switzerland.
Sara Maggi| Deputy Editor GC Powerlist Series
Axiom has been a proud sponsor of the GC Powerlist event for a number of years. Our continued support reflects our commitment to recognising the innovators and trailblazers within in-house counsel across Switzerland. The GC Powerlist is more than just a list—it is a celebration of the visionaries who are shaping the future of legal services.
Over two decades ago, Axiom pioneered the category of Alternative Legal Services Providers (ALSPs) with a simple idea: there had to be a better way to deliver innovative legal services to in-house counsel. Since then, the industry has grown exponentially, evolving into a diverse ecosystem with multiple segments working towards the same goal.
We value this evolution because it aligns with our mission to connect companies, from growing mid-market firms to Fortune 500 enterprises, with the world’s most experienced and specialised legal talent. Axiom’s high standards resonate with our clients and lawyers alike—90% of our clients say our lawyers are as good or better than their law firm lawyers, and our talent has an industry leading nps score of 68!
Innovation and change require dedication, and the GC Powerlist: Switzerland celebrates those who embrace these challenges. We applaud the legal leaders featured in the list, recognising their strength, creativity, and strategic role in driving business success in today’s complex environment. Here is to the continued success of the in-house counsel community in Switzerland and beyond.
Baker McKenzie is one of the largest law firms in Switzerland. Our offices in Geneva and Zurich have been an integral part of the Swiss legal landscape for more than half a century, firmly establishing us as a prominent force for our domestic and foreign clients. Our vast, experienced team of experts, composed of more than 130 lawyers, is providing Swiss and multinational industry players, financial institutions, private equity houses and insurance companies with toptier legal advice. We have a fantastic track record for domestic and cross-border advice in all areas of business law. The dedication to providing clients with practical and innovative solutions, along with the quality of our work, has been consistently recognized with top rankings by Chambers and Partners and Legal 500.
As global citizens, industry savvy, diverse and with a thirst for innovation, our horizon does not end in Switzerland. Our unique global footprint with 74 offices in 45 countries allows us to bring the right talent at the right time to every client issue, regardless of where the client is. And since our clients want lawyers who are prepared to lead, differentiate and adapt in a constantly changing world, we have built on our strengths and abilities to adopt a new type of thinking and use cutting-edge legal technologies to help clients overcome the challenges of competing in today’s new world economic order.
The Legal 500 was proud to host the third edition of the GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 at the Capitol Hotel Tokyu, honouring the top General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Directors, and senior in-house legal professionals operating at the highest level of Japan’s corporate legal landscape. Held in Tokyo, this year’s reception welcomed around 100 of the most respected and senior corporate counsel from across Japan. It was an unrivalled success, and cements Legal 500’s status as the leading force in legal media supporting the achievements of in-house counsel in Japan. The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 marks the continuation of our commitment to recognising excellence in-house, and this year’s edition represents the most competitive and selective list to date.
Joe Boswell, lead editor of the GC powerlist publication at The Legal 500, opened the evening with an introduction that reflected on the growing prestige of the Japan list. He emphasised how the Powerlist has grown stronger each year, both in scope and quality, making the task of selection more difficult. This year’s honourees emerged from a deeply competitive field, making their recognition even more meaningful.
Boswell extended heartfelt congratulations to all honourees and acknowledged the critical support of key partners and sponsors who made the evening possible. Special thanks were given to Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, JustLegal, and SS&C Intralinks for their generous sponsorship and ongoing collaboration.
In a moment of reflection, Joe paid tribute to Tim Mackey, chief legal officer at SoftBank, who sadly passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. Tim had contributed to the Powerlist in each of its three editions and was known not only for his exceptional legal acumen but also for his warmth and generosity.
The evening featured insightful remarks from distinguished speakers representing our partners and the broader legal community: Mischa Mulligan, Japan Director at SS&C Intralinks; Hiroki Kodate, Partner and Management Committee Member at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune; Jeremy White, Global Co-Chair of M&A for Morrison Foerster; and, representing those awarded in the Powerlist, Naoki Hamada, General Counsel for Japan at HSBC.
Each speaker provided reflections on legal innovation, leadership, and the evolving role of in-house counsel in Japan’s corporate landscape. Their remarks added valuable context to the achievements celebrated throughout the evening.
The formal awards segment celebrated this year’s GC Powerlist honourees. With assistance from long-time collaborator Isaac Uchiyama who read out awardees’ names, recipients were invited to collect their certificates, pose for photographs, and be formally recognised by their peers.
Certificates were presented on stage by Hiroki Kodate or Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Jeremy White of Morrison Foerster, whose participation further underlined the deep support of the Japanese and international legal communities.
The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 reception reaffirmed Legal 500’s commitment to spotlighting the very best of in-house legal talent. With record levels of interest and unmatched quality among candidates, the Japan edition continues to solidify its place as one of the most respected publications in the global GC Powerlist series.
We extend our sincere congratulations to all honourees and thank our partners, sponsors, and speakers for making the evening a success.
We look forward to returning to Tokyo again next year. As a parting gift, you can view Naoki Hamada’s excellent keynote address below, where he touches on a lot of issues and themes that many other GC, whatever country they operate in, will recognise:
‘Good evening, everyone. I am Naoki Hamada of HSBC. I am very pleased to be here speaking to you today. It is a great pleasure and honor, and at the same time, I feel a bit overwhelmed being surrounded by the busiest and most expensive lawyers in the industry—even if I know that nobody will be charging us for their time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Legal 500 for organizing such a great event, and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, SS&C Intralinks, and Just Legal for sponsoring and supporting it. And, huge congratulations on the recognition each of you is receiving, which is truly a great accomplishment and the result of your hard work and the accumulated trust the entire industry has placed in you.
It must be emphasized that this award is given only to general counsels. Being a general counsel means a lot more than just being a subject matter expert. You are a most reliable strategic partner for the business, and I am sure that you have distinguished yourself from the crowd by your ability to identify underlying risks, devise legal solutions, ensure the right processes and governance for corporate decisions, influence others, and educate the next generation of lawyers. This is what you are being recognized for.
Looking back on my career, I have been hugely helped by lawyers in other companies through various industry communities. When I joined the in-house world 12 years ago from a Japanese law firm, large international banks were all struggling with a huge wave of regulatory reform. Back then, I was relatively new to that particular area of finance, and my hiring was somewhat potential-based. Nonetheless, I was assigned to lead the regulatory reform efforts locally. My predecessor had left the bank before I joined, there was no sufficient handover, and I was completely lost as to what to do. What helped me most were the industry peer group discussions, where in-house counsels from major banks would get together to discuss common issues. I learned so much from what was discussed there and absorbed as much as I could. Without that network, I am sure that I wouldn’t have survived that time.
However, our situation today is far more difficult. The changes in the landscape we face today are unprecedented. Technological developments and the corresponding shifts in geopolitical and industrial landscapes are completely unpredictable, and the speed at which they happen is far faster than before. We might face a time that requires us to pivot, forcing us to redefine how we add value and rebuild the way we work. That is somewhat intimidating. But, I am confident that a way forward will be found through the collective wisdom and effort of the people in this room. I would like to be a part of that, and this network of people is enormously valuable and truly priceless.
Finally, let’s have a drink and celebrate our achievements for now – before your CEO calls asking you to join a call! Thank you so much.’
