How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

In times of instability, I see the legal function as a stabilising force. My team and I focus on clarity and agility, enabling the business to move forward with confidence while ensuring risks are properly managed. Because our remit spans Corporate, M&A, Finance, Procurement, Operations, IT, IP, HR, and ESG, we are deeply embedded across the group’s value chain and also act as connectors between functions.

Gategroup was among the businesses most affected by the global crisis in aviation and hospitality. Today, it is a crisis-proof organisation, but reaching that point requires determination, resilience, and transformation. The turnaround was only possible through true commitment across the business, and I am proud that my team and I played a critical role in that journey — safeguarding governance, enabling refinancings and restructurings, ensuring transparency with stakeholders, and strengthening the contractual foundation of the business through greater robustness and consistency in agreements.

Equally important, this was achieved through excellence in cross-functional collaboration. We worked with clear and transparent communication across M&A, Finance, Procurement, Operations, IT, Branding, HR, and ESG, ensuring that legal considerations were not a late-stage hurdle but an integral part of decision-making. This reinforced trust in the legal function as a partner, not a gatekeeper, and helped embed resilience across the organisation.

I believe that legal leaders must also continually adapt. To strengthen my own contribution, I have invested in expanding my finance and strategic toolkit, and developing readiness for AI integration, so that Legal can capture opportunities as well as manage risks. This ensures that I can not only advise on today’s challenges but also prepare the function and the business for what is coming next.

What are the main cases or transactions that you have been involved in recently?

One of the most significant projects I led from a legal perspective was gategroup’s CHF 1.4 billion comprehensive refinancing completed in June 2025. The package comprised a EUR 675 million term loan, a USD 500 million term loan, and a CHF 300 million multicurrency revolving credit facility. This milestone transaction strengthened the company’s capital structure, enhanced financial flexibility, and positioned it for long-term strategic growth. It also marked gategroup’s debut as a Term Loan B issuer, attracting strong investor demand and leading to credit rating upgrades from Moody’s and S&P Global.

From a legal perspective, this was both challenging and rewarding, requiring coordination across multiple jurisdictions, complex negotiations with a broad syndicate of global lenders, and seamless integration with existing financing and corporate structures. My team ensured that governance, compliance, and stakeholder communication were robust throughout, while also supporting the business in delivering its transformation agenda.

With new ESG disclosure rules and EU supply chain due diligence standards affecting Switzerland, how is your legal team integrating sustainability into governance and daily operations, and what role does the General Counsel play in shaping corporate strategy?

Sustainability is embedded into our governance framework and daily operations. My legal team supports ESG integration by working with Procurement on supply chain transparency, with Finance on disclosure readiness, and with ESG leadership on aligning legal compliance with corporate commitments.

As General Counsel, I see my role as both guardian and challenger. Guardian — not only in the sense of ensuring that our commitments are transparent, credible, and legally sound — but also as a strategic player at the heart of the business. By being closely involved in planning, execution, and transformation, I can help to shape outcomes rather than simply react to them. Challenger — because we must help the business see regulatory developments not as constraints but as opportunities for competitive differentiation, operational efficiency, and trust-building with stakeholders.

The legal team I lead is lean but highly impactful. We cover the full spectrum of group matters from Corporate, M&A and Finance to Procurement, Operations, IT, IP, HR, and ESG. At the same time, we are piloting AI-driven tools to streamline contract analysis and research, reduce external counsel costs, and keep pace with the market. I see continued learning as an essential part of leadership, and by broadening my own expertise in finance, strategy, and technology, I aim to ensure that the legal function stays ahead of change and remains a proactive, business-embedded partner that drives resilience, transformation, and sustainable growth.