Senior vie president, group general counsel and chief compliance officer and member of the executive committee | SGS Société Générale de Surveillance
Martin Oesch
Senior vie president, group general counsel and chief compliance officer and member of the executive committee | SGS Société Générale de Surveillance
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?
Periods of instability – whether geopolitical, operational or reputational – require a proactive and structured legal response to safeguard the company’s interests. The Legal function at SGS proactively identifies and monitors key exposures across jurisdictions, including contractual obligations, regulatory compliance, litigation risks and reputational impact. We strengthen legal oversight and internal controls and reinforce compliance and ethical standards.
Our strategy is well aligned with the company’s Strategy27, contributing to overall growth, performance and a strong financial profile. We have deployed a legal transformation roadmap aimed at delivering more strategic, agile and innovative, digitally empowered solutions that drive real business value.
What are the main cases or transactions that you have been involved in recently?
I have been very actively involved in the recent major acquisition of ATS in the USA, valued at $USD1.3 billion, which is pending. In addition, SGS completes around two bolt-on acquisitions every month, to which my team and I actively contribute.
I have also been closely involved in the very recent successful issuance of EUR 1 billion in bonds.
How is your in-house legal function strengthening corporate governance in response to evolving expectations around transparency, accountability, and stakeholder engagement in Switzerland?
We have implemented minimum control standards to ensure good governance and compliance, support Board and Committee composition and independence, as well as conflict-of-interest management, ensure timely and transparent disclosures to shareholders, and promote data-driven insights and digital tools to improve responsiveness, compliance monitoring and strategic decision-making.
How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?
I actively promote inclusive leadership, diversity of thought, and a speak-up culture where employees feel comfortable and empowered to contribute and engage. I made this the theme of a plenary session at this year’s Senior Legal Meeting, which gathered the top 200 managers from SGS. My team is very diverse in terms of gender, nationality, age and background.