Formerly with Metro Cash and Carry and head of legal for Sütaş Group, Burcu Sönmezyalçın Döker now takes on a highly varied set of responsibilities in her role as general counsel, compliance officer and data protection official for German-headquartered consumer electronics retailer Media Markt Turkey. She goes into how her prior career gave her the excellent base with which to tackle her current challenges: ‘Working for a global wholesale organisation has enabled me to understand how legal rules and requirements can be effectively applied to commercial relationships of various sizes, while working for and managing the legal team of a sector leader foodstuff producer allowed me to understand the intricacies of synchronising the legal aspects of a fast-paced distribution network with the requirements of corporate law’. She mentions that adapting to her current role has moulded her into a top-quality in-house counsel, allowing her to ‘effectively integrate my legal persona with the growing functionalities of a general counsel’. She has achieved a lot towards the development of the legal function at Media Markt during her time there. ‘Alongside bringing about a change in the role of the department to position it as a problem-solving point’ she explains, ‘I have also implemented an effective external counsel management system. This move has allowed the lawyers working as in-house counsel in the department to greatly change their work routines and devote their time to becoming trusted counsel to each company department or business unit’.