RISING STARS: GCS OF TOMORROW

Described as ‘a FTSE GC in the making’ by Allen & Overy partner Matthew Appleton, Neil Laventure heads legal for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, global categories and R&D at the consumer healthcare division of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Until last year, Laventure was based in GSK’s Singapore o ffices, where – says Ed Barnett of Latham & Watkins – he ‘achieved a great deal for the business and showed himself to be a real talent’. Brian Sher of CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang adds that Laventure has ‘demonstrated a number of qualities which mark him out as outstanding. He has excellent management skills. People want to be in his team and to work with him and for him. He is also very sophisticated in his approach to commissioning external advice, including breaking projects up into their constituent parts. This makes him second to none when it comes to translating complex legal opinions into practical, commercial advice. Above all, he has a massive dose of common sense that helps him succeed’.