Neil Laventure – GC Powerlist
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United Kingdom 2021

Healthcare

Neil Laventure

Vice president legal EMEA | GSK

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United Kingdom 2021

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General counsel, legal head of global categories and R&D | GSK Consumer Healthcare

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About

Team size: 30

Major legal advisers: Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy, CMS, Addleshaw Goddard

What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last year?

We have worked on a large number of transactions and transformational programmes. In particular, we have been integrating our joint venture with Pfizer Consumer Healthcare and preparing to separate from GSK in 2022 by way of a demerger, so that GSK Consumer Healthcare will enter the FTSE 100 as a standalone entity. It’s been very busy! It’s also very exciting, and the team have really gone the extra mile to move at pace, in difficult circumstances, with Covid preventing face to face interactions. Last year, for the JV with Pfizer, my team helped to implement the largest ever “cutover wave” GSK has undertaken with respect to integration of different business units following an acquisition. We also mounted a strong defence of competitor/regulator challenges against our products across the region.

Has WFH inspired any innovation in terms of the way you or your team work? Are there any standout products or tech you now use that you never did before?

When Covid started to become an issue in 2020, we scrambled to support the business in our incident management teams, and the response was largely localised in each case, so the EMEA legal team were right in the middle of those crisis management discussions. Our work increased, advising on business continuity plans, re-entry preparation (including significant uptake in the use of digital channels), strategy and risk management (field force, head office staff and manufacturing sites), and product claims and liabilities. Whilst we are all really looking forward to returning to the office and collaborating in person, we have adapted and found ways to work together remotely as efficiently as possible. We do use video calls a lot more (Microsoft Teams), and have developed new ways of working to try to avoid things becoming too transactional over e-mail. Even things like using the chat function or “raising your hand” can be really helpful. We have had lots of regular catch-ups as a team, and shared personal stories, with a real focus on mental health and wellbeing throughout. For example, I shared with my team that I have been jumping into an old whisky barrel filled with ice water! We’ve also made sure that inclusion and diversity are top of the agenda, and everyone gets a chance to contribute in virtual meetings. Digital is definitely getting more important, and we are in the process of launching our own digital transformation, starting with the way we manage contracts.

Even in the best-case scenario, Covid is likely to have far-reaching ramifications. How are you safeguarding the long-term health of the business?

We have experienced quite a lot of volatility in our trading over the past year. The Consumer Healthcare business experienced increased demand across the range of products due to “pantry loading” in the first part of the year, which then resulted in some subsequent decreased demand. Demand increased for pain relief, vitamins, minerals and supplements in the wake of Covid, as consumers purchased products intended to improve the immune system and treat symptoms. To safeguard the long-term health of our business, we are developing a culture and purpose which will allow us to grow the core range whilst expanding into different categories through relevant innovation, and different go-to-market models. We are also implementing a “performance with choice” programme, so that colleagues can work in a flexible way, depending on their personal circumstances. We have welcomed a new leader of our function, Bjarne Tellmann (previously GC at Pearson). Bjarne has a huge amount of experience and is a very transparent, thoughtful and inspirational leader of the team, which is so important as we consider how we might best work together to get ready for the demerger, and how we become a separate, independent legal team next year, whilst continuing to be part of James Ford’s team until we split.

How has the massive shift to e-commerce and the closure of brick-and-mortar stores presented any unique legal challenges for your company’s trading?

We have seen a significant increase in our digital commerce business as a result of Covid, as consumers have bought more personal healthcare products online. In the legal team, we have needed to respond to ensure we support relationships with existing customers, and enhance those with an accelerated sales trajectory. We have needed to be very responsive to the demands of the business with respect to different kinds of challenges (advertising, privacy, competition law etc.).

How positively do you view the Brexit withdrawal agreement and are there any areas that you think future agreements should pay attention to?

We aren’t expecting the Brexit agreement to have any long-term impact on our business. It will be very interesting to see how our laws adapt and continue to mirror those of the EU, particularly with respect to competition laws and privacy.

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