What are the key projects you have been involved in over the past twelve months?

Over the last twelve months, I have led a number of strategic legal, regulatory and governance initiatives that have supported HDI UK & Ireland’s continuing transformation and growth agenda.

One of the most significant matters was the successful authorisation of HDI Global UK Limited, a new carrier for HDI in the UK, to support our FSCS business. I led the Legal and Compliance workstream and managed the application and the regulatory engagement piece. The company was authorised in July 2025 and started writing business in October 2025.

July 2026 saw the conclusion of the PRA enforcement action against the HDI Global UK branch, that ran for approximately eighteen months and required extensive engagement with regulators, senior stakeholders and external advisers. My role was to oversee the legal and regulatory strategy, coordinate key decisions and external counsel and ensure the business maintained an effective and transparent approach throughout. This was the second enforcement decision published under the PRA’s Early Account Scheme.

I also continued to support major organisational transformation initiatives across HDI UK & Ireland. This included governance and regulatory support for the continuing evolution of our UK operating model, development of governance frameworks and delegated authorities and legal input into strategic operational change programmes. My focus has been on ensuring that commercial objectives can be delivered while maintaining appropriate regulatory and governance oversight.

Another important area has been supporting the business in navigating increasing regulatory expectations. This included advising on UK regulated activities, overseeing regulatory engagement, supporting Consumer Duty implementation and ensuring that Group policies and frameworks are appropriately adapted for UK and Irish regulatory requirements. As both general counsel and chief compliance officer, I have been able to provide joined-up legal and compliance leadership which has improved efficiency and consistency of decision making.

Alongside these larger strategic initiatives, I have continued to lead significant governance activities, support contract negotiations, oversee dispute management, provide legal support to underwriting and claims teams, and ensure effective Board and committee governance across multiple entities. The value of these activities is not simply risk mitigation but enabling the business to pursue opportunities confidently and at pace.

Please provide a brief description of any internal transformation/development projects within your legal team over the last twelve months.

The most significant internal development initiative has been the redesign of the compliance operating model and broader Legal and Compliance structure.

Over the past year, we undertook a detailed review of our operating model to ensure the function is future-proofed as regulatory expectations increase and the business evolves. This resulted in a clearer structure for Compliance based around specialist disciplines including advisory and regulatory support, customer outcomes and product governance, monitoring and assurance and dedicated business partnering. The objective was to improve accountability, strengthen subject matter expertise and create greater resilience across the team.

We have also focused on enhancing governance documentation, clarifying roles and responsibilities and improving evidence of oversight activities. These changes have helped increase consistency, improve management information and strengthen the organisation’s ability to demonstrate effective governance and compliance oversight.

AI has also become an important area of focus. We are developing governance arrangements for the adoption of AI tools and assessing how technology can be used safely within Legal and Compliance processes. Our approach is grounded in ensuring appropriate controls, transparency, data protection and human oversight, while leveraging opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce administrative burden.

We have continued to invest in developing talent within the team, creating clearer career pathways, strengthening leadership capability and ensuring colleagues gain exposure to a broad range of strategic and operational matters

The role of the GC has evolved significantly into that of a strategic business partner. How do you balance commercial objectives with legal risk?

I believe the general counsel should enable the business, not simply identify risks. The key is understanding the commercial objective first and then helping stakeholders achieve it in the most effective manner possible.

Rather than approaching matters from a purely legal perspective, we need to focus on understanding the business context, risk appetite and strategic priorities. This allows me and my team to provide pragmatic advice that supports decision making whilst ensuring that legal and regulatory risks remain properly managed.

It is important to me that engaging with the legal team is viewed as a benefit to the business rather than a barrier. Building strong relationships, maintaining credibility and communicating in a practical and solution-focused manner are all essential.

How do you use AI within your legal team to improve efficiency while maintaining quality, governance and integrity? How do you think AI will impact in-house legal functions more widely?

AI presents significant opportunities for in-house legal teams, particularly in areas such as document review, legal research, drafting support, horizon scanning and management information.

Our approach is to embrace the potential benefits whilst ensuring that robust governance and oversight is in place. Human judgement remains critical. Legal professionals must continue to assess and review content and retain responsibility for the final advice.

I believe AI will fundamentally change how in-house teams operate over the next five years. It will reduce time spent on repetitive administrative tasks and enable lawyers to focus on higher-value strategic activities. The organisations that succeed will be those that combine technology adoption with investment in people. For example, it is really important that we do not neglect junior lawyers who have not got the benefit of the years of experience before AI, and we must find a balance to ensure they also develop as legal advisors.

With increasing regulatory complexity across jurisdictions, how do you embed compliance across the business?

Embedding compliance is about culture rather than rules alone. My objective is to ensure that compliance is understood to be part of everyday business activities for everyone, rather than just a separate function which is there to pick up the regulatory slack.

This starts with clear governance, well-defined responsibilities and strong engagement with the business. We work closely with stakeholders to translate regulatory requirements into practical processes, controls and guidance that support day-to-day operations. Where we need to, we provide support, but the first line of defence must take ownership of operational responsibilities so that the second line can provide proper oversight.

Training, horizon scanning and early involvement in strategic initiatives are also important. By engaging at the outset of projects rather than at the point of implementation, compliance can help shape solutions and avoid issues arising later.

Most importantly, we aim to create an environment in which colleagues feel comfortable seeking advice, escalating issues and discussing matters openly. A strong compliance culture is built through engagement, transparency and trust.