Head of legal - Vietnam and Asia Area frontier markets / director of legal affairs and organisational capacity development | AstraZeneca
Chief legal officer | Hoi An South Development
General counsel and head of legal, compliance, and corporate affairs | Pharmacity
Head of legal, compliance and government affairs | Asia Clean Capital Vietnam
Director of legal and compliance division | MB Shinsei Finance (Mcredit)
Head of legal and contract manager | Ricons Construction Investment
Senior vice president - head of legal | Emergent Property Services Vietnam
We are beyond thrilled to announce the second edition of the GC Powerlist: Vietnam, building on the success of last year’s inaugural publication. This edition highlights a whole new plethora of accomplished in-house lawyers in one of the world’s foremost high-growth and high-potential economies. As well as celebrating their exceptional achievements and innovative approaches as they navigate the complexities of the legal landscape, we delve into what creative strategies they have used to navigate the unique challenges they face in the Vietnamese business context.
The in-house legal community in Vietnam expands its knowledge base every day, with local lawyers increasingly taking on prominent roles internationally. The GC Powerlist Team is proud to foster connections within this vibrant and positive in-house legal community.
Inside this edition, you will find in-depth profiles and exclusive interviews with influential general counsel from a variety of industries. These professionals have consistently demonstrated their capacity to shape legal strategies, mitigate risks, and provide invaluable guidance to their organisations. Their accomplishments inspire the legal community, showcasing the significant impact that in-house lawyers can have on business strategies and overall success.
As in-house counsel play a more active role in decision-making, they are well-positioned to advise on building strong partnerships. Tong Thi Thu Thao, head of legal and contract manager at Ricons Construction Investment, shares insights on collaboration: “The key to successful partnerships is being proactive, maintaining effective communication, and engaging early to align legal and business objectives. This means considering commercial factors, rather than focusing solely on legal issues. In-house legal counsel should actively understand their company’s operations and strategic goals, regularly update on relevant regulations, and provide timely support, even without specific requests from management. By adopting a proactive approach and ensuring transparency in all communications, the legal team builds trust and fosters a shared goal of mutual growth. Legal leaders should position their function as facilitators, helping the business achieve its objectives within the legal framework.”
This publication addresses various topics and challenges unique to the in-house legal sector. We invite you to explore the GC Powerlist: Vietnam 2024 and discover the remarkable stories of these exceptional professionals. Through their experiences and insights, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of Vietnam’s in-house legal landscape, highlighting the invaluable contributions of the nation’s top corporate lawyers.
On behalf of The Legal 500, I extend my deepest gratitude to all the featured in-house lawyers for their valuable contributions and for sharing their journeys with us. It is my pleasure to present this distinguished collection, showcasing Vietnam’s most exceptional and dedicated in-house legal talent.
Joe Boswell
Global editor – GC Powerlist
The Legal 500
Legal 500 was proud to host the second edition of the GC Powerlist: East Africa 2025 in Nairobi, honouring the top General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Directors, and senior in-house legal professionals across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. This year’s reception brought together over 100 of the most influential and innovative corporate counsel from the region, and was an unrivalled success, cementing Legal 500’s role as the leading voice in recognising in-house legal excellence across Africa.
The evening was opened by Joe Boswell, lead editor of the GC Powerlist publication at Legal 500, who highlighted the growing prestige of the East Africa edition and the increasing challenge of selecting honourees from such a deep (and rapidly growing) pool of talent.
Guests were then treated to some particularly relevant insights from distinguished speakers. Rachel Musoke, Head of ENS Uganda, delivered a thoughtful welcome that reflected on the importance of collaboration between private practice and in-house teams. This was followed by a powerful keynote from Habil Waswani, Company Secretary & Director Legal Services and Regulatory Compliance at Kenya Airways, who shared reflections on leadership, regulatory stewardship, and the evolving role of corporate counsel in East Africa.
The highlight of the evening was the certificate ceremony, where this year’s honourees were formally recognised. Certificates were presented by senior representatives of ENS, including Désiré Kamanzi (head of ENS Rwanda), Rachel Musoke, Nigel Shaw (head of ENS Kenya), Donald Nyakairu (Partner, ENS Uganda), Dieudonne Nzafashwanayo (partner, ENS Rwanda) and Binti Shah (Partner, ENS Kenya) whose participation underlined the depth of the firm’s support for the GC Powerlist initiative.
The GC Powerlist: East Africa 2025 reaffirmed The Legal 500’s commitment to shining a spotlight on the region’s most talented in-house lawyers. With an even stronger field of candidates, this year’s edition stands as a powerful testament to the influence and expertise of East Africa’s legal leaders. Habil Waswani’s excellent speech, which got a raucous reception from those in the room, is reproduced below with his permission:
‘My name is Habil Waswani, and I have been an inhouse legal practitioner for the past 21 years in different sectors (having done law-firm practice for 2 years before that). Tt is indeed a true privilege and honour for me to be here tonight, surrounded by the sharpest legal minds and calmest crisis-handlers the East African corporate world has to offer.
First, let me thank the Legal 500 and ENSAfrica teams, for organising such a fantastic event and for bringing us together in such style. Congratulations to each of tonight’s honourees. You represent the very best of general counsel in this very dynamic corporate space the businesses we support operate in. Strategic, ethical, resilient, and, let’s be honest, often underappreciated leaders of industry.
I am so happy that this evening is not about contracts, or compliance checklists, or board packs. Tonight is about celebrating you, the people behind all of that. The steady hands guiding companies through complexities, uncertainties, and ensuring that the opportunities that lie within those difficult circumstances are lawfully realized.
We all know the role of GCs has evolved. We are no longer tucked away at the end of a corridor marked “Legal” or labelled the proverbial “cost centres”. These days, the GCs sit at the big table – helping drive corporate strategy, shaping desired culture, providing leadership and safeguarding business reputations. We have become indispensable partners to businesses, interpreters, navigators, protectors… and on some (many) days, therapists with law degrees. And yet, we mostly do it all so quietly. No victory laps, no press releases. Often, success for us means the expected disaster didn’t happen.
But tonight, we break that rule. Tonight, we raise a glass to the GCs who’ve blazed the trail courageously, with clarity, conviction, and tremendous resilience that only matches the expectations of the Leadership Guru John Maxwell when he said, “resilient leaders don’t wait for the storm to past — they learn to dance in the rain”. You have managed to balance growth and governance, risk and reward regularly. And, of course, always managed to deal with those 10pm messages: “Hey, just a quick question…Are you able to talk right now…?”
Let this evening serve as a reminder that you are not just experienced legal advisors. You are leaders — spear heads and enablers of execution — and without a doubt critical pillars of business strategy.
To all the honourees, congratulations once again for the well-deserved recognition. This is for the heavy lifting that you do, the standards you uphold, and the impact you make – quietly, consistently, and brilliantly so. You’ve earned this spotlight.