When Penny Dudley, former legal director of Bupa’s international health insurance division, was asked to move into the chief legal officer role earlier this year, it was an opportunity to reflect on the importance of non-legal skills. ‘We have a strong focus on leadership at Bupa at all senior levels, but it’s a big step when you go from one part of a business to overseeing the entire group. It brought it home that you need to make sure in-house lawyers have these skills at an early stage. It’s a bit late to start investing in leadership once you’ve put someone on the executive committee.’ Continue reading “Perspectives: Penny Dudley, Bupa”
Perspectives: Maria Varsellona, Nokia
Nokia’s transformation over the last few years has tested the leadership skills of all function heads. In April 2014 it completed the $7.2bn sale of its handsets business to Microsoft, and by January 2016 its $16.6bn acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent was in place, cementing its transition from a large phone producer to an even larger networking and IT business.
In spite of the changes, core elements of Nokia remain in place, including its respected learning and development centre, the Nokia Academy. A group-wide emphasis on training, says Maria Varsellona, who joined Nokia Solutions as general counsel in 2013 and was promoted to chief legal officer of the wider Nokia group a year later, is at the heart of running a successful legal function. Continue reading “Perspectives: Maria Varsellona, Nokia”
Perspectives: Clare Wardle, Coca-Cola European Partners
Recruited from FTSE 100 company Kingfisher to oversee the legal function at the newly-merged soft drink entity Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP), Clare Wardle has plenty of leadership experience to undertake the challenge of integrating the three legal teams at Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola Iberian Partners, and Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke.
Wardle was called to the Bar in 1984 and moved to Lovells in 1986 where she worked for ten years before moving in-house – first at the Post Office, where she served as head of legal, before working as general counsel (GC) and company secretary at Tube Lines. She joined British retailer Kingfisher in 2010 as group legal director, taking over as group GC in 2012 where she became responsible for risk, governance, competition and compliance matters. Now based in Uxbridge, Wardle serves as a member of the executive leadership team at CCEP, reporting to chief executive John Brock and serving as legal adviser to company chair Sol Daurella. Continue reading “Perspectives: Clare Wardle, Coca-Cola European Partners”
Brexit: a pragmatic position for the worried managing partner
Theresa May’s claim from the distant history of July that ‘Brexit means Brexit’ has already become famous for answering nothing about the uncertainties facing the UK other than the government proposes to ultimately leave the EU.
Continue reading “Brexit: a pragmatic position for the worried managing partner”
LB100 Focus: Don’t look back in anger: Ashurst leadership tries to rally partners but the drift continues
Five years on from its controversial Australian combination – and after a punishing 2015/16 – the storied City firm is still far from finding the form it needs in a competitive global market
‘We had known that the firm had been struggling for a while but we didn’t know, and certainly weren’t expecting, a 20% decrease to our [profit per equity partner] PEP,’ a recent Ashurst leaver tells Legal Business.
Brexit: a pragmatic position for the worried managing partner
Theresa May’s claim from the distant history of July that ‘Brexit means Brexit’ has already become famous for answering nothing about the uncertainties facing the UK other than the government proposes to ultimately leave the EU.
Welcome to the uncharted waters of modern British politics – a claim often made but usually untrue. I don’t even follow the logic of those claiming Brexit is inevitable – you can as easily imagine an EU departure abandoned entirely as ending up with a hardline exit. There is nothing binding about the mandate – the public has had their say, but probably not their final say. No commitments – including indications from Downing Street that article 50 will not be triggered until well into 2017 – clear up the point.
Continue reading “Brexit: a pragmatic position for the worried managing partner”
No more Taylor Who? Flair and a bit of vision take Taylor Wessing to next step but what now?
Matthew Field and Victoria Young talk to Taylor Wessing head Tim Eyles and assess the firm’s prospects
‘When Tim Eyles took over there was a sea change,’ says one Taylor Wessing partner of their firm’s high-profile UK managing partner. ‘What you need as a leader is clear vision and Tim’s vision of how important it is to be global and focused and to have a culture that recognises achievement is key.’
Asian ambition: A&O moves capital markets partner Miller to Hong Kong for regional head role
Allen & Overy has boosted its Asian offering with partner Stephen Miller moving from London to Hong Kong to take on the newly-created role of head of Asia capital markets.
Keep calm and… The GC guide to handling a crisis
Cyber attacks, corporate scandals, environmental disaster… just some of the threats businesses face as they go global. Legal Business asks leading GCs how to handle – and avoid – a crisis.
‘I’ve dealt with many crises… government investigations, data privacy breaches, pollution… they’re all nauseating. Your gut churns when you get that call and know the next few weeks or even years are going to be tough.’
Bjarne Tellmann, general counsel, Pearson
‘What happened to Lehman Brothers? And to Bear Stearns? I’m not sure even the people at Lehman or Bear Stearns could tell you. The only certainty is the fourth and fifth largest investment banks in the US are no longer. And that it happened with breathtaking speed.’
Peter Beshar, general counsel, Marsh & McLennan
Continue reading “Keep calm and… The GC guide to handling a crisis”
Freshfields’ top deal lawyer Mark Rawlinson quits for senior banking role at Morgan Stanley
Mark Rawlinson, one of the top City lawyers of his generation, is to quit Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to join Morgan Stanley as its new chair of UK investment banking.