James Blendis – Everything Everywhere

James Blendis

General Counsel and Company Secretary

Everything Everywhere

 

 

James Blendis is used to high-profile work: he oversaw the game-changing merger between Orange and T-Mobile in 2010 and took part in the Leveson inquiry last year. ‘I was never a specialised telecoms guy – you have to learn on the job and technically you have to learn how the networks operate otherwise you’re not able to do your job properly,’ he says.

Continue reading “James Blendis – Everything Everywhere”

Patrick Stewart – Manchester United Football Club

Patrick Stewart

Director of legal and business affairs

Manchester United Football Club

 

Patrick Stewart has presided over some big changes since he took over as director of legal at Manchester United Football Club, as the club has continued to become a global phenomenon: in the last 12 months alone, MUFC has opened an office in Hong Kong and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Continue reading “Patrick Stewart – Manchester United Football Club”

Andrew Garard – ITV

Andrew Garard

Group legal director

ITV

When Andrew Garard arrived at ITV, he immediately set about clearing out the television company’s long list of external legal advisers, sweeping away 36 of the 45 firms. He has spent considerable time choosing high-calibre individuals who are ‘fun and challenging’. The company uses external counsel for M&A, litigation, property, HR, IP and IT and Treasury issues.

Continue reading “Andrew Garard – ITV”

Claire Carless – Siemens

Claire Carless

UK General counsel and company secretary

Siemens

 

Claire Carless has only been at Siemens for a short time, joining the company in January 2012 and taking the role of GC for North West Europe as well as the UK role last summer. She has a sizeable legal team of 35 lawyers and a compliance team of six, spread across various parts of England. One of her first tasks was to review the legal panel.

Continue reading “Claire Carless – Siemens”

Marcus Lee – Channel 5

Marcus Lee

Director of legal and commercial affairs

Channel 5

 

Marcus Lee says that the pull of working in the broadcast industry is ‘that it is always evolving – no two days are the same’. However, he adds that its constantly fluctuating nature means it is also an incredibly competitive industry, in terms of acquiring the best content, keeping up with a large variety of platforms and looking at innovative revenue streams while keeping traditional advertisers happy.

Continue reading “Marcus Lee – Channel 5”