The GC Powerlist looks ahead to the client redefining the profession


The GC Powerlist returns for its fifth annual report after launching back in 2013 and once more the format has evolved. While partially returning to the rising star model we used back in 2014, the 2017 edition has become a two-hander under the unifying title, The Clients of Tomorrow.

On one hand we have, following months of research, identified 55 outstanding individuals working at established companies active in the UK. This group is focused primarily on the in-house counsel fast establishing themselves in the middle ranks of their teams, typically in their 30s or early 40s.

Continue reading “The GC Powerlist looks ahead to the client redefining the profession”

Managing your career as an in-house counsel – the four key steps

1. Have a plan and be proactive

It is important to have a career plan as the only person responsible for managing your career is you. If you cannot grow and develop within your own organisation (and often you can), think about whether you need to make a move. Talk to other in-house lawyers and if you are junior, find a mentor. A good recruiter will also advise you on career planning and what clients are seeking. Be strategic and keep growing.

 

Continue reading “Managing your career as an in-house counsel – the four key steps”

Great expectations – what happened next for our 2014 class of rising stars

The 2014 GC Powerlist focused on the rising stars of the in-house community. Three years on, we look back at the career moves of our line-up

Featured in this year’s GC Powerlist, UniCredit’s global head of capital markets for legal, Alex Ainley, offers some advice to junior lawyers embarking on a career in-house: ‘When the opportunity to work on something arises, however menial it appears, take advantage of that opportunity. Always say yes.’

Continue reading “Great expectations – what happened next for our 2014 class of rising stars”

Rising Stars: Financial Services

Marco Boldini

Director – European regulatory counsel

ETF SECURITIES (UK)

Marco Boldini serves as European regulatory counsel at ETF Securities, an asset management house focused on exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange-traded commodities (commodity ETCs) and exchange-traded currencies (currency ETCs) with offices in Jersey, London, New York, Sydney and Hong Kong. Based in London, Boldini is responsible for overseeing all regulatory functions across Europe and analysing the impact of emerging regulations. He is also chair of ETF Securities’ MiFID II committee, a member of its worldwide risk and compliance committee and leads the company’s advocacy and lobbying efforts by engaging with various European regulators.

Continue reading “Rising Stars: Financial Services”

Rising Stars: Infrastructure, Transport and Real Estate

Samantha Sawyer

Legal director

AMEY

Since 2008, Samantha Sawyer has worked for infrastructure service provider Amey, a subsidiary of Spanish multinational Ferrovial. Sawyer is now legal director and sits as a member of the executive team on two of Amey’s core business units, Highways and Consulting and Rail, which together account for around half the group’s revenues.

Continue reading “Rising Stars: Infrastructure, Transport and Real Estate”

Rising Stars: Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare

Amanda Miller Collins

Vice president and lead European counsel

SHIRE

As a UK-focused, Irish-headquartered entity with operational headquarters in the US, primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on Nasdaq, Shire’s legal team needs a lot of cross-border expertise. The former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer lawyer Amanda Miller Collins has been part of Shire’s legal division since 2003 and, where the pharmaceutical industry has witnessed frenzied deal-making in recent years, has been tasked with helping co-ordinate the company’s growth.

Continue reading “Rising Stars: Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare”

Rising Stars: Retail

Anna Lawrence

Legal director, offer and supply chain

KINGFISHER

Anna Lawrence is legal director of Kingfisher’s offer and supply chain business unit. Formed in 2015, the business brings together the buying teams for a large portfolio of home improvement brands, including B&Q and Screwfix in the UK and Brico Dépôt and Castorama in France, with Lawrence now overseeing everything from managing relationships with suppliers to monitoring IP on thousands of product lines globally.

Continue reading “Rising Stars: Retail”

The Companies of Tomorrow: Fintech and Alternative Finance

SEEDRS

Industry/sector: Venture capital

Founded: 2009

Founders: Jeff Lynn, Carlos Silva

Chief legal officer: Karen Kerrigan

Based: London

Seedrs began as an MBA project at Oxford’s Saïd Business School before launching in 2012. In May that year it raised £1.3m in funding and received authorisation to become the first regulated equity crowdfunding platform in the world. Like Crowdcube, its model is based on bringing crowd investors and entrepreneurs together to invest in start-ups. It has now funded over 350 companies and helped to invest over £130m through campaigns on its platform.

Continue reading “The Companies of Tomorrow: Fintech and Alternative Finance”

The Companies of Tomorrow: Trailblazers

SECRET ESCAPES

Industry/sector: Travel

Founded: 2010

Founders: Tom Valentine, Alex Saint

Head of legal: Christine Cordon

Heralded as one of the UK’s runaway tech success stories, members-only British travel company Secret Escapes has made its mark in the travel industry selling heavily discounted luxury hotel stays and trips through its website and mobile app.

Continue reading “The Companies of Tomorrow: Trailblazers”

The Companies of Tomorrow: Technology and Digital Business

 

SKYSCANNER

Industry/sector: Travel

Founded: 2001

Founders: Gareth Williams, Barry Smith, Bonamy Grimes

General counsel: Carolyn Jameson

Founded in Edinburgh in 2001, Skyscanner has revenues of £120m and has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London in the UK with additional offices in locations including Singapore, Beijing, Miami, Barcelona, and Tokyo. The site is available in over 30 languages and on average is used by 60 million people per month.

Continue reading “The Companies of Tomorrow: Technology and Digital Business”