French energy management company Schneider Electric has been on a buying spree lately, most recently with its £3.4bn acquisition of Invensys, completed in 2014. These deals have seen the number of lawyers at the company rise to nearly 300, leading Peter Wexler, Schneider’s US-based group general counsel, to reflect on what it means to lead and train a legal function.

‘One of the key things about leadership is how you develop your talent,’ says Wexler. ‘I want to be around good people and smart people, so I personally interview most if not all who join this department. I tell them this: “If you make a decision and it’s wrong we’ll fix it, and if it’s well-reasoned and in the best interests of the company then I will support you even if it ends up being a catastrophe because I don’t want you to be afraid of making decisions.”‘ Continue reading “Perspectives: Peter Wexler, Schneider Electric”

As GC of Nokia during the complex carve-out and sale of its handsets division to Microsoft, Louise Pentland refined her leadership skills at the sharp end. An early exposure to a formal in-house training programme was, she says, vital preparation for a senior role. ‘I was lucky because I joined Nokia at a very early stage in my career and their internal training is all around being the best you can be, developing networks, and getting results without trampling on people.’

Since that time, says Pentland, a growing skills gap between in-house and private practice has made structured training even more necessary. ‘Companies are more flexible in their understanding of the role of corporate counsel and lawyers are more willing to step across boundaries. It’s a far better situation from a career development and employee retention point of view but it means in-house lawyers need leadership skills and GCs need to ensure staff have those skills.’ Continue reading “Perspectives: Louise Pentland, PayPal”

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”

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”

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”