James Ford on his leadership maxims, how he deals with the pressures of life as a GC and the highlights of three decades at GSK

James Ford joins the call with Legal Business from holiday in Florida. He has just helped his employer, multinational pharma and biotech giant GSK, secure a significant settlement after a long-running patent dispute over a covid mRNA vaccine. ‘That was week one of my holiday – but in this role some things can’t be completely delegated, and timing is rarely a choice!’ he jokes.

The settlement is a big win for Ford and GSK after two years navigating multiple court cases across Europe and the US. ‘It’s like a game of chess; you need to make your moves at the right moment,’ says Ford of the dispute. ‘If you go too soon, you may have played your hand and lose your leverage.’

It’s a long way from his first exposure to the legal profession at the age of 15, doing work experience in a high street law firm. ‘I grew up in rural Lincolnshire where my knowledge of future careers and possibilities was quite limited,’ reflects Ford, who admits that a large part of the initial attraction of law was the possibility of new experiences and a different life.

‘I knew that I didn’t want to live a parochial and quiet life and wanted “the bright lights” of a city environment. As I went through university, I saw the law as a route into an international life, even though I had no idea what it looked like,’ he recalls.

He gained his first experience of this life during the final seat of his training contract at Clifford Chance, which he spent in bustling Hong Kong. ‘‘It was a complete game-changer for me. I realised that living overseas in a dynamic international environment was within reach if you really wanted it. I found myself living in an apartment in Hong Kong at the age of 23 – it was an incredible and formative experience.’

‘It’s like a game of chess; you need to make your moves at the right moment, if you go too soon, you may have played your hand and lose your leverage’

Six years after joining CC, in 1995, Ford took a job at SmithKline Beecham, as it was then, and quickly realised that working in-house suited him more than a law firm.

‘When you’re a young lawyer in private practice, there’s a limit to how much responsibility you’re given. But when you’re in a large company, the limit is determined by what people think of your capability, and often what comes through the door of the business that you are a part of. Lessons in “ownership” come early in-house.’

Soon after joining, Ford was given the chance to live internationally with GSK and jumped at the chance. ‘A year and a half into it, they asked if I wanted to go and work in Pittsburgh. I’d barely heard of Pittsburgh.’

‘My wife and I had just had our first child five months earlier, but we went for it and flew out on a one-way ticket into the Pittsburgh winter. We didn’t know anybody at all, but it was a huge turning point in our lives.

‘We arrived for an 18-month secondment, which turned into a total of 13 years living and building my career in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and the New York City area. I took the New York State Bar, and we all became US citizens. It was a total game-changer that I could never have predicted.’

His role at GSK has taken him beyond the US, with Ford also spending time in Singapore before relocating back to London. A year later in 2018 he was made group GC.

‘When you’re a young lawyer in private practice, there’s a limit to how much responsibility you’re given. But when you’re in a large company, the limit is determined by what people think of your capability’

With his career at the company now spanning 30 years, Ford is clear about the positives of working in-house, highlighting the exposure to the multiple problems that can hit a business; from cyberattacks, to bribery and corruption matters, through to liaising with healthcare professionals. ‘In my role I handle the legal and risk issues that can stem from macroeconomic and geopolitical forces that affect the group, it’s so broad. The clue’s in the word ‘general,’ he laughs.

He also appreciates working with other professionals beyond law. ‘It is stimulating and exciting when you work with smart people from a broad range of disciplines, backgrounds and skill sets. It would be easy to go through law school and adopt a blinkered view of the world. You cannot succeed in a multinational company by doing that.’

Working with all of these people and being part of a single company, understanding exactly how it works, sits well with Ford. ‘I realised early in my career that a strong link to purpose and a sense of ownership in a business that does good in society is important to me. I find it more inspiring than being in a business where the primary purpose is the practice of law.’

The breadth, unpredictability and the people may be what Ford most enjoys about his role now, but he acknowledges that first stepping up to the GC role is not without challenges.

‘From day one as GC, the rules change. Suddenly you don’t have anyone to delegate problems up to within the legal function. You can be sitting at home one day thinking things are going swimmingly, and the next day you’re facing what can feel like an existential crisis. You learn a lot of lessons from that experience, particularly the value in keeping calm and having a first-rate team around you.’

Despite these challenges, Ford is clear that the crowning highlight in a career of many highs has been becoming GC.

Other highs have included working on the successful demerger and subsequent listing of GSK’s consumer healthcare business Haleon in 2022.

Ford describes his leadership approach as pragmatic and flexible, as well as calm. ‘It’s never good if the GC is flapping away in a crisis,’ he quips.

This ability to stay calm has been tested over the years. ‘Going back quite a few years, I was leading negotiations on a very large acquisition. After weeks of negotiations, we got to the day of signing. The CEO was coming into New York to join the team. We were about to sign the deal in a matter of hours and then, out of the blue, it all fell over.’

‘I have a vivid memory of the documents being arranged on the boardroom table for signature, and champagne being brought in to celebrate the signature – moments before we received a call telling us the deal was off.’

After that deal fell through, Ford acknowledges that ‘it took quite a long time to recover’.

‘From day one as GC, the rules change. Suddenly you don’t have anyone to delegate problems up to within the legal function’

But he learnt a lot from the experience. ‘What I learned from that experience is that it’s a job. It’s not your life, and it can never be your life. It will be a big and important part of it, but you can’t be left with nothing when work is done. You have to protect yourself and work hard to keep your private life intact.’

It’s a lesson he passes on to the team around him, who continue to be a large motivator in his career.

‘You can’t overestimate the value a great team brings,’ he stresses. Ford sees fair and balanced leadership, bringing the team together and recognising individuals’ contributions as an essential part of his job.

‘It’s a balance of nurturing continuity with those you can trust and upgrading those that should be upgraded, and that includes developing the people that you have as well as sometimes replacing those that don’t fit the role. You need to bring the team together, so the team is cohesive, trusts each other and operates as a team rather than a collection of individuals.’

In the current climate, with pay wars between top private practice firms causing NQ salaries to soar, this sense of team is particularly important.

While Ford acknowledges that in-house departments find it hard to compete when it comes to compensation, he points out that there are other benefits that private practice can’t match.

‘There are a lot of benefits that come with working in-house. It could be equity, it could be better healthcare, it could be pension contributions and, these days, more flexible working. As you grow through your career, you realise that the overall financial package can be comparable to being in private practice at a certain point. It’s made up of many different things. However, the overall package is more than just financial – money on its own doesn’t buy happiness.’

‘It’s not your life and it can never be your life. It will be a big and important part of it, but you can’t be left with nothing when work is done’

For Ford, happiness is tied with maintaining a close relationship with his family. ‘This job requires a strong foundation at home. Whatever that means to you will be a very personal thing, but my wife has been my rock. and continues to be my best friend to this day. I am very close to my three children, all of whom live in the US, and try to spend time with them whenever I can.’

From where his legal journey began, at his local high street firm at fifteen, to a decades’ long career at one of the most recognisable pharma companies in the world, Ford reflects: ‘Although there will always be bumps along the way, it certainly hasn’t disappointed. I have done many different things and seen many different parts of the world. It’s been challenging, fulfilling and an opportunity to work with great people.’

And though the bumps are a part of corporate life – recent challenges include executive orders, tariffs and sanctions – as well as successes such as the recent patent settlement – the people and the work keep him at GSK. ‘When I joined I intended to stay for two years; tomorrow is my 30th anniversary – and still going strong.’

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