Today’s modern general counsel (GC) wears several hats – compliance officer, risk and crisis manager, strategic adviser, C-suite member, and counsellor in-chief to the chief executive officer and the board.
This session will explore these various roles, and the challenges and opportunities faced by GCs and the legal departments they lead as they adopt and assume these roles. The session will also tackle issues that keep them up at night, and identify how external counsels can provide added value and support to GCs and their in-house teams as they navigate the complexities of doing business in the new decade.
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Masako Takahata IDI, Tokyo; Corporate Counsel Forum Liaison Officer, IBA Asia Pacific Regional Forum
Daphne Lim is Chief Counsel for American Express in Asia. Based in Singapore, Daphne leads a team of lawyers that support the company across more than 30 markets. Daphne played a leading role in helping American Express achieve a strategic breakthrough in China, becoming the first foreign company to be awarded a network license in that market. Daphne is passionate about building a diverse team to support the rapid growth of the company in Asia. She started her career in private practice as a litigator and held in-house positions at both U.S. and Singapore listed companies, before joining American Express in 2007. Most importantly for her, she is the proud (if at times weary) mother of two young children, James and Claire.
Daisuke Hayashi
Daisuke Hayashi is Chief Legal Officer at PERSOL HOLDINGS, a leading HR services provider, which is listed in Tokyo Stock Exchange. He is in charge of legal, governance, risk management and compliance functions for PERSOL group. He is also a member of the PERSOL’s senior executive team and the chairperson its Risk Management Committee.
Perry Pe
Mr. Perry L. Pe is a Senior Partner and Member of the Executive Board of the Manila-based law firm, Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles. He is also the Honorary Consul General of the Kingdom of Denmark in the Philippines based in Cebu. Mr. Pe was the President of the Inter Pacific Bar Association in 2018.
Masako Takahata
Masako Takahata is General Counsel for Industrial Decisions Inc.(“IDI”), having joined IDI Infrastructures Inc. in 2019. Her role involves advising on strategic investments and regulatory and/or political risks in the energy and infrastructure sector globally. She also manages compliance issues across multiple jurisdictions and dispute resolution practices.
Prior to joining IDI, Masako spent five years in Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation, one of the most successful renewable energy companies with 3GW of wind power capacity in more than 15 jurisdictions. In this role, she advised on full range of M&A and finance law matters in relation to investments in various energy projects as well as various dispute resolution proceedings, including one investor-state case. She was also heading the Policy Committee of the Japan Wind Power Association, supporting the new legislation to implement off-shore wind power business in Japan. Before that, she spent more than 20 years within the financial sector, including her senior counsel roles for Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley. She is a lawyer qualified in Japan (bengoshi) and practiced law at Ushijima and Partners, where she developed her expertise in M&A and corporate law and regulatory issues, after she was working for a Japanese bank.
Masako is the IBA APF Corporate Counsel Forum Liaison Officer and a member of the IBA M&A and Corporate Law Committee and Arbitration Committee. She has been appointed as a member of the Arbitration Committee, the Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice of Japan. She is also a Vice-Chair of the International Committee of Tokyo Dai-ni Bar Association and Vice-President of the Japan In-House Lawyers Association.
Juan Lorenzo Tañada
Juan Lorenzo is a lawyer who has had the privilege of sitting on the senior leadership teams of two multi-billion dollar corporations - Cebu Pacific and Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines, Inc. (now Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc.) During the course of his professional career, he has gained extensive experience in dealing with Philippine regulatory agencies such as the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Commission (now Department) of Information and Communications Technology (CICT), the Bureau of Customs (BoC), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), and the Civil Aeronautics Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), both as an advocate and a public official. These experiences necessitated considerable interaction with print, broadcast and social media, where professional networks were likewise established. His experience is particularly pronounced in telecommunications and aviation law with approximately 15 years of local and international exposure in those fields. As a Deputy Commissioner with the Philippine Bureau of Customs, he chaired the ASEAN Coordinating Committee of Customs, in the run-up to 2016's ASEAN Economic Integration. In this role, due to his keen understanding of both regional and international socio-political and economic issues, he was particularly effective in trouble-shooting ticklish issues involving some ASEAN member states and dialogue partners. Juan Lorenzo brings these unique experiences, skillsets, knowledge and expertise, in his current role as Director for Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc., (CCBPI) — a challenging role in which he is constantly exposed to the intricacies of the Philippine beverage industry environment in particular, and the investment climate in the Philippines in general. It is within this highly dynamic context that he oversees and leads CCBPI’s regulatory and stakeholder affairs, its corporate social responsibility and sustainability efforts, external-facing media relations, as well as the CCBPI Incident Management Corporate Response (IMCR) and Crisis Management teams.
He graduated from Ateneo High School in 1987 and from Ateneo de Manila University in 1991. In 2004 he earned his Master of Law degree from Northwestern University.
Shuva Mandal
Shuva Mandal is Group General Counsel of Tata Sons, the principal investment holding company and promoter of the Tata Group. He is a member of the leadership team at Tata Sons.
In a career spanning two decades in India’s leading law firms and in the Tata’s, Shuva has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, securities laws, shareholder & governance issues, PE investments and corporate litigations.
His experience spans sectors such as commodities, auto, retail, financial services, aviation, media, healthcare, defence, energy, real-estate and public infrastructure.
He is a director on the boards of Tata group companies, member of the CII National Committee on Regulatory Affairs and the Lex Mundi Client Advisory Council. He is also involved in academic initiatives regarding the Indian Insolvency Code.
In 2020, the Chambers awarded him for ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession : In-House Award’. In 2019, the Chambers also recognized Shuva in their lists - ‘the Most Influential General Counsel in India’ and the ‘GC Influencers - Global 100’. In 2019, the Financial Times, London rated him amongst the Top 20 Global General Counsels – the first Indian GC on the list. In 2015, Shuva was selected by The Economic Times - Spencer Stuart in the prestigious '40 under 40' list of India.
Shuva completed his B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) from the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru in 2000.
Weili Pan
Weili Pan is the legal vice president in Husqvarna Group, heading up the legal team supporting Construction division globally.
Husqvarna Group is a global leading producer of outdoor power products and innovative solutions for forest, park and garden care. Products include chainsaws, trimmers, robotic lawn mowers and ride-on lawn mowers. The Group is also the European leader in garden watering products and a global leader in cutting equipment and diamond tools for the construction and stone industries. The Group’s products and solutions are sold to consumers and professionals in more than 100 countries. Net sales in 2019 amounted to SEK 42bn and the Group has around 13,000 employees in 40 countries.
Weili Pan holds an EMBA degree from China Europe Business School, a Master in Law from London School of Economics and Political Science. She is also an arbitrator in Shanghai Arbitration Commission.