Stéphanie Fougou is the General Counsel at HBX Group, with over twenty years’ experience in major companies. She began her career in the Media sector with France Animation, then joined France Télécom/Orange, holding various senior legal roles. She later became Group General Counsel at Club Mediterranée and Vallourec, also serving on Vallourec’s Executive Committee. Since 2024, Stéphanie has been President of ECLA.

Marcus M. Schmitt has been General Manager at the European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA) based in Brussels since 2017 and represents the professional interests of more than 75,000 corporate lawyers from 25 member states at European level. In addition to legal issues concerning the professional status of in-house counsel, he actively supports European legal departments in the digital transformation and the further development of the professional profile of in-house counsel.

Stefanie Thuiner is Chief People & Legal Officer (CPLO) at myflexbox and a member of the C-level team. Her career path led her from heading the legal department into executive leadership. Today, she combines legal, people & culture, strategy, leadership, and innovation, actively shaping the transformation of modern organizations.

Pierre-Sébastien Thill is an international tax expert with over forty years of experience within CMS. He started his career at CMS France in 1984 and was made partner in 1993. 

Over the years, he has developed a highly reputable international tax practice, dealing more particularly with issues relating to M&A transactions, corporate reorganisations and the structuring of investment funds. 

He regularly advises international groups on complex, high-value cross-border matters.

Martina Weimert, CEO of EPI Company since its 2020 inception, focuses on establishing an independent European payment solution in collaboration with EPI’s shareholders. With 20 years of international consulting experience, she specialized in payments, fintech, blockchain, and retail banking across Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. Previously, Martina was a partner at Oliver Wyman and held senior roles at Capgemini Consulting and Deutsche Bank. She graduated from the Institute of Political Science in Paris, holds a Master’s in International Administration from Sorbonne University and studied Political Science at the University of Bonn.

Marjorie Colas is General Counsel Iberia, Compliance Officer and Head of Legal Innovation at Essendi. With more than 20 years of experience in international business law, compliance and legal leadership, she has built her career within the hospitality and real estate industries, combining deep legal expertise with a strong focus on innovation and transformation.

Marjorie spent over 15 years with the Accor Group, where she held several legal positions across the EMEA and Iberian regions before joining AccorInvest, now Essendi, in 2017. Since then, she has led the legal function for Iberia while expanding her responsibilities to include compliance, legal transformation and innovation.

Marko Denadic is General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Burckhardt Compression. He leads the global Legal & Compliance function, advises Executive Management and the Board on governance and risk matters, and serves as Corporate Secretary.

With over 20 years of international experience across the construction, energy, and industrial sectors, he is an experienced business lawyer with a strong focus on cross-border transactions, sanctions, and the design of practical compliance frameworks in multi-jurisdictional environments.

Nicolas Istas is the Country Head of Legal of Novartis in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg with over twenty years of experience in major companies in different industries. He began his career at the Brussels bar, then joined a biotech listed at that time on the EASDAQ, later moved to the Belgian affiliate of British Telecom. He later became Head of Legal, Governance and Compliance of British Telecom in France. After a mandate as Vice-President of the Belgian Institute of Company Lawyers, he is currently its President.

Peter Carlstedt is Chief Legal Officer at Scrive. He has been part of the company’s journey since 2013 and has among other things been responsible for strategic development within Scrive. Today he manages a team of legal counsels and information security specialists supporting the company’s operations and helping Scrive’s customers to navigate regulations surrounding the use of electronic signatures and electronic identity solutions. Founded in 2010, Scrive quickly became the Nordic e-sign market leader. Today, 12 000+ customers in 50+ countries rely on Scrive to automate their onboarding and agreements processes with solutions powered by electronic signature and identification.

James is the Chief Counsel and member of the Executive Team at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the UK’s compensation scheme for customers of authorised financial services firms.  James is responsible for the provision of all legal services at FSCS. James was involved in the UK’s response to the financial crisis of 2008/9.  He has extensive experience of retail financial services regulation, public law and dispute resolution, and regularly engages with government departments and financial regulators. Prior to his role at FSCS, James worked in private practice, specialising in fraud and insolvency litigation, at the law firms Hogan Lovells LLP and, subsequently, Eversheds Sutherland LLP.

Caroline Falconer is the Secretary General of the SCC Arbitration Institute and the General Counsel of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. She holds an LL.M. from Stockholm University and an LL.M. from King’s College, London. With over 10 years of experience in Swedish law firms specializing in dispute resolution, she also spent seven years as Senior Legal Counsel at a leading European energy company. Caroline has chaired the board of the Swedish Company Lawyers Association. She is a council member of IFCAI and a board member of the International Law Association, Sweden, as well as a frequent speaker.

Natacha Podymski Ribeiro is Group Senior Legal Counsel at Interparking Group, based in Brussels, a European leader in the urban mobility sector. With 15 years of international experience, she specializes in cross-border affairs, corporate governance, compliance, M&A, and legal strategy. She previously served as Head of Legal for Portugal & International Corporate Liaison for Saba Group in Porto, later expanding her role to support the Group’s international operations from its Barcelona headquarters.

Her career has covered different industry sectors, from mobility, automotive, renewable energy, to construction, and her team’s work has earned recognition in the GC Powerlist: Iberia Teams and has been shortlisted for multiple legal awards.

Fabio is the General Counsel of The New Yorker, where he hasserved since 2014. In this role, he oversees all legal matters related to the magazine’s acclaimed journalism, including pre-publication review of articles, videos, podcasts, and other multimedia content.

Fabio’s work has been integral to The New Yorker’s most high-profile and impactful journalism of the last decade, including Ronan Farrow’s Pulitzer Prize-winning investigations into Harvey Weinstein, Patrick Radden-Keefe’s reporting on the opioid epidemic and Purdue Pharma, and Jane Mayer’s investigations into dark money in politics. He’s also served as counsel on Oscar-nominated documentaries and fiction films, and numerous National Magazine award-winning stories and series.

Stefano De Vita is an international legal executive with more than 20 years of experience leading legal, compliance, contract management, and dispute resolution functions across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He currently serves as General Counsel for Siemens Mobility South-West Europe, Middle East & Africa, overseeing legal affairs across 14 countries and leading multinational teams supporting major rail infrastructure, rolling stock, digital mobility, and turnkey projects.

Throughout his career, Stefano has successfully negotiated and delivered complex infrastructure, energy, aviation, and renewable energy projects, managed major international disputes and arbitrations, and led strategic corporate transactions and reorganizations. His achievements include contributing to the award of the largest contract in Siemens’ history, successfully concluding numerous settlements and international arbitrations, and supporting landmark projects such as the Riyadh Metro and Qatar Education City.

A qualified Italian lawyer, Stefano holds a Law Degree with honours from the University of Naples Federico II. Cross-cultural mindset shaped by living in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia and working for major US and European Companies. He is recognized for his leadership, business acumen, and commitment to legal excellence, having served as a judge at The Lawyer European Awards and being part of the award-winning Siemens Mobility legal team recognized by the Association of Corporate Counsel MENA.

Jessica Meloni is Vice President Europe Legal Counsel at CEVA Logistics, leading the Group’s European legal strategy across all countries, based in Paris.

She is an experienced lawyer with strong expertise in commercial contracts’ negotiation, as well as labour matters and corporate/M&A, with a particular focus on supply chain operations and related compliance matters.
She is also a member of the board of directors of C&M Book Logistics, a key player in Italy’s publishing logistics sector, and is a well‑established European speaker, frequently invited across Europe to share insights on the evolving legal and strategic landscape of logistics and supply chains, including compliance, the impact of artificial intelligence, and leadership‑driven soft skills.

Gabriella Porcelli has over 30 years of experience as a corporate lawyer. After qualifying as a lawyer and spending several years with leading law firms in Milan, she joined ENI in 1994 as in-house counsel, then at Pfizer and, in 2009, joined Philip Morris International, where she remained until 2018. After serving as Global General Counsel at Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG in Switzerland, she has worked for several years at LVMH as General Counsel, Compliance and Institutional Affairs Director for FENDI, before joining Iveco Group as Chief Legal & Compliance Officer and Head of Corporate Governance.

She is an expert in corporate governance and has also been an independent director in the boards of major Italian listed companies, including Terna, OpenjobMetis, and Tinexta.

Sandy Tsakiridi is Senior Director within the Global Legal Function of The Coca-Cola Company, where she leads the company’s Global AI Governance Program and serves as Head Privacy Counsel for Europe. A triple-qualified lawyer admitted in England & Wales, Greece and Ireland, she works at the intersection of privacy, AI, emerging technologies and global regulatory strategy.

Her career spans senior leadership positions across HSBC, leading international law firms and one of the Big Four in London and Brussels, advising on complex privacy, technology, and regulatory matters across international markets. She is the founder of Hellenic Women in Privacy & Technology (HWiPT), a member of the European Data Protection Board’s Support Pool of Experts on new technologies and a former IAPP Advisory Board Member.

Pēteris Zilgalvis is a Judge on the General Court of the European Union. He is a Member of the Artificial Intelligence Management Board of the Court of Justice of the EU. Previously, he was the Head of Unit for Digital Innovation and Blockchain in the Digital Single Market Directorate in the European Commission and was the Co-Chair of the European Commission FinTech Task Force. He was the Visiting EU Fellow at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford and was an Associate of Political Economy of Financial Markets there. Prior to that he was Deputy Head of the Bioethics Department in DG Legal Affairs at the Council of Europe. Earlier, he was Senior Environmental Law Advisor to the World Bank/Russian Federation Environmental Management Project and was a Regional Environmental Specialist at the World Bank. His career started in the Latvian ministries of environment and of foreign affairs.

Marc van der Woude is the former president of the General Court of the European Union (2019-2026). He started his career as a tutor at the College of Europe in Bruges (1984-1986) and as a lecturer at Leiden University (1986-1987). He then joined the European institutions where he worked for DG Competition (1987-1989, 1992-1993), the European Court of Justice as a legal secretary (1989-1992) and the Commission’s legal Service (1993-1995). He resigned from the European civil service to become a member of the Brussels bar, where he practiced European and competition law for fifteen years (1995-2010). Marc van der Woude became a professor in competition law at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam (since 2000) and acted four years as an advisor on energy policy for the Dutch government (2002-2006). Marc van der Woude is an author of numerous publications on European and competition law and still teaches at Rotterdam University.

Yann Dietrich is the Group Head of AI, Data & IP at Atos Group legal department. In this role, he leads global strategy and governance across intellectual property, data privacy, artificial intelligence, and emerging technology regulations, with a strong focus on AI governance and compliance at the moment. He is also a recognized thought leader, engaged with the Licensing Executives Society (LES) and the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI). Since 2005, Yann has lectured at several French universities, sharing his expertise in IP strategy and licensing, and more recently on topics such as innovation and Artificial intelligence.

Kostas C. Argyropoulos is the General Counsel of SPACE HELLAS Group. He is included in the GC Powerlist: Greece & Cyprus 2025.  He has been shortlisted for the Legal Manager of the Year (2025) – Greece award and awarded, as a member of the Group’s team, the Silver Award – Best Compliance Team – ICT 2025 Greece.  He has a wide experience of more than twenty-five years as an in-house legal counselor in the ICT market both at a national and at an international level. He contributed as a speaker in ECLA, ACC Europe, Legal500, CEE Legal Matters, Lex Mundi and various forums with the scope of exploring and understanding law & technology and organizing AI oriented legal departments. He has published various articles in AI, cyberspace law, and corporate governance.

Jean-Marie Bonnet is a scholar of American legal, constitutional and political history, with extensive work on the United States Supreme Court, federalism, presidential power, and the evolution of American public institutions. He has served as a consultant to the French Ministry of Justice on the rule of law in the United States and has published widely on American studies, US constitutional history, and comparative legal themes. His lectures and research have addressed topics ranging from the American Revolution and the founding of the republic to the Supreme Court, executive authority, federalism, and the legal foundations of American economic and political power.

Andréas Vidmar is General Counsel at the construction group AF Gruppen, a leading industrial and construction group listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. AF Gruppen delivers projects in construction, civil engineering, property development, energy, environmental remediation, and offshore, and is known for its work on major infrastructure — including tunnels, roads, rail, and urban development schemes. The group operates through a family of specialized subsidiary companies, giving it deep sector expertise while retaining the scale to deliver large, complex projects worldwide.

In his role, Andréas sits at the board and provides advice across the group’s Swedish operations, with a practice centered on construction, consulting, and corporate law. He has deep experience navigating complex infrastructure and industrial projects, and has previously represented major international clients on both the client and contractor sides. Andréas is also a recognized voice shaping Swedish construction law, contributing through lecturing, teaching, and industry dialogue. He serves as Vice President of Sveriges Bolagsjurister, the Swedish Corporate Lawyers Association, and has received numerous accolades for his contributions to the field.

Anne-Laure Villedieu joined CMS Francis Lefebvre in 1998 and became a partner in 2012. She is Managing Director of the firm and heads up the Technology, Media and Communications and Intellectual Property team.
She advises clients, drafts legal documents, helps clients in negotiations, and litigates primarily in copyright, industrial property law (trademarks, patents, designs and models), IT law, electronic communications, and protection of personal data.

Timo Matthias Spitzer is Head of Legal for Santander Corporate & Investment Banking across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Nordic countries. Dual-qualified in Germany and England & Wales, he is also a Board Member and Adjunct Professor at the Institute for Law and Finance, Goethe University Frankfurt. Timo is a Harvard published author on Leadership with Integrity and frequent international keynote speaker on legal leadership, integrity, sustainability and the future of the legal profession. Through his work, he champions commercially minded legal leadership, resilient teams and the role of in-house counsel as strategic business partners in an increasingly complex global environment.

He is currently Chief Legal Officer of Avio S.p.A., a listed company and a leading player in the space and defence sector. An in-house legal professional with over thirty years of experience gained in both international multinational environments (Abbott) and leading Italian multinationals (Natuzzi and Cementir). Prior to joining Avio, he served as General Counsel and Compliance Officer of Acquedotto Pugliese S.p.A.

He is President of AIGI – the Italian Association of In-House Counsel, the leading representative association for in-house lawyers in Italy. In this role, he promotes the professional recognition and enhancement of the General Counsel function within Italian companies, with a particular focus on corporate governance, compliance, reform of the legal profession, and the impact of AI on legal practice.

John is a commercial outsourcing and information technology specialist with over thirty years’ experience of large-scale domestic and international transactions. A former in-house lawyer at Capgemini, John is a leading AI authority and partner in CMS’ TMIC team, after leading the international AI client team at another city law firm. The fourth edition of his book on the legal implications of these new and innovative technologies is due to be released early next month.

John travels extensively to Silicon Valley and has a vibrant client base including some of the largest providers of AI in the world. He is an advisory board member of the UK All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Artificial Intelligence, a joint committee of the House of Commons and House of Lords, and the University of Durham’s Bias in AI research group.

Simona Klimbacher joined BSVA in 2016. She is the General Counsel of the Law Firm and takes care of internal legal affairs and compliance matters; she also cooperates with the Firm’s management in developing and implementing special projects. Before joining BSVA, she spent almost 15 years as corporate and commercial lawyer with two major international law firms in Rome, New York and Milan. She teaches Legal Informatics at the University of Milan.

Member of the European Data Protection Board group of experts. Research fellow of “The Information Society Law Center” of the University of Milan. Member of the “Comitato Studi Strutturati” and “Commissione Innovazione” at the Milan State Bar. Member of the Executive Committee of “The Adam Smith Society”. Member of AIGI. Admitted to the Milan Bar and the New York State Bar (USA).

Munir Hassan is Head of the CMS Energy & Climate Change Group. The Group is a global market leader in specialist legal advice on energy matters, in particular in the power and renewables sectors. Munir’s team advises on a vast portfolio of low carbon projects and transactions across all technologies, particularly offshore wind, onshore wind, solar and biomass, and across legal disciplines from M&A and financings through to consenting, real estate, commercial and regulatory issues and disputes. In addition, it is helping to carve a path forward for technologies that are accelerating the energy transition, from shaping the business models for carbon capture and storage, advising on small modular nuclear reactor projects, the first commercial scale floating offshore windfarms and on hydrogen projects in all their various colours.

Lukáš Zapletal is Senior Legal Director, Europe at The Coca-Cola Company, where he leads a team of legal professionals and oversees the legal agenda across 25 European countries. Lukáš has spent more than 15 years within the Coca-Cola system in a number of international legal leadership roles. Prior to his current position, he served as Legal Director for Coca-Cola Bottling Investments Group in Singapore, supporting legal matters across countries ranging from the UAE and India to Malaysia and the Philippines.

He is passionate about building high-performing international teams, developing talent and fostering cross-functional collaboration across cultures and geographies. His particular focus is helping legal teams become trusted business partners that enable growth, navigate complexity and deliver meaningful impact for the business.

Julie Dutordoir is General Manager of the Institute for Company Lawyers (IBJ-IJE), the professional organisation representing 2600 company lawyers in Belgium. She works to strengthen the position and recognition of the in-house legal profession while fostering dialogue between company lawyers, academia, policymakers and the broader legal community. Through her daily engagement with company lawyers, she closely follows the trends shaping the profession, from increasing regulatory complexity to technological innovation and the rise of AI. Her focus is on ensuring that company lawyers have the knowledge, tools and professional framework needed to fulfil their role with confidence, independence and impact.

Cyril Godet is VP of Legal Expertise & Alliances at DiliTrust, a leading French corporate governance software provider. In 2012, he joined DiliTrust as a Legal and Compliance Counsel. He was in charge of the Products and Helpdesk departments for five years. Afterward, he supported the Sales Department as DiliTrust’s Legal Expert and was in charge of partnerships for another five years.

Cyril leads DiliTrust’s Legal Expertise & Alliances department for the Group. He graduated from Paris West University Nanterre La Défense with a degree in Law in 1998, where he studied French and American/English law and specialized in Corporate and Contract Law.

Václav Malý is the Legal & Compliance Director at Notino, one of Europe’s largest beauty and health e-retailers. He leads a high-performing team that won the prestigious In-House Legal Department of the Year 2025 award in the Czech Republic, supporting business operations across 27 European markets. Václav is a pioneer in legal operations and digital transformation, specializing in AI-driven contract management and streamlining corporate workflows. His core expertise lies in Czech and EU regulatory compliance, GDPR, and strategic risk management 

Nicolas Tollet joined the CMS Francis Lefebvre in 2025.  

He assists his clients with internal investigations, regulatory inspections such as AFA controls , monitoring, due diligence, and compliance audits around the world (Ukraine, Romania, Italy, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Jordan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Southeast Asia, etc.), in the areas of anti-corruption, duty of care & Human rights, economic sanctions, export control and anti-money laundering. A certified CSRD auditor, he also advises companies in the drafting of their sustainability report. Nicolas Tollet has 20 years of experience in the legal and compliance field, from the very first landmark investigations relating to the US FCPA involving French companies in the 2000s, to more recent cases involving French and foreign authorities.  

Jackie Vallat is a partner in the Antitrust, Competition and Trade Team, based in London and Brussels. She advises on a range of antitrust, merger control and foreign investment control issues, in particular EU and UK antitrust enforcement, and merger control/FDI in international M&A transactions.  Jackie focuses on financial services, energy and TMC (especially media and telecoms). She has extensive experience advising on antitrust and merger control/FDI issues in those sectors.

Jackie also has a strong regulatory practice, advising on strategic, policy and compliance issues, across both contentious and advisory matters. She has particular expertise advising on UK airport regulation, broadcasting infrastructure and telecoms regulation.

Paul Benson is a commercial litigator with over 15 years’ experience of complex, high-profile and multijurisdictional disputes. He advises across sectors on how regulatory, litigation and reputational risks interact, and how to manage those risks strategically before they escalate.

Paul is a recognised specialist in ESG and corporate climate litigation, with significant expertise in emissions-related litigation and regulation, directors’ duties, business & human rights law, greenwashing, contractual disputes and securities litigation. He has acted for clients before the English High Court and Court of Appeal, as well as before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Nitza is the Assistant General Counsel and Commercial Lead for Corporate, External & Legal Affairs for Microsoft France and Europe South, where she oversees commercial legal strategy and supports Microsoft’s work with customers and partners in the region. An attorney admitted to the New York Bar, she brings extensive international legal experience from roles across Microsoft in the U.S., India, and Europe, as well as earlier positions in private practice and the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico. Her background spans commercial law, contract negotiation, privacy, and competition law, supported by legal studies at the University of Puerto Rico and Universitat de Barcelona and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.

Bill is a CEDR Accredited Mediator who advises employers on a wide range of international employment, compensation, and benefits matters. His practice includes counseling on issues involving employees working abroad, foreign nationals employed in the United States, and U.S. citizens and permanent residents working overseas. Bill has extensive experience navigating complex compliance issues related to the hiring, retention, and separation of employees across multiple legal jurisdictions. He has supported clients with international operations on all seven continents—including Antarctica—helping them implement strategic global HR policies and practices. He also assists with managing cross-border employment disputes and litigation in numerous countries. In addition, Bill regularly advises non-U.S. employers on how to comply with U.S. employment laws and employee benefits regulations. His work frequently involves addressing global privacy and data protection challenges.

David advises companies, boards of directors, investors and private equity funds on corporate governance, cross-border transactions and foreign direct investment (FDI) control. His corporate governance practice encompasses board organisation and decision-making, shareholder relations, transformative transactions, and the prevention and resolution of governance disputes. He also advises on international M&A transactions, joint ventures, strategic alliances and sensitive divestments, with particular emphasis on legal, regulatory and reputational risk.

At ESCP Business School, David serves as Faculty Chair of the Law & Finance programme, which offers students a distinctive combination of legal and financial education. He also designs and develops executive education programmes in collaboration with fellow faculty members and senior executives from leading European companies, with a particular focus on the intersection of law, business and strategic decision-making