1. The Role of the General Counsel as a Business Manager and Progression to the Board
Interview by Ailsa Hardy, Legal Exchange Network
George Turner, EVP, General Counsel and Company Secretary, InterContinental Hotels
Group (IHG), joins Legal Exchange Network to discuss the role of the General Counsel and
progression to the board. George also discusses the General Counsel’s developing role as a
business manager aligning with the needs of the business.
Ailsa Hardy: Why do you think the role of the general counsel and the need to be valued
within the organisation is so important?
George Turner: I think the first thing, Ailsa, is that it’s actually just really important. The role
General Counsel is integral to the business for a number of reasons. From our perspective we
find that we add value commercially as well as legally which is a really important thing to
understand, and I think that if you can influence the business in such a way that you have the
opportunity to direct it, to be an integral part of it, to add value and to demonstrate value, then
you’re on a winner; and I think that the role of general counsel, in some respects, can be
pretty simple because we’re not here to be churning legal work out at every single point in
time. What we are here to do is to help drive the business forward, and we are, in most cases
now, an integral part of the decision-making process of the business.
Ailsa Hardy: Could you give me a few examples of different situations where you are adding
value?
George Turner: From an IHG perspective of course, where I’m privileged to work, it’s almost
certainly the case that we add value or I add value personally in general counsel in that
decision-making body. I am a member of the executive committee and as a result of that, I
have the ability to understand everything that’s going on within the business. Also you tend to
find that you are really, really well thought of within the business for your legal expertise and
people trust you by virtue of you having that expertise, as well as the wider commercial
context. It’s extremely important to ensure that you’ve got a CEO who trusts you and a
chairman, in my case, that trusts you because trust is essential in order to be able to advise
the business appropriately and help out whenever is required, and that is both in a legal
context, a commercial context or in any other point in time. And I think now we’re given the
opportunity, and I am personally in my executive committee, to be part of the decision-making
process.
Ailsa Hardy: So how can the general counsel really understand the business needs and align
the legal department with these?
Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/UmhnVv
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2. George Turner, EVP, General Counsel and Company Secretary of InterContinental Hotels
Group (IHG) has shared his insights at the Corporate Counsel Exchange October 2012. The
next edition of the Corporate Counsel Exchange will be co-located with the Corporate
Compliance Exchange form 22nd-24th of April 2013 in London, United Kingdom, where legal
challenges will be discussed and solutions will be found.
The 8th Corporate Counsel and Corporate Compliance Exchange offers a perfect setting
for senior legal professionals to network, debate and develop effective business strategies.
This exclusive, invitation only event tackles the challenges that face heads of legal today and
helps find solutions through a series of conference sessions, roundtable discussions and pre-
arranged, one-on-one meetings with a range of solution providers.
For more details including the list of confirmed speakers:
Visit: www.corporatecounselexchange.co.uk
Call: +44(0) 207 369 9404
Email: exchangeinfo@iqpc.com
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