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On August 30, 2022, CEE Legal Matters reported that Boyanov & Co had advised Yara International on the sale of Bulgarian and Romanian businesses Yara Bulgaria and Yara Digital Romania to the Nik Group. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Sverre Hodnebo, Legal Counsel at Yara International, to learn more about the sale.

On January 18, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Cobalt had advised Practica Capital on its investment in Lithuanian start-up Biomatter Designs – part of the latter's EUR 500,000 investment round. CEEIHM spoke with Donatas Keras, Co-Founding Partner at Practica Capital to learn more about the matter.

The month of May has been a busy one for our team. After the launch of our CEELM Index issue a couple of weeks ago. We're delighted to introduce to our readers Issue 1.3. of CEE In-House Matters!

Adam Brzezinski, President of the Management Board and Assistant General Counsel Global Employment and EU Privacy at MoneyGram Poland, recently announced that he will be representing MoneyGram International in an amateur motorcycle racing league. CEEIHM spoke with Brzezinski to learn about his plans.

From educating youth about the rule of law to promoting gender equality, Alina Dumitrascu, Head of Network Technology, Development and Commercial Operation Legal Assistance at Enel Global Infrastructure and Networks in Rome, Italy, is certainly making the most of her time past her nine to five life. CEEIHM spoke with her to learn a bit more about some of the projects she is involved in.

Waldemar Koper, Legal Director at Kompania Piwowarska, was one of the co-founders of the Polish Corporate Lawyers Association in 2009 and is currently serving as its President. CEEIHM spoke to Koper to learn more about the association and its activities over the last decade.

Marta Ziolkowska-Nasinska, Regional Legal Counsel at Ferrero, offers insights into her company’s Diversity & Inclusion project.

Vladislav Nikolov, General Counsel at EnduroSat in Sofia, Bulgaria, explains why creative problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills are necessary for GCs in today’s world.

Aybars Yagiz, Legal Counsel at GAMA Enerji, Turkey, and Board Member at the GAMA group of companies, shares his thoughts about the soft skills senior in-house legal counsel should possess.

Artem Afanasiev, Vice President Legal Affairs and GR at Ozon in Moscow, Russia, explains how his legal team uses digitalization to cater to the in-house legal needs of his fast-growing company.

Christopher Fischer, Vice President Legal Affairs at Paysafecard.com, talks to CEE In-House Matters about digitalization in his company.

Aleksandra Popovic, Director of Legal Affairs Serbia and Macedonia at Atlantic Grupa, describes the digitalization process at her company and its impact on the legal function.

Anton Petrov, Head International Legal Affairs and Deputy Director Legal at First Investment Bank in Sofia, Bulgaria, shares tips and tricks for managing relationships with external counsel.

Iwona Dorota Gajek, Country Head of Legal at BNP Paribas in Warsaw, Poland, sheds light on her approach to managing legal risks before a problem materializes.

Yota Kremmida, Regional Counsel Greece, Turkey, and Africa and EMEA & LatAm Indirect GTM & Competition Law GBU Counsel at Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Athens, explains how standardization and solid operational preparedness can help mitigate legal risks.

Ioannis Voskos, Legal Director at Hellenic Petroleum’s Retail Legal Division in Greece, talks about the role of senior in-house counsels in a world where risks can no longer simply be “controlled.”

This past month, for the first time in over a year, I traveled across a border. I was both excited and nervous about it. I had to navigate a whirlwind of mixed messages. I was unsure of the conditions under which I could travel, what I needed to do to avoid a quarantine both when leaving and returning, and how likely it was that the rules might change over the three weeks I was planning to be away. 

Gligorije Brajkovic, Head of Legal Department at UniCredit Bank Serbia, reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the role of the general counsel.

Paulina Sosnowicz, Director of the Legal Department at Centrum Uslug Informatycznych we Wroclawiu, uses GetBack in Poland as a case study of potential pitfalls to avoid in the compliance function.

On April 1, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that ODI Law had advised the MSIN Group on the acquisition by member company EGP of a 75.11% stake in Croatia-based cardboard packaging manufacturer Neograf from Croatian entrepreneur Dusan Boras. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Tina Bacic, Corporate Legal Advisor at MSIN Group, to learn more about the matter. 

Austrian lawyer Josef Holzschuster will be relocating from Budapest to Amsterdam, having been appointed Head of Legal, Markets DA at Philips, in which capacity he will lead the worldwide Legal Team for the Philips Domestic Appliances business, reporting to the General Counsel for DA, also located in Amsterdam.

Credit Europe Bank has made Turkish lawyer Omer Sirin its Head of Legal.

Turkish lawyer Ozge Ayoz has moved to Sao Paolo to take on the role of VP P&G Brazil Legal.

Long-time CMS Partner Johannes Trenkwalder will join photovoltaic plant developer Green Source as Legal Counsel and Principal.

Need another reason to be excited that it's Friday? Put on your reading glasses and enjoy the weekend with the new issue of CEE In-House Matters! The second issue of our CEE Legal Matters' sister publication dedicated to in-house counsel is packed full, with over 100 pages of insights from GCs working at leading companies across Central and Eastern Europe.

Turkish lawyer Gozde Saygi has been promoted to Assistant Vice President at DBRS Morningstar in Germany.

On November 13, CEE In-House Matters reported that Berlin-based APX Axel Springer Porsche had appointed Serbian lawyer Sonja Radovic as its Head of Legal. We sat down with Radovic to learn more about her career path leading up to her current role.

Irina Kravtsova, General Counsel at Raben Ukraine, reflects on a challenging year and the changes it brought to her role.

Bozidar Ristic, General Counsel, Legal Division Manager at AIK Banka, talks to CEE In-House Matters about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected his work and how it temporarily slowed down a storm of litigation proceedings against the banks in Serbia – a storm due to return.

Zsuzsanna Lippai, Legal and Compliance Manager at Mercedes-Benz, explains how she had to adapt her negotiation style in a COVID-19 world.