General Counsel of Benefit Systems Iwona Rykaczewska-Kuderska shares with CEE In-House Matters her professional journey and leadership approach, how she fosters collaboration between legal and other business units, what emerging regulatory trends are likely to have the largest impact on companies’ employee benefits and wellness efforts, and more.
CEEIHM: Could you walk us through your career, and how each stage shaped your approach to legal leadership
Rykaczewska-Kuderska: My career has progressed through a series of roles, each building on the experience gained in the previous one. I currently serve as Legal Advisor and General Counsel within the Benefit Systems S.A. capital group, a publicly listed company. Previously, I held the same role at Edipresse Polska S.A., a joint stock company with Swiss capital. I began my professional journey as a Junior Associate at Ernst & Young, followed by a role at the leading international law firm White & Case, where I developed a strong foundation in legal analysis and client advisory. Advancement to Senior Associate at White & Case sharpened my strategic thinking and negotiation skills, which have shaped my leadership approach.
For more than 20 years, I have focused on M&A transactions, initially in cooperation with White & Case and later in house at Edipresse Polska S.A. At White & Case, I participated in, and subsequently led, privatization transactions. At Edipresse, I had the unique opportunity to establish and develop the company’s legal department transition from print to digital spanning websites, mobile applications, social media, and digital content distribution. To support this shift, I deepened my specialization in copyright and technology law through postgraduate studies at the Jagiellonian University, the University of Warsaw, and Kozminski University. I am also a graduate of the Warsaw University of Technology Business School, with a focus on corporate governance and supervisory boards, which is directly relevant to my current responsibilities at Benefit Systems.
At Benefit Systems, one of the projects I am most proud of was leading negotiations and legal actions enabling the company to obtain B Corporation (B Corp) certification. In 2018, we became the first publicly listed company in Poland and across Central and Eastern Europe to achieve this designation. B Corp status is awarded to organizations that embed social responsibility into their business model, actively work to address major social challenges, and operate on ethical, partnership driven principles. A related initiative involved amending our Articles of Association to redefine the company’s purpose. Traditionally, corporate objectives focus solely on profit, but we introduced an innovative approach: alongside financial performance, our purpose now expressly includes creating a positive impact on society and the environment. As Head of the Legal Department, I prepared expert communication and secured broad shareholder support for this change. The amendment was successfully adopted, marking a significant step toward sustainable and responsible business practices.
Transitioning into managerial roles refined my skills in team leadership and operational oversight. Each stage at Ernst & Young, White & Case, and as the General Counsel reinforced the importance of adaptability and proactive problem solving, essential for leading a department comprising lawyers and GDPR specialists. I am honored to have received the main award in the Polish Association of Enterprise Lawyers competition for “Leader of Enterprise Lawyers,” to be recognized among the TOP 25 Business Lawyers by Forbes Women Polska and the Women in Law Foundation, and to have our legal department shortlisted for the Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards. I also try to actively contribute to the profession as a mentor in programs for young women lawyers through the Women in Law Foundation.
CEEIHM: How do you structure and manage your legal team to ensure both operational efficiency and strategic support for the business?
Rykaczewska-Kuderska: I structure the team around clear communication, defined responsibilities, and close integration with business objectives. Each lawyer understands how their work advances the company’s goals, strengthening both operational and strategic alignment between day to day execution and strategic priorities. The team is composed of specialists in their respective fields, and each lawyer is assigned to a specific business unit, enabling deep familiarity with operational needs and rapid, informed decision making. This model positions lawyers as true business partners.
At the same time, team members actively share knowledge and experience with one another. Complex matters are addressed through specialist working groups or in cooperation with external law firms to ensure comprehensive solutions. Each lawyer acts as the owner of their processes, with a strong emphasis on accountability and continuous improvement. I strive to maintain a supportive, positive atmosphere in the team, that recognizes both major transactions and the demanding daily advisory work. We proactively convert setbacks into shared learning experiences opportunities to understand, focusing on how to avoid similar issues in the future and to hold ourselves accountable. In my view, operational efficiency and strategic impact are primarily achieved through collaboration grounded in genuine professional partnership.
CEEIHM: Benefit Systems operates in the employee benefits and wellness industry. What unique legal or regulatory challenges have you faced in this sector?
Rykaczewska-Kuderska: The employee benefits and wellbeing sector presents a multi layered regulatory landscape. We navigate personal data protection, consumer law, public procurement, and IT related issues connected to the infrastructure underlying the MultiSport card and a nationwide network of fitness clubs. Additionally, we must comply with numerous legal requirements, such as employee rights, benefit regulations, and obligations arising from Benefit Systems being a publicly listed company.
Benefit Systems has been developing on the Polish market for over two decades, and the scale of its operations is truly impressive we currently support nearly 1.7 million sports cards in Poland! MultiSport is the most popular sports benefit in the country, we operate 257 fitness clubs, develop Multi.Life a platform supporting employee health and development—and support HR departments by developing HR Tools as part of the MyBenefit platform. The breadth of our activities requires vigilant monitoring of legislation in virtually every field. Staying ahead of these challenges demands continuous learning and adaptability within the legal team.
Emerging regulations on artificial intelligence impact nearly every aspect of the company’s operations, while extensive formalities associated with ESG procedures and complex M&A transactions add further layers of responsibility. These transactions are led by the legal department in close cooperation with business units and under the supervision of department managers. Continuous learning, operational discipline, and early legal engagement are essential to maintaining compliance and enabling growth.
CEEIHM: What’s your approach to fostering collaboration between the legal department and other business units, such as finance, HR, or operations?
Rykaczewska-Kuderska: Collaboration begins with early and ongoing engagement. We maintain open channels of communication and regular joint planning sessions, encouraging a culture where legal input is valued and solicited in decision making processes leads to better synergy and outcomes. This collaborative approach not only aids compliance but also helps in identifying innovative solutions to business challenges. In my view, supporting collaboration between the legal department and operational teams depends, among other things, on how the work of lawyers is structured.
At Benefit Systems, each lawyer is assigned to a specific business unit, such as HR, Sales, Marketing, IT, and others, so issues flow directly to a designated first contact lawyer, who, being familiar with the matter, either handles it personally or refers it to another specialist within the legal team. Lawyers are involved at a very early stage, what allows them to understand business needs, and provide legal support for decisions right from the start. For example, when launching a new employee benefit program, the legal team participates in initial planning meetings to assess compliance with labor law, data protection regulations, and consumer rights. Similarly, in cooperation with the IT department, lawyers are engaged from the outset of projects involving new technologies or system implementations.
This early involvement ensures that issues such as data security, GDPR compliance, and contractual obligations with technology providers are addressed proactively, reducing risks and avoiding costly delays later in the process. In case of M&A transactions, lawyers join discussions from the inception, starting with preliminary negotiations and due diligence planning. Their early engagement makes it possible to identify potential regulatory hurdles, antitrust concerns, and contractual risks before they escalate, ensuring that the transaction structure is legally sound and aligned with business objectives.
Likewise, when working with the HR department, lawyers are involved from the initial stages of designing new employment policies or benefit schemes. This ensures compliance with labor law, anti-discrimination regulations, and employee rights, while also mitigating risks related to contractual obligations and workplace standards. Early legal input helps HR implement solutions that are both innovative and legally robust.
CEEIHM: Which parts of your daily work do you consider most critical to the success of the company, and how do you ensure they get the attention they need?
Rykaczewska-Kuderska: There are many aspects of my daily work that I consider crucial to the company’s success, and it would be difficult to point to just one as the most important. All of them aim to ensure legal securityacross the organization. A critical component is triaging and prioritizing matters that require specialized expertise and heightened attention. I rely on the subject matter knowledge of my team and when necessary, I consult external advisors with whom we maintain long-term relationships and open communication channels, especially when the in house capacity must be supplemented in a certain area or the risk associated with a decision is significant.
Regular communication with the Management Board ensures that strategic decisions are legally sound and aligned with risk appetite and business objectives. Close collaboration with the risk management, oversight, and compliance departments is also a fundamental part of my daily responsibilities. These areas are critical for maintaining the company’s legal and operational integrity, and I dedicate focused time to ensure they receive the attention they deserve. By leveraging the expertise of specialized teams, we create a strong foundation for informed decision making and proactive risk mitigation. This cooperation goes beyond routine interaction and this partnership is not merely procedural it is a continuous, structured exchange of information that allows us to identify high impact issues, allocate resources appropriately, and avoid blind spots. The framework empowers the legal team to take ownership of the outcomes, driving accountability and efficiency.
Ultimately, this integrated approach strengthens our ability to manage risk, maintain compliance, and support strategic objectives, creating a safer and more resilient business environment.
CEEIHM: What is your approach to evaluating the performance and effectiveness of external counsel over time?
Rykaczewska-Kuderska: I place great importance on the work of external advisors who play a pivotal role where deep specialization is required. Our relationships are typically long-term partnerships, anchored in trust, professionalism, and shared objectives, whether for addressing complex legal issues or managing high stakes transactions most commonly M&A or financing deals. These relationships are built on trust, professionalism, and a shared commitment to achieving the best outcomes for the company.
From the outset, we establish clear expectations, scope, and performance standards to ensure transparency and accountability. Regular evaluations based on responsiveness, quality, accuracy, practicality of advice, and strategic alignment allow us to measure effectiveness and maintain high standards. Beyond technical excellence, what truly distinguishes effective counsel is their ability to understand our business context and objectives. This understanding, cultivated through years of cooperation, transforms external counsel into trusted partners, rather than mere service providers.
For example, we have partnered with Norton Rose Fulbright Dyczkowski and Partners, LLP on financing transactions or PwC Legal in Poland on a series of M&A transactions of a particular type after an initial period of mutual calibration, we established a clear operating framework that sequences and allocates the tasks required to complete these deals in line with our expectations and applicable legal requirements. This kind of working model enhances predictability, efficiency, and accountability on both sides. This operating model also enhances the efficiency of negotiations, as our advisors are fully apprised of hardline positions and permissible flex points, enabling faster consensus building while maintaining our risk parameters.
Long-term collaboration is about building sustainable legal certainty, not just solving immediate problems. The true measure of external advisory effectiveness is reflected in the seamless execution of business operations and the confidence with which strategic decisions are made. By combining specialized knowledge with a deep understanding of our business, these partnerships help us mitigate risks, ensure compliance, and support growth in an increasingly complex regulatory environment.
CEEIHM: Over the past five years, we’ve seen employees move from fully remote work during the pandemic, to hybrid models, and, over the last couple of years, many businesses being eager to return to the office. From your perspective, what challenges and opportunities have these shifts presented to legal professionals across businesses with the profile of Benefit Systems’ clients?
Rykaczewska-Kuderska: The shift to remote and hybrid work models introduced a range of challenges, primarily of an organizational nature, while simultaneously opening up significant opportunities to enhance flexibility in the operations of legal departments. This shift requires careful coordination to maintain efficiency talent retention, and compliance, yet it also enables teams to adapt more dynamically to evolving business needs. Lawyers have demonstrated remarkable agility in navigating these changes, effectively leveraging advanced technologies that facilitate seamless collaboration, secure communication, and full availability regardless of location.
Digital tools not only support day to day legal work but also strengthen knowledge sharing and team cohesion in a dispersed environment. Importantly, remote work is implemented in strict alignment with the company’s internal policies and regulatory requirements, ensuring that all processes remain compliant and transparent. The proportion of remote versus on site work is thoughtfully calibrated to reflect the specific demands of the business, balancing operational continuity with employee well being and productivity.
CEEIHM: Looking ahead, what emerging regulatory trends do you think will have the biggest impact on companies in terms of employee benefits and wellness?
Rykaczewska-Kuderska: Employee wellbeing is becoming a strategic performance indicator. Companies are already introducing mental health days (days for psychological recovery), access to psychologists, wellbeing platforms, and Employee Assistance Programs. AI will enable more personalized wellbeing pathways, raising novel considerations regarding data protection, transparency, and fairness.
For lawyers, two trends are particularly consequential. First, the rapidly evolving AI regulatory framework will require robust governance, documentation, and risk management across HR and benefits use cases. Second, ESG requirements are increasingly formalized and data intensive, demanding cross functional coordination and legal oversight to ensure accuracy, comparability, and compliance. Together, these trends will shape how organizations design, deliver, and report on employee benefits and wellbeing initiatives.