Legal Business partnering starts with curiosity and active listening

How does Bekaert's legal department contribute to value creation for the company? What are the main levers you use?

Bekaert's legal department plays a crucial role in value creation by ensuring that all company operations comply with applicable laws and regulations, thereby minimizing legal risks and protecting the company's assets. We use several levers to achieve this objective. Firstly, we adopt a proactive risk management approach, identifying and mitigating potential risks before they materialize. Secondly, we promote a culture of compliance and integrity within the company, which strengthens the trust of partners and customers. Finally, we work closely with other departments to understand their needs and support them in achieving their strategic objectives. To this end, we regularly organize meetings with executives to discuss their ambitions and strategies, allowing us to align our legal agenda with the company's priorities.

How do you position the legal department as a true strategic partner within Bekaert? How do you ensure that you are involved early in key projects and bring your legal expertise to bear on the company's strategy?

To position the legal department as a strategic partner, we strive to be involved from the early stages of key projects. We have established a culture of active listening and collaboration, where we ask questions, listen, and learn from other departments. This begins with a deep understanding of the ambitions and strategies of different parts of the company. We organize briefing sessions with executives so they can share their plans and needs, allowing us to formulate our own strategic agenda accordingly. Additionally, we have implemented strategic activity maps for each business unit within Bekaert, helping us identify areas where our legal expertise is needed. This structured and regular approach ensures that we are always aligned with the company's objectives and that we provide tangible added value.

What role does the legal department play in Bekaert's innovation strategy? How do you support R&D and product teams in securing and valuing innovations while fostering the necessary agility and risk-taking?

For a global market and technology leader like Bekaert, innovation is crucial in the overall long-term strategy. Currently, Bekaert is in the transition from a product supplier to a solution provider, and as the law department, we’re proud to contribute to that. We play  an essential role in the innovation strategy by securing intellectual property rights and facilitating collaborations with external partners. We work closely with R&D teams to identify and protect innovations from their inception. For example, during the development of new activities such as hydrogen or offshore wind, we are involved from the start to identify legal risks and opportunities. Furthermore, we encourage a culture of risk-taking by creating a psychologically safe environment where teams feel free to experiment and learn from their successes and mistakes. We also use systemic thinking approaches to understand the broader ecosystem and new stakeholders with whom we operate, identifying opportunities for collaboration and co-creation. This allows us to remain agile and respond quickly to market changes and new trends while maximizing the value of our innovations.

How does the legal department ensure alignment with Bekaert's operational challenges, particularly in terms of the supply chain?

To ensure that the legal department is aligned with Bekaert's operational challenges, we adopt an integrated and collaborative approach. We work closely with supply chain teams to understand their specific needs and associated risks. For example, regarding our activities in certain regions, we work closely with operational teams to analyze geopolitical scenarios and their potential impacts on our supply chains. We develop risk mitigation strategies, whether in terms of intellectual property protection, diversification of supply sources, or analysis of international flows. This proactive and collaborative approach allows us to effectively respond to operational challenges while supporting the company's overall performance.

Attracting and retaining top talent is a key challenge for legal departments. How do you build a high-level legal team at Bekaert, developing skills and offering motivating career prospects to your employees?

At Bekaert, we attach great importance to providing challenging career and personal development opportunities for our employees. Like in other Bekaert departments, we implement several initiatives to attract and retain top talent within Bekaert's legal department. We invest in continuous training and professional development for our employees, using the 70/20/10 model: 70% of learning occurs on the job, 20% through mentoring, and 10% through formal training. We also encourage job rotation to allow our employees to gain diverse experiences and develop new skills. For example, some of our lawyers have transitioned into roles in mergers and acquisitions. Finally, we create a positive and inclusive work environment, where psychological safety and constructive feedback are valued. We recognize and celebrate achievements, which strengthens the engagement and motivation of our team. These initiatives enable us to build a high-level legal team capable of tackling the complex challenges of our company.

Interview by Pierre Marteel of Leaders League