General counsel strive to steady the ship as companies brave geopolitical shifts, market volatility and AI disruptions in 2025.
As a general counsel, what are the biggest risks you expect to navigate in 2025? What are the skills and tools you will turn to in order to more effectively assist the C-suite in overcoming challenges and achieving business goals?
DO DO CHAN, senior legal counsel and head of legal & compliance, Emperor International Holdings Limited: The year 2025 will be a challenging year for us.
Despite our decades of experience in the real estate and entertainment sectors, we frequently find ourselves navigating a landscape filled with uncertainties. Regardless of what the future holds, we believe that leveraging technology and integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into our investment strategies are crucial for achieving our business goals.
First, in recent years, our company has made significant strides in incorporating generative AI across various operations. This includes everything from promotional materials and market trend analyses to enhancing visual effects in film production. To manage the inherent risks associated with generative AI, our legal team will proactively advise the C-suite on its legal implications, addressing issues such as copyright, data privacy, and potential biases in AI-generated content. This ensures our compliance while fostering innovation.
Second, as part of our recruitment strategy, we sprioritise candidates who approach technology with an open mind. In our staff evaluations, legal counsels who demonstrate familiarity with generative AI tools will be given preferential consideration for promotion, reflecting our commitment to forward-thinking talent.
Finally, as we engage with international funding companies, we srecognise that their investment policies often incorporate stringent ESG criteria. We ensure that our shopping malls, commercial buildings, hotels, and serviced apartments adhere to high ESG standards. This commitment enhances our competitive advantage in the market, thereby drawing in more global investors.
NADIM ELHAJ, chief legal officer, Abu Dhabi National Hotels: The biggest risk in 2025 and beyond for any conglomerate is not to take any risk! Taking risks is crucial for expanding any business and taking it to the next level. The saying "no risk, no reward" has never been as true. In the context of globalisation, ruthless competition, being agile and risk-taking are a must for any business to survive and secure its spot in the run for growth and brand equity building.
However, risk should be properly calculated and mitigated as part of a fast-track assessment of any transaction. Inorganic growth is the name of the game to become a regional and global champion in your industry. The role of a GC has never been as important in terms of strategic advice on structuring, negotiating, and executing M&A deals under tight timelines. The key success factor in such strategic mandate lies in two qualities: An eye for detail and perseverance. The size of such M&A deals is a major growth factor.
However, the risk of error in such deals can lead to catastrophic outcomes that may reach the level of demise of the business. Hence, the importance of recruiting the right talent for a GC position. It is not about recruiting Ivy League graduates, but rather choosing a candidate having the required level of experience in terms of business acumen and emotional intelligence. This is what we call the "art of dealmaking" that should be mastered by a candidate in order to be up to the mandate of a GC.
The sdigitalisation of the legal department in terms of contracts drafting, document management, and due diligence software is a key enabler for the GC's success in achieving its mandate.
SAMUEL HUEN, global head of legal and regulatory compliance, Bank of Singapore:
The year has begun with the second inauguration of Trump, ushering in a new era where U.S. policies will shift significantly. We can expect steep tariffs to reduce U.S. trade deficits that will see many Asian countries like China, South Korea and Taiwan adversely impacted during the Trump administration’s four-year term. However, countries with large domestic markets, such as India and Indonesia, are less likely to be affected.
Such potential changes will present many opportunities for global wealth managers, including adapting business strategies to tap into new wealth flows. The top recipients of millionaires are U.A.E, U.S., and Singapore. This presents attractive opportunities for global wealth managers to realign their business focus to capture wallet share in a financial landscape flushed with many competitors, from traditional private banks to financial intermediaries to new service providers.
Even as we face these new changes with excitement (and perhaps some trepidation), I also expect an increasingly complex regulatory environment that may force consolidation in some industries. For example, compliance costs in private banking have grown significantly, and certain banks may rethink their strategies as profitability and cost-income ratios are impacted.
In 2024, we saw SocGen selling its wealth management units in the U.K. and Switzerland to Union Bancaire Privee, and HSBC selling its private banking business in Germany to BNP Paribas. As a general counsel of a private bank, one needs to understand the regulatory environments of different jurisdictions and the associated ongoing compliance costs so as to better advise the C-suite on capitalising on business acquisition opportunities.
It will be a brave new world in 2025 – one that is exciting and potentially treacherous but certainly very fulfilling from a career perspective for all in-house lawyers. Keeping a growth and nimble mindset will be crucial for a general counsel to enjoy contributing to the aspirations of his or her fellow C-suite colleagues to achieve overall business and career success.
