Asdrig Bourmayan, General Counsel, Natixis Corporate Solutions Ltd
How long have you been working for your current company?
Since June 2007.
Briefly explain your career history and what led you to your current position.
I have been practising as a lawyer for more than 13 years. I started as a French avocat and then also became solicitor. I practiced at Linklaters (in London and in Paris), where I specialised in structured capital markets transactions. I later on joined Latham & Watkins in order to set up the structured capital markets practice together with a partner and two other associates. After a number of years in private practice, I decided to move to Nexgen, renamed as Natixis Corporate Solutions (NCS), an international strategic equity group. My role is a legal structuring position which is completely integrated into the front office and therefore with a strong business perspective.
What is your proudest professional achievement and why?
Joining NCS and becoming the General Counsel of NCS is probably my proudest professional achievement so far. NCS has been at the forefront of innovation and became one of the most prominent actors in the strategic equity world.
What are the greatest challenges that you face in your current role and what do you do to overcome them?
The main challenges are the need to adapt to different businesses from our clients’ perspective and to various legal environments with the maximum flexibility and efficiency.
Did you have a mentor or role model in your career or while you were studying law? Who were they and how did they help you?
I had mentors in the workplace more than at university. These were some of the partners that I worked for in private practice. They encouraged me and gave me new projects and challenges to overcome and I am very grateful to them.
What do you think have been the most significant changes for women in the legal industry over the past five years?
I believe women are quite present in the legal industry. In France more specifically, they are very present in in-house positions and probably less present in private practice at the partnership level for work-life balance reasons. They have developed networking tools and are quite active in their respective areas.
