An interview with Alexandre Verrien, former Legal Director France & Europe at Dell Technologies.
What has been the most defining moment of your career as an in-house lawyer so far?
It’s hard to highlight just one, so let me share two key moments.
The first was early in my career, when a senior legal leader I deeply respected told me something that truly changed my path: “Own your career”.
Those three words completely reframed the way I approached my work. I started building a real career plan – thinking intentionally about where I wanted to go, what kind of role I wanted to reach, and what I needed to do to get there.
The second defining moment come when I joined a new company as Legal Director in April 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic and lockdown in France.
Leading a team virtually and some team members I had never met in person forced me to reinvent how I lead, inspire and connect – purely through a screen! It was challenging but it reshaped my leadership style entirely.
In what ways do you see the role of the GC changing over the next 5–10 years?
Honestly, the role has already evolved massively since the 1990s and early 2000s. But the pace of change is still accelerating – driven by two forces: the need for the GCs to act as genuine business enablers and the rise of technology, especially AI.
Legal tech solutions, mostly AI-powered, are transforming how we organise and deliver legal services. The modern GC cannot just be a legal expert anymore; they must be a visionary leader capable of building multidisciplinary teams: data analyst, legal ops, legal AI engineers, business operations, HR partner and many more!
The “legal island” model no longer works.
Tomorrow’s GC isn’t just an expert, they are an orchestrator, a connector, a leader.
How do you foster innovation and agility within your legal team?
By listening and by trusting.
When my team tells me something isn’t working or that we should try a new way, I listen. They’re the ones on the front line, closest to the operations. My job is to give them space, trust and support to experiment and challenge!
Innovation does not come from hierarchy; it comes from empowerment.
What qualities do you believe distinguish truly impactful GCs from good ones?
That’s a great question, and there’s no single recipe. But for me, impactful GCs share a few traits: they listen, they’re humble enough to say, “I don’t know”, they say “thank you”, they show empathy!
And above all, they have a vision and can bring others along with them. This last part is probably the hardest. We all talk about “inspiring leaders”, but the truth is, inspiration isn’t taught in law school or business school. It’s earned through authenticity and consistency.
How do you balance the pressures of your role with personal wellbeing and resilience?
For me, it’s about two things: movement and perspective.
I work out every single morning! It’s my time, no emails, no requests, just focus.
And I keep perspective, my job matters, but I’m not a cardiac surgeon. That mindset helps me handle pressure with balance and humility.
If you could change one perception about the in-house legal profession, what would it be?
That Legal is just a cost centre or a support function.
I have spent years trying to change that perception, and we have made progress, but there is still a way to go.
Too often, Legal is seen as reactive, not strategic. But here’s the truth: we cannot expect others to see us differently if we do not change how we operate ourselves.
We need to show, not tell, that Legal drives business outcomes. That’s how we move from “support” to “strategic partner”.ts core. However, the insight I wish I’d known earlier is that these skills are the foundation for the next, more critical step: transforming the legal function from a reactive advisor into a proactive and strategic partner. The goal is to anticipate future risks and opportunities, helping to shape business strategy rather than just responding to it. Consequently, I learned that focusing on ‘value-adding issues’ becomes exponentially more powerful when you can demonstrate that value with data. Using metrics to show how legal drives efficiency and mitigates risk solidifies our role as an indispensable business driver.
