An interview with Marian Radu, Group General Counsel at Vrancart Group in Romania.
How would you describe the state of the GC Community in your region?
The GC community has evolved a lot for the better and has become more sophisticated in the last 20 years, since I first moved in-house, becoming much more aware of itself, of what it can represent for its members and of the increasingly important position that they should have, or already have, in the companies in which they operate, not as a support line, but as an active and real business partner in all business defining processes.
How has it changed since you first moved in-house?
It is a growth of the community that came organically year after year, on the snowball principle, because new and varied experiences were accumulated, more and more GCs joined the community, because they saw the benefits and, above all, because a sense of belonging was naturally generated inside. Partly because this feeling of belonging is in us, as social beings and we fully feel the need for affiliation, partly because the GC community is one that holds a lot of good, useful and beautiful things.
Why is expanding your network important to you? What kinds of connections or discussions would be most valuable to you?
It is clear today that a large part of business success is also due to the relevant connections you have in the market. You never know when the quality expertise of a connection can save the day for you in an extreme situation. On the other hand, you cannot remain isolated or in a small circle, because the value you have is, most of the time, also related to the external validation you receive from personal connections or the community in general. And, in this context, almost naturally, in addition to your intrinsic value, a large part of what you represent in the market is configured by your acquaintances, by your network, directly or indirectly. Obviously, it is somehow up to your morality to choose your connections based on your own principles, human quality and professional expertise. There is a rather fine line here but, obviously, everyone chooses based on their own set of values. Personally, I have chosen as close connections people with certain professional expertise but whom I have also credited with a high human value. It may sound a little pretentious, but I’ve reached that stage of my career and age where I don’t see anything wrong with being slightly more careful with the choices I make.
What do you want to achieve by collaborating with other GCs and senior in-house lawyers?
There are two main purposes of interacting with other GCs or senior in-house lawyers.
The first is to generate added value professionally, by generating and implementing successful projects, acquiring new knowledge or, sometimes, just mastering the fear of falling behind market trends. This interaction is absolutely necessary because the legal field is a large-scale one, with accelerated developments and mutations in recent years and whose challenges are increasingly sophisticated, both due to the diversification of businesses, the emergence of digital or the increasingly clear preponderance of artificial intelligence.
The second purpose is related to the personal plan. It’s great that, at the end of the day, you have a circle of acquaintances with whom you can approach, in a more casual way, other non-professional aspects or, you can go out to a cultural event, a concert or, why not, just for dinner, a beer or a coffee. And I’m very happy to say that, within the Romanian community, we have regular informal meetings where that’s exactly what we do: we have dinner, have a drink and relax.
Are there specific topics, challenges, or experiences you’d like to share or learn more about?
As a topic that I would personally like to learn more about, I can mention one that comes up frequently in the discussions we have within the community: with so many challenges in business lately and with the onslaught of innovative technologies, how can a GC and his team continue to be relevant and true guardians of legality and compliance? What type of adaptation is needed and what new skills must be learned in order to be successful in these endeavors?
