Business Practices Director
MSD Italy
Italy
“True impact is generated when the General Counsel or Head of Legal and Compliance stops being reactive and becomes an active part of the decision-making process.”
Giovanna Rosato is an Italian Bar–admitted lawyer who sees the law not as a mere control function, but as a strategic lever to drive decisions, build trust, and strengthen organisations where regulation, reputation and speed intersect.
After graduating from LUISS Guido Carli University, she began her career at Hammonds Rossotto (2002–2007), before joining Freshfields, where she spent over a decade (2007–2019) as a Senior Associate advising multinational clients across industries within Dispute Resolution & Arbitration and Compliance/White Collar Crime. Her work often placed her at the intersection of legal exposure, public scrutiny and business continuity.
In 2019, she transitioned in-house to Danone, where she served until February 2026 as Head of Legal & Compliance for Italy and Greece. In this role, she was also a member of both the local and regional Compliance Committees and of the Supervisory Body under Legislative Decree 231/2001, contributing to the evolution of governance and compliance models in a highly regulated and consumer-facing environment.
She currently serves as Business Practices Director at MSD Italia S.r.L., with responsibility for shaping and implementing the company’s ethics and compliance agenda.
Across roles and sectors – including pharma, healthcare, consumer goods, banking and energy – her experience spans M&A and post-deal governance integration, the establishment of benefit corporations, the redesign of privacy, cybersecurity and ESG governance frameworks, and complex cross-border disputes requiring multi-jurisdictional strategies.
Her expertise covers anti-bribery and anti-corruption, antitrust, data protection, cybersecurity, corporate governance and ESG, as well as the legal oversight of advertising claims and regulated communications – domains where balancing innovation, consumer protection and regulatory expectations has become a defining competitive edge.
What sets her perspective apart is a clear shift in mindset: compliance is not a defensive perimeter, but a driver of trust, performance and sustainable growth.
Her thesis is increasingly relevant in today’s landscape: governance, data and corporate integrity are no longer safeguards alone – they are assets. When designed effectively, they become an architecture of trust, capable of aligning business, technology and sustainability into a coherent and measurable source of competitive advantage.
As multinational organisations become increasingly interconnected, the gap between global ambition and local execution has never been more important. Giovanna Rosato, Business Practices Director at...
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