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Gareth John completed the local part of the Compaq-Hewlett-Packard merger last year. That would be almost enough to qualify for The Hot 100, but he also managed to restructure the legal department and, in so doing, offered an innovative model for others to follow.
John took it upon himself to manage the UK and Irish ends of the merger. He had some much-needed help from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in the complex restructuring of more than 24 legal entities in the UK and Ireland, but as legal adviser to the Hewlett-Packard integration team and the board of directors, he was a crucial figure. In addition, as company secretary he coordinated all board meetings.
By assuming this burden, John freed up his team to concentrate on its daily business, rather than becoming bogged down in integration issues. The team responded by closing deals for P&O, Bank of Ireland, Unilever and 3.
While that was a lot of hard work, many think John's biggest achievement was the restructuring of his legal department. In addition to the integration of the Compaq team, he chose to merge the legal group with the commercial team, boosting the number of staff in the group from 10 to 30. By sitting the commercial negotiators next to the lawyers, he brought the legal team much closer to the business, which should make the deals slicker.
A man of many parts.
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The Hot100
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