Driving legal innovation and leadership across Europe’s pharmaceutical sector
As Teva Pharmaceuticals General Counsel UK&I, Vanessa Kitching leads complex, multi‑jurisdictional legal operations while partnering closely with commercial leadership to deliver strategy at pace. Spanning the UK, Ireland, Benelux, Nordics and the Baltics, her remit blends legal risk management with business leadership in one of the world’s most regulated and fast‑moving industries.
In our latest edition of In-house Legal Journeys®, Vanessa reflects on the decisions that took her from M&A in private practice to in‑house leadership, why Teva’s collaborative culture appealed, and how she and her teams have navigated challenges from Brexit and Covid to sustainability and restructuring. She also shares pragmatic advice on influencing senior stakeholders, communicating complex issues in plain English, and building resilient, high‑performing teams.
What’s your remit as Teva Pharmaceuticals’ General Counsel UK&I ?
For over 120 years, Teva has been a different kind of biopharmaceutical company – one that operates across the full spectrum of innovation to continuously better health worldwide. Developing innovative medicines for the future while championing the production of generics and biosimilars.
I am responsible for the legal teams in the UK, Irish, Benelux, Nordics, Baltics and Sweden. I also sit on the EU Legal Leadership team and the UK Commercial Leadership team.
What factors made you choose to work there?
I have worked in a diverse range of sectors, including Energy, FMCG, Entertainment and Chemicals, as well as working in private practice as an M&A lawyer. I enjoyed working in all of these roles, but I particularly like the complexity of some of the more regulated sectors and, whilst I’d never previously worked in pharmaceuticals, I knew it was complex and that it would be challenging and provide some great learning opportunities. Teva also stood out to me because it had a unique collaborative environment and the people I met during the interview process all had a very open-minded entrepreneurial mindset. They were interested in me as a senior lawyer, but also what I might bring in a wider business sense and as a leader. In addition, whilst Teva may not be widely known, it is a global organisation with a significant presence in Europe and is among the largest suppliers of medicines to the NHS. However, despite its size, it has a relatively flat organisational structure, without extensive hierarchical layers, which also appealed to me.
Why is it such a good place to work?
From my first day the role has more than lived up to my expectations. It has been challenging, exciting, and always interesting with something new and complex to work through. I have worked on some very interesting strategic issues including business continuity matters such as Brexit and Covid, material litigation, M&A, regulatory changes and lobbying, and restructurings. I’ve also brought learnings from my past roles and have worked to establish a group dealing with sustainability and Net Zero, which are a priority not only for Teva, but also for the NHS, which is one of our key customers. I’ve been lucky to have the opportunity to lead fantastic teams of lawyers as well as working alongside my fellow leadership team members on organisational strategy. It certainly hasn’t been dull!
How has the organisation helped you develop your career?
I firmly believe that lawyers contribute far more than traditional legal expertise; we bring a commercial perspective and often identify opportunities that others may overlook. I have benefited greatly from an environment that values open-mindedness and encourages leveraging those broader skills. I have been offered opportunities to act not only as legal counsel but also as a wider business leader, taking an active role in shaping strategy as well as being a site director lead at one of our large commercial sites. I have also enjoyed substantial opportunities to lead and influence the development of innovative projects. I think this has made me a much more rounded lawyer and leader.
Within the wider European legal leadership team, I have consistently challenged existing practices and proactively sought ways to evolve the legal team’s operations to make workflows more efficient, to ensure we focus on the value-add, all of which has also been actively encouraged.
I have also been given growth opportunities to manage an international team and I now lead the legal team in the UK, Ireland, Baltics, Nordics and Benelux countries. This has not only given me the opportunity to lead a more diverse legal team, but to also understand the very different pharmaceutical landscapes in these countries.
What made you want to move in-house originally, and what challenges did you have to overcome?
I began my career as an M&A lawyer in Leeds before moving to work in the City at both International and US law firms. These moves gave me the opportunity to work with a wide range of businesses on a variety of M&A and Public Company work. As a result, I also gained valuable insights into businesses and some understanding of the key drivers behind the deals. I completed two secondments during this time – one at a chemical company European headquarters and another working as a lawyer on the desk of a major investment bank in the City. The M&A work piqued my interest into how businesses operate, and their strategic direction, and the secondments gave me the opportunity to see what it was like to actually work within a business. Ultimately, I decided I wanted to be closer to the businesses I undertook work for and I wanted to stay after the deals were completed and work more widely within such a business. So, my experience basically led me to move in-house.
Before I moved in-house I was faced with the challenge of roles being more focused on pure commercial lawyers and I was an M&A lawyer. Some recruiters were more open-minded regarding skill sets, and what a M&A lawyer can bring, others less so. I landed my first in-house role within a FTSE250 FMCG business to lead on their M&A work, whilst also working on wider projects in their group headquarters. I loved this role, and it utilised my skills and background in M&A, so I ended up with the perfect job for me in the end. I think the world of in-house lawyers has very much moved on now, it’s much more evolved as a role with a wide variety of disciplines and skill sets now being required and recruited.
Why law in the first place?
I didn’t study law as my first degree and my journey to law was more of an evolution, rather than a straight path. For my first degree, I studied physical geography, with a focus on climate change and environmental sustainability. I always thought I would go on to undertake a master’s degree in environmental sustainability, or an area in this field. However, towards the end of my degree, my course included some environmental law subjects, which led to my interest in the law. So, with the intention of becoming an environmental lawyer, I undertook the law conversion (the CPE back then), and because I was funded by a large corporate law firm I went on to do my training with them. When I started my training contract, whilst I still had every intention of becoming an environmental lawyer, my interests developed into different areas of law, and I chose to specialise in M&A on qualification. However, careers are always evolving, and I also worked within some in-house sectors which utilised by environmental background, including energy and downstream renewables as well as leading on sustainability matters in my current role.
How have you changed as a lawyer since moving in-house?
My breadth of experience has significantly widened. I no longer just deal with legal matters, I also have leadership responsibilities across both legal and commercial teams. Although my background is in law, my role extends well beyond legal practice. I need to understand and support business strategy, implement horizon scanning to keep directors informed of issues that could impact our plans, lead organisational change initiatives, and support team development. No one day is the same and you are always learning. Aas you learn, you also realise that you will not and cannot ever know everything- but that’s part of the excitement and what keeps you interested in the roles.
What particular opportunities for growth have there been?
I think one of the key growth opportunities and challenges has been the breadth of sectors within which I have worked. I have challenged myself to learn about some very different businesses, as well as working with businesses of different sizes from PE-backed, to FTSE through to Global businesses. Taking on a role in a new sector is a challenge, but also very rewarding and interesting. I believe if you are willing to put in the effort to learn about the sector and to network within the sector, it can be very rewarding to take on the challenge- plus you bring something different and a different area of experience- which I think is always a good thing.
During my time in-house, I have also worked on many varied and interesting projects. For example, early on in my in-house career I had sole responsibility for a very large acquisition. I worked directly with the CEO, CFO and head of M&A. this afforded me some great exposure to senior leaders whilst working with and leading a great team of people to deliver the deal. It was challenging, time-pressured and slightly daunting given the levels at which I was operating, but I loved it, and my strongest memory was that we laughed a lot and it was also great fun!
How do you prefer to work?
We have a flexible work policy, and we are generally in the office 3 days a week. We have two offices in the UK, one just outside of London and one in the north near Leeds. Because the UK leadership team and the UK legal team is split between the two offices, I travel a lot between the two offices. I also travel to our EU headquarters, or across Europe to meet with my wider legal team members and the EU legal leadership team. I am not sure I have a particular pattern, other than being flexible enough to travel to different locations, but I like to be with people whenever I can.
Who’s been most influential to you in your career?
I have a number of former work colleagues and bosses who have been and continue to be influential. I might pick up the phone to meet with them once a year or sometimes more frequently. I also have a fantastic working relationship with my current Managing Director whom I will often discuss matters with. I haven’t really had mentors throughout my career, but I think it is important, so I try and mentor others or at least ensure I offer my time for a coffee or call. I think it’s very important to pass on your encouragement, advice or support to others.
If you could speak to your younger self just before starting your legal career, what would you say?
Back yourself and don’t forget to stop, breathe and have fun…
What’s something you believed strongly about the legal world early on, and have you changed your mind?
I felt it was a bit exclusive and difficult to get into. I am not sure I have changed my mind, it still is very difficult, but I am pleased to see a wider variety of students coming into the law and a richer diversity. I do hope this continues and I would love to see more diversity in senior positions and across all levels of our profession.
How to you keep up to date in such a busy role?
I read a lot; we have also built tools to help us track evolving developments in fields such as sustainability and compliance. I use research tools and I have also built my team structure so that they are also responsible for tracking key developments in certain areas.
I have built strong relationships with my local, EU and Global Government Affairs and Policy colleagues and I work closely with them. One of the first actions I took when I first started my current role was to build external networks, both with lawyers in the sector but also very importantly with our Trade Body. I now work alongside my local GA teams on key matters and I am also actively involved in our trade bodies and working groups. This is an area of my role which I really enjoy.
If you had to teach a masterclass on something unrelated to law, what would it be?
Probably sustainability and new areas of legislation, regulation and customer requirements on Net Zero. I have been a panel member discussing how to build tracking and how to implement ESG strategies from a local view-point when working within a global structure.
What’s the best investment you’ve ever made in yourself?
Getting into sport and being more active. I had knee surgery a few years ago and I really struggled to get physically well again. I had taken my physical fitness for granted previously – working long hours and not necessarily getting much exercise. So, as part of my rehabilitation, I challenged myself to get into running and cycling. I went from never having run a 5km to, at one point, running half marathons most weekends (I was living in South Africa, so the weather was nice!). I have also cycled 200km in a day and my husband persuaded me it would be good fun to cycle the NC 500 independently (with a few extra detours to make up 1000km). I believe it really is one of the most important things I think you can do for yourself, as it helps not just your body, but also your mind.
How do you balance being accessible to the business with protecting time for strategic thinking?
It’s hard and I know it isn’t just me that struggles. I block my diary (although that frequently gets undone!), I prioritise constantly, I look ahead to find times that might be less hectic and I block them out, but it is an ongoing challenge.
How do you manage being both a trusted advisor and the person who sometimes has to say “no”?
I always seek to understand the “why” and what it is we are trying to achieve – why is something so important and is there a different route we could take to get there? I try to think laterally, consider different alternatives and challenge. Relationships are key, if you are a trusted advisor and people know you, and trust you, they will understand that whilst there are sometimes alternative ways to do things, sometimes the answer is just “no”. What is important is that you don’t judge and you work with teams to ensure they know when it’s a line that you cannot go over and why.
What’s the most effective way you’ve found to communicate complex legal concepts to non‑legal stakeholders?
Break it down, keep it in plain English – there is nothing worse than quoting section x of paragraph something… just don’t do it. I tend to work on a structure of: what is the issue, what is the fact base, what is the legal point that applies, what is the impact or what does it mean and what is the potential resolution of potential mitigation – all in plain English.
How do you stay commercially minded while maintaining your role as the legal conscience of the organisation?
It is important to understand context. Knowing and understanding your business is key. I come back to what are we trying to achieve and why. I flag the impact and the reality of a situation and then come back to how we might do something differently whilst achieving the same or similar goal.
If you could change one thing about how the legal profession operates, what would it be?
To be more inclusive, find ways to encourage more students from all backgrounds to enter the profession. Demystify the profession – encourage people with all skill sets to consider it as a profession. Talk more about the different roles and careers being in the legal profession can lead onto to. That’s more than one change, I know!
Do you have any hidden talents?
Not really, I’ve cycled the 3 Mont Ventoux ascents in one day (with little training) and other not so well thought out, or trained for, challenges…
Favourite holiday destination — and what makes it so appealing?
I like all travel, I did a lot of independent travel when I was younger and still travel independently now – we visited Southern Sri Lanka last year on a mixture of trains, buses and cars. Meeting local people is such an important part of travel for me.
We visit South Africa most years to see my husband’s family and I am frequently persuaded into the odd cycle event… this year we did a 5-day cycle event with amazing views back to Table Mountain.
Top three things on your bucket list?
I have one and I’ve had it for at least the last 12 years… I want to cycle from North Africa to Cape Town. You can do it over 4 months with organised groups, but I’ve not had the time or the opportunity to train for such an event or do it yet.
What was your favourite car — and why?
I’ve only had 3 – a mini metro, a Z4 and now a Tesla… now if you were to ask me about my favourite bike, I’ve had a few more of those!
Besides being a lawyer, if money were no object and you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do?
A common theme here… I also like visiting South African vineyards, so I would probably set up a wine and cycling touring company in South Africa with my husband.
What three things would you rush to save if the office was on fire?
We hot desk, so I don’t have anything I permanently keep at the office. The obvious one would be ensuring everyone was out of the building and then my laptop and phone.
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