The Corporate Vice President and General Counsel will be an active, contributing member of the Edwards Executive Leadership Team (ELT), serving as a trusted advisor and sounding board to the CEO and Board on all legal matters and a strategic thought partner to senior leadership, enabling the business and providing a solutions-oriented approach to business and legal issues.
This executive will oversee and coordinate the legal affairs of the organization and all of its legal entities. They will lead a high-performing global legal department, including managing internal and outside counsel across the globe.
Specific responsibilities include:
Serve as the principal advisor to senior leadership and the Board on legal, governance, and compliance matters; ensure that Edwards’ business strategies, policies, and programs are implemented in full compliance with all legal requirements and obligations.
Play an active role in corporate decisions in order to maximize Edwards’ overall success; engage in the Edwards’ strategy process to anticipate future challenges and provide creative approaches and mitigation strategies.
Drive a talent and culture agenda that positions the organization for long-term success and serves as a talent engine for Edwards.
Support the Board of Directors and oversee Edwards’ compliance with public company governance and reporting requirements; engage with and provide regular updates to the Board.
Provide counsel on both business and legal ramifications of significant strategic decisions, including acquisitions, joint ventures, divestments, business partnering, and negotiating and structuring major contracts.
Advise on the formulation of policies and procedures, practice directives, compliance, and governance processes to foster and exemplify a culture of integrity and good business practices.
Protect the company’s intellectual property by establishing and maintaining appropriate internal and external IP strategies, policies and procedures, and operating mechanisms.
Advise the company on risk mitigation related to litigation, handling litigation, and dispute resolution procedures.
Ensure adherence of Edwards’ operations and legal entities to all applicable laws and regulations, and company policies.
Work closely with Corporate Responsibility, HR, and internal Audit to support the execution of these departments’ mandates.
Participate actively and demonstrate visible leadership in industry associations (e.g., AdvaMed, MDMA, etc.) to better understand industry issues and shape industry and/or company strategies, directions, and activities.
Build and maintain a strong connection with the legal leadership team and legal team members, continuing to support the team’s development.
Lead a high-performing legal team and function, attracting, developing and retaining strong talent; set stretch goals; and assist in career development and succession planning.
Manage legal function budgets; oversee the selection and management of outside counsel, maintaining relations with external law firms and managing external legal spend.
Pivotal Experiences & Expertise
In addition to a J.D. and an active admission to a state Bar, the successful candidate will bring the following qualifications:
Senior, Broad-Based Legal Experience: 20+ years of legal experience, gained through a combination of top-tier law firm training and senior in-house roles. Exposure to and knowledge of a diverse range of legal disciplines, including M&A, corporate and commercial transactions, commercial litigation, IP, employment, real estate, and risk and crisis management.
Healthcare/Life Sciences Industry Experience: Experience in the life sciences sector, preferably medical devices / medical technology, and within a global, regulated company environment. Deep knowledge of the FDA regulatory landscape and the laws, regulations, and challenges facing the sector.
Public Company Governance and Global Experience: Public company experience, including experience working with a sophisticated Board of Directors, advising on governance matters and overseeing public company reporting. Experience operating within a global organization of scale with a footprint across multiple jurisdictions around the world.
Leadership Experience: Experience leading and managing a cross-functional, global legal team, as well as experience establishing legal strategy, successfully driving execution of key priorities and objectives, and managing outside counsel. A track record of developing, coaching, managing, and leading high-performing teams, and of deploying talent effectively.
The successful candidate will also demonstrate the following attributes:
Collaboration and Influencing: Encourage collaboration among diverse individuals. Create a network across boundaries to achieve results as a team and share best practices. Help build relationships between different stakeholders at different levels and across the organization to enable collaboration.
Results Orientation: Create higher levels of performance by identifying better ways of doing things. Introduce improvements based on analysis and/or benchmarking that yield a higher level of performance. Drive multiple initiatives forward, demonstrating an ability to get things done in a large organization. Set clear expectations and hold team accountable for a wide range of activities.
Strategic Orientation: Integrate a variety of information and translate corporate strategy into functional strategy. Consider alternative business scenarios, integrating multiple elements, and align on a path forward. Articulate evolving priorities for the business within a 3-5-year time horizon, incorporating an understanding of relevant markets, industries, and issues elsewhere in the company.
Team Leadership and Development: Encourage one’s team to act independently, handing off responsibility to team members in a considered way, based on understanding the relative strengths of each individual. Build successors for one’s own succession, while developing succession plans for all leaders. Systematically build team capability by understanding the strengths of all team members, assessing them rigorously, and setting customized goals. Define the positive direction for the organization, including change where needed, and make a case others can buy into.
Additional Skills:Â Adhere to all company rules and requirements (e.g., pandemic protocols, Environmental Health & Safety rules) and take adequate control measures in preventing injuries to themselves and others as well as to the protection of environment and prevention of pollution under their span of influence/control
Edwards is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer including protected Veterans and individuals with disabilities.
COVID Vaccination Requirement
Edwards is committed to protecting our vulnerable patients and the healthcare providers who are treating them. As such, all patient-facing and in-hospital positions require COVID-19 vaccination. If hired into a covered role, as a condition of employment, you will be required to submit proof that you have been vaccinated for COVID-19, unless you request and are granted a medical or religious accommodation for exemption from the vaccination requirement. This vaccination requirement does not apply in locations where it is prohibited by law to impose vaccination.