Gladys Chun, General Counsel, Lazada

Taylor Root is proud to be supporting International Women’s Day 2018. We have interviewed a selection of our female clients asking them how they are pressing forward for women’s gender parity.

Taylor Root interviewed Gladys Chun, General Counsel at Lazada.

What is the best and worst decision you’ve ever made?
There is no best or worst decision, you make the best out of whatever decision you’ve made and never look back. You learn from today, live for tomorrow and never look back. The only time you should ever look back, is to see how far you’ve come.

How is being an in-house lawyer at your current company different from that of other companies?
In-house counsel should possess expert ability to manage risks both strategically and tactically and remain ahead of the curve. A successful in-house counsel must show a consistent track record of outstanding communication skills including negotiation, influencing and advocacy, and the ability to rapidly distil the most complex issues of law or facts into decision point for the board and management.

This is particularly important in the context of the rapidly-growing ecommerce environment that is highly charged, fast-paced and continuously changing. One must be able to navigate through the internal complexities, and deal with uncertainties in the external legal environment that is facing disruptions from technological advancements. One has to think strategically and pragmatically, adapt rapidly and ensure that risks are managed whilst allowing the business to seize opportunities within the compliance framework.

What are some of the major recent trends in your industry? In what ways have you seen these change or affect your role?
Technology will continue to be a critical driver and enabler in the near future. As a technology company, one of our core value requires us to embrace innovation in our day to day work. Being innovative and having an entrepreneur mindset have always been core to what we do and why we do what we do here in Lazada and this is correspondingly reflected in our functional KPIs including Legal. The company places great importance on our ability to innovate and embrace design thinking since day 1.
Moving forward, I foresee that we will continue to expand the existing technologies to include both mobile and web-based solutions – creating flexible solutions that offer multiple, integrated functions with convenient and secure access. I do hope to deploy more advanced and sophisticated tool e.g., digital legal advisor apps which automates or semi-automates rules-based decision-making process.

*What are some of the challenges you face when hiring for your team? *
Millennial syndrome.

*What woman inspires you and why? *
My mother. Watching my mother build our family from humble beginnings had a profound impact on me. She faced many challenges, but managed to overcome the odds while also being amazing parent. Her unconditional love and support have been the pillar of my strength and courage. She taught me many valuable lessons in life and the one lesson which I repeatedly remind myself is that there is no success without failure, no achievement without struggle, no triumph without defeat. The latter is just what prepares you for the former – the growing pains required in order to learn lessons and grow stronger. Her words of wisdom have not only taught me how to effectively to be leader, but also helped me become more tenacious, resilient and resourceful whilst remain authentic, staying true to myself.

*If not a lawyer, what would you be? *
Fashion-preneur.