Meera Vanjari has almost two decades of legal experience, working at the highest levels of private practice and in-house roles. Initially serving at law firm Mulla & Mulla & Craigie Blunt & Caroe, she then went on to hold roles at companies including Marico Industries, Kodak India and Bunge India. Between 2008 and 2012 Vanjari was legal director for Johnson & Johnson, heading legal affairs for its medical devices and diagnostic business. She then joined pharmaceutical company Glenmark Pharmaceuticals in 2012, to head the legal and intellectual property (IP) functions for the company globally. In addition to her general counsel role, in which she heads the legal team of 23 people and the IP team of 40 professionals, Vanjari is also part of the Core Operating Group of Glenmark and the Chairman of the Sexual Harassment Committee. One of her mandates when joining was to ensure legal support across the globe with a fairly lean legal team, as well as to encourage proactive legal advice. After assigning legal leads in jurisdictions and by establishing internal processes, the legal team’s position as a business partner has been achieved and stakeholder satisfaction received. Vanjari ensures that the whole team regularly works with the business counterparts to analyse business risks and develop strategies to risk-hedge negative impacts on the company’s operations. She also developed a global compliance code for the organisation and drafted global policies for the key countries where Glenmark operates. Further e-training modules on compliance have helped staff across the global business embrace the high standards that the company requires. A key feature of her time at Glenmark has been launching products when faced with patent challenges; allowing the company to launch innovative new products and continue to build its international brand.