GC Influencers
Most Influential GCs - Global-wide
Sabine Chalmers of BT Consumer
Sabine Chalmers is one of the most experienced and well-credentialled in-house lawyers in the market, with a distinguished career which encompasses general counsel roles at Diageo, InBev, AB InBev and her current position as group general counsel at BT. Chalmers boasts an imperious track record in market-changing M&A deals, including advising on InterBrew’s merger with AmBev to form InBev, InBev’s USD52 billion acquisition of Anheuser-Busch to form AB Inbev and, subsequently, AB Inbev’s USD107 billion acquisition of SABMiller. She joined BT in early 2018 in her first foray into the telecommunications sector, with her immediate challenges including dealing with the fallout of a record fine imposed by communications regulator Ofcom over regulatory breaches at its Openreach division and an investigation into BT’s accounting practices in Italy, alongside rising speculation regarding a bid for the company by Deutsche Telekom. Legal insiders, however, are certain of her success, describing her as a “sophisticated operator” who “leads from the front” and praising her ability to “generate a lot of loyalty from her team.” Commentators also commend her commitment to both philanthropic endeavours and diversity and inclusion issues, in recognition of her role advocating greater gender diversity in outside counsel and her involvement with organisations such as educational charity Room to Read and female legal rights group Legal Momentum.