Conducting an Executive Search for a Director, Legal, Risk, Compliance and General Counsel to strengthen governance and legal strategy in a Victorian statutory authority.
The Brief
A government statutory authority engaged Future Leadership™ to appoint a senior executive to lead its legal, risk, compliance and governance functions. The role was newly created following a review of the organisation’s operating model and was designed to consolidate previously separate functions under one strategic leadership position. Reporting to the Executive Director of Corporate Services, the role required a leader capable of advising the Board and CEO, overseeing legal services, and embedding a culture of compliance and risk awareness across the organisation.
The successful candidate would be responsible for legal strategy, enterprise risk, compliance, integrity, FOI, and privacy. The organisation sought a candidate with deep experience in legal and governance leadership, preferably with exposure to property law, employment law, and stakeholder engagement across government and regulatory environments. The role also required the ability to simplify processes, standardise documentation, and lead a multidisciplinary team.
The Process
Future Leadership™ conducted a targeted executive search across multiple jurisdictions, focusing on candidates with experience in legal, compliance, and governance within regulatory, environmental, and statutory contexts.
The Future Leadership team managed a structured process, commencing with a detailed client briefing with key stakeholders to gain a clear understanding of the requirements and nuances of the position. A targeted search process included engagement with known and trusted referral partners, identifying potential interest and additional candidate recommendations. The search was supported by advertising on the client website, LinkedIn, and the Future Leadership™ website. Candidates were assessed through a combination of behavioural interviews, with shortlisted candidates completing psychometric assessments that were mapped against the Future Leadership Capability Framework (FLCF).
The lead consultant supported the panel interviews with the organisation and completed 360-degree reference checking for the preferred candidate. The preferred candidate demonstrated exceptional alignment with all six capabilities, particularly in strategic thinking, stakeholder influence, and governance leadership.
Future Leadership Capability Framework
Strategy and Purpose
Develops and leads strategy for the function/organisation, taking a broad and long-term perspective. Understands and considers context. Communicates and gains buy-in to the function/organisation goals, direction and vision, promoting change initiatives.
Adaptability and Resilience
Demonstrates positivity, curiosity, and the ability to pivot when confronted with change, pressure, adversity and disruption. Responsive to strategic environmental, social and corporate challenges and opportunities.
Governance and Compliance
Establishes, champions and measures the effectiveness of an organisation’s regulatory and reporting systems.
Identifies and evaluates risks, develops strategies to mitigate risk.
Stakeholder Relations
Establishes rapport with stakeholders, builds and sustains trusted and collaborative relationships.
Identifies and draws on relevant and diverse perspectives and integrates them to support productive interactions.
Critical Thinking
Gathers and examines different data points, testing for assumptions and gaps in logic; reframes problems and presents well-reasoned insights considering diverse perspectives. Analyses, interprets and objectively evaluates information enabling judgements.
Systems Thinking
Views situations in their entirety, understanding all the parts at play. Identifies the interconnected factors and how they influence each other, impacting the whole system. Takes a strategic perspective.
The Outcome
The selected candidate brought over two decades of senior legal and governance experience across government, corporate, and for-purpose sectors. Their career included roles as General Counsel and Company Secretary in large-scale organisations, where they led legal departments, advised boards, and implemented governance reform.
In their interim tenure with the agency prior to appointment, the candidate had already demonstrated their ability to lead legal and governance functions, advise the executive team, and restructure the legal unit. Their achievements included streamlining board processes, managing complex stakeholder relationships, and guiding executive recruitment and governance renewal.
Their appointment has contributed to improved legal risk oversight, enhanced compliance culture, and stronger alignment between legal strategy and organisational purpose.
