‘I’ve been very lucky to work with really iconic brands in my career and JLR is a continuation of that’: Jaguar Land Rover’s David Berry

David Berry received the Global General Counsel of the Year award as part of last month’s Luxury Law Summit in London. He is the chief legal officer at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). Before joining JLR, he spent seven years at Tesco as UK and Republic of Ireland legal director and previously served as general counsel, M&A, IP and antitrust at Diageo. He began his career at Freshfields as an antitrust lawyer.

David spoke with the Global Legal Post about his career, his GC role and issues that keep him up at night.

After working for Tesco and Diageo, what drew you to working at Jaguar Land Rover? Did you always have an interest in cars?

I started my in-house career at Diageo and I spent nearly 15 years there. I loved the brands, the idea of being a British company but the business was very much about selling British brands to the world and the long-term investment horizons/decisions that involved. JLR is in a different industry but it has all those same elements. I’ve been very lucky to work with really iconic brands in my career and JLR is a continuation of that. 

The other thing that links these companies is passion, both the passion that people working in the company have for the brands and the products, and the passion that you see from customers and advocates of the brands. And yes, I always loved the cars.

What has surprised you most about your role at Jaguar Land Rover?

I think it’s the same point as above: the pleasant surprise was that despite being a different industry, the key questions and areas of focus are actually quite similar. I’ve definitely had to learn a whole new language and another set of impenetrable acronyms but underneath that, there is a degree of familiarity.

What issues keep you up at night these days?

I wouldn’t say that they keep me up at night but some of the bigger challenges would be staying on top of a very complicated, constantly changing global regulatory landscape and keeping up with the pace of technological change.

In your experience, what are the most important qualities for a global general counsel?

To be successful as an in-house lawyer, I have always thought that the key qualities or behaviours are curiosity, commerciality, collaboration and brevity. I don’t think that changes as you take on larger roles.

What advice would you give to a young lawyer starting today?

Find the thing you are passionate about and pursue that. That may mean a country you want to work in, a product you want to work with, a sector you want to be in; it doesn’t matter. You may have to make some sideways moves or leave roles in which you are comfortable along the way but as long as you have a clear idea of where you want to get to, there is a good chance that things will fall into place.

Do you have a favourite car? Tell us.

I’m excited to see the new Range Rover Electric, which is now very close to launch. I was privileged to have a drive in one and it is astonishing. I think that will be my new favourite.

Luxury Law Summit New York, which is hosted by The Global Legal Post, takes place at The Metropolitan Club on 10 November. Click here to read the programme and here to book a delegate place. For sponsorship enquiries, email [email protected].