It was all change at Unilever last year as the multinational company began the first stage of a major reorganisation away from geography into five global business groups of personal care, home care, beauty and wellbeing, nutrition and ice cream. For Lucy Beaumont there was an immediate shift of responsibilities. Adding to her role of UK and Ireland general counsel, she earned a promotion into myriad new geographies, becoming the general counsel of homecare in Europe, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand, responsible for products in the home, hygiene, air, water and fabric care space.
Aside from the internal restructure, Beaumont – by background a competition lawyer – spent much of 2022 dealing with ongoing supplier litigation and the response to the legislation on high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) products and the extended producer responsibility for packaging (EPR) consultation, otherwise known as the plastic tax.
Super-bright, affable and energetic, Beaumont is a huge proponent of imaginative resourcing, internal training and growing talent. Rather than bemoan the problem of rising private practice salaries, she took the view that an innovative legal team’s work doesn’t have to be done by qualified lawyers. Of Beaumont’s 12-strong UK and Ireland team, just four – including Beaumont – are legally qualified; her senior privacy lead has a background in marketing and the rest are paralegals, trainees or apprentices. Beaumont argues that spotting talent and investing in early-career professionals’ development will pay dividends in the long run, not only for the individual but for Unilever.