Funke Abimbola: Tenacious and Determined Woman At The Top

Celebrating the milestone in gender equality in the workplace, we have hunt down one of UK’s fastest rising woman in the legal industry. In a very insightful interview, Funke Abimbola shares her most inspiring strategies to getting to the top and staying right there. Kick starting our ‘Women At The Top series’ for 2017.

When looking to enter the legal profession almost 17 years ago, Funke was advised to steer clear of corporate law as this area of legal practice was “too competitive for a black woman”. Undeterred by this, she drew up a list of the top 100 UK corporate law practices and in-house legal teams and proceeded to cold-call the heads of department within each organisation with a sales pitch about what she had to offer as an entry-level employee. This brave and innovative approach secured her several interviews and an entry level positin with a large, fully-listed PLC company. Now a multi award winning solicitor, Funke is currently the most senior black lawyer working within the UK pharmaceutical industry and is one of the most senior globally.

Today, Funke is a senior leader for the world’s largest biotech company, a practising solicitor leading the legal and corporate compliance, company secretarial and data protection functions that support the company’s pharmaceutical operations in the UK, Ireland, Malta and Gibraltar. The company makes a difference to the lives of patients by providing innovative medicines that are targeted to the needs of individuals. Her diverse team provides first class support and is made up of trusted advisers who support on all aspects of day to day activities for example commercial matters, intellectual property, competition, employment, litigation, pensions, data protection, pharmaceutical, regulatory, corporate compliance, anti-bribery & corruption law.

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