Clare Wardle, Group General Counsel of Coca-Cola Enterprise Partners.

CLARE WARDLE IS GENERAL COUNSEL AND COMPANY SECRETARY of Coca-Cola European Partners plc, based in Uxbridge, United Kingdom.

Initially, Wardle studied at Somerville College, University of Oxford, where she received a Master of Jurisprudence degree, and then at King's College London, where she received a diploma in competition law. She was called to the bar, requalified as a solicitor, is a qualified company secretary and member of ICSA. She was trained as a mediator at the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution.

Also, she worked for 10 years for what is now the Hogan Lovells law firm. She also worked at Royal Mail Group for over a decade, where she led many legal teams including the Royal Mail team with responsibility for relationships with the regulator and government, was head of legal services for Post Office Ltd, and was a nonexecutive of the digital services and encryption company and was on the board of the financial services joint venture.

Later, at Tube Lines, she was general counsel and company secretary.

After Tube Lines, she joined Kingfisher plc, a European home improvement company, where she was general counsel and company secretary. Her focus there included strategy, mergers and acquisitions, managing risk, insurance, compliance, and legal and governance matters.

In 2016, she was named general counsel and company secretary at Coca-Cola European Partners plc.

Wardle is based in Uxbridge and is a member of the executive leadership team for Coca-Cola European Partners, working extensively with the board of directors as company secretary, and is a legal adviser to the company's chairman.

Coca-Cola European Partners is one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods companies in Europe, manufacturing non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages.

Coca-Cola European Partners, which produces, distributes and markets a range of beverages, is also the largest independent Coca-Cola bottler based on revenue. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Iceland, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Andorra and Monaco. The company is listed on Euronext Amsterdam and the New York Stock Exchange.

ROLE AS GENERAL COUNSEL: Wardle is proud of her company and team. "I enjoy being part of a great company with a long-term growth agenda which recognizes the importance of sustainability in all senses in driving that goal," Wardle says.

"I am particularly interested in the development of all our employees, and helping them to make their maximum contribution to the business, and to that end I am a sponsor of the Diversity Council and a mentor. At CCEP [Coca-Cola European Partners], we are committed to women holding at least 40 percent of management jobs by 2025 and 33 percent of the board by 2020.

Through my chairmanship of Basketball England, I am also committed to providing a framework through sport, supporting inclusion and the development of life skills in children and adults of all backgrounds. It was a privilege to attend the Special Olympics this year and watch that in action."

Globally, the Coca-Cola Co. is the world's largest total beverage company, providing over 500 brands to consumers in more than 200 countries.

PRIORITIES AS GENERAL COUNSEL: She has several priorities as general counsel at the company. These include supporting the chairman, the CEO and the board of directors "to drive our strategic agenda. As a new company, embedding consistent and user-friendly frameworks in the business to manage risk effectively, enabling us to move fast, identify new opportunities and drive a one-team culture, is particularly important," she said.

Also, among her wider roles in the organization, she says she is a "leader first and … closely involved in all aspects of CCEP's strategy and management."

Moreover, she adds it is "important to stay in touch with the front line and to see first-hand the working of the business."