Karen Linehan, General Counsel of Sanofi.

KAREN LINEHAN HAS WORKED FOR MORE THAN 26 YEARS FOR Sanofi, a global life sciences company committed to improving access to health care and supporting the people it serves throughout the continuum of care. For the past decade, she has served as the company's executive vice president, legal affairs and general counsel, responsible for legal, intellectual property, ethics and business integrity. Sanofi is headquartered in Paris. With more than 100,000 employees, Sanofi has a presence in more than 100 countries and industrial sites in more than 40 countries.

LEGAL TEAM: Linehan says she oversees more than 300 lawyers worldwide and a total department in excess of 700 persons. While the legal department is present in 45 countries, almost 200 of the team members are based in France.

OUTSIDE COUNSEL: The department does seek support from outside counsel. "We use them when it's an area where we need very specialized expertise," Linehan says. The team also uses outside counsel when an issue comes up in a country where the department does not have lawyers knowledgeable about the country or its laws. Linehan says the team uses a variety of firms. In the United States, that includes Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, Jones Day and intellectual property firm Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto, which handles patent matters for Sanofi.

DAILY DUTIES: Linehan says she has been spending "a fair amount of time" preparing her company for enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation, which is intended to strengthen and unify the protection of data for all individuals in the European Union. Adopted in 2016, the GDPR becomes enforceable in May 2018. When Sanofi announced the appointment of its new chief executive officer in 2015 and changes in the company's executive committee membership the following year, Linehan supported the newcomers. She is a member of the company's executive committee and its senior leadership team. "When people go through reorganization, it's important to check to see how people are doing," Linehan says. Linehan also manages litigation for the company and oversees arbitrations. In addition, she may have a role to play if a human health crisis arises. "Our days are very, very varied," Linehan says.

ROUTE TO THE TOP: In 1986, Linehan received her J.D. from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Her education was not limited to book learning, however. From 1977 to August 1986, while she was earning her undergraduate and law degrees, Linehan worked on the congressional staff of then-Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, a Democrat from Massachusetts. "He was a great man," she says. After graduating from law school, Linehan joined a midsize law firm in New York City as an associate. Sanofi was a client of the firm, and Linehan decided to go in-house as an assistant general counsel for the company's U.S. subsidiary. In 1996, she moved to Paris to work on international affairs within the company with the idea it would be a short-term transfer. "I came to Paris for two years," Linehan says. "I have lived here now for 21." Linehan held a number of positions within Sanofi's legal department before she was appointed to her current positions in March 2007.

PERSONAL: Linehan, 58, enjoys an active life. "When I'm not working, I like to travel, I like to cook," she says. "I'm also a yoga and Pilates practitioner." Four special people have come into Linehan's life. Although she has no children, Linehan says she is enjoying her role as a great-aunt. "I think it's great to be an aunt and grand-aunt," she says.

LAST BOOK READ: "I read lots of books, but I read mostly history books," Linehan says. She says the last book she read was about Dynamo Camp, a special place where chronically ill children from 6 to 17 years of age can enjoy recreation.

WHAT KEEPS HER UP AT NIGHT: "The unexpected," Linehan says. That can range from an accident in a Sanofi plant to a hurricane.

PRIORITIES: Linehan says her priority is to support the strategic roadmap of her company, "Clearly, I want to develop my team to make a difference," she says. "We really want to help people along their journey in life."