Stephanie Fougou, Group General Counsel of Vallourec.

SINCE 2014, STEPHANIE FOUGOU HAS SERVED AS GROUP GENERAL counsel for Vallourec, a multinational company headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. Vallourec provides solutions to energy industries as well as to others in the industrial sector. The company is organized in four regions: North America, with headquarters in Houston; South America, based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Asia/Middle East, based in Dubai; and Europe, with headquarters in Paris.

LEGAL DEPARTMENT: Fougou says she is in charge of several functions at Vallourec, including its legal department. With 45 lawyers and 10 paralegals based in Boulogne and the different regions, the department is organized to handle regional global legal activities. Much of its work involves contractual, litigation, corporate or regulatory (anti-dumping) matters as well as advising on everyday issues. One lawyer may be nominated as a referent, when working in project mode, for a client to make sure there are coherent negotiations with that client in the different regions.

OUTSIDE COUNSEL: The legal department works with law firms of different sizes, according to Fougou: "We can work with local firms in regions, for example, on dedicated subjects." That includes law firms such as Akin Gump in the U.S. and Jeantet in France. The company may turn to international firms, like Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Latham & Watkins, for corporate finance structuring, and to others, such as Norton Rose Fulbright or Gide, for merger and acquisition negotiations in certain countries. "We try to balance the type of activities and needs for external support in terms of correct profile experience," Fougou explains.

DAILY DUTIES: Fougou's daily schedule is filed with numerous duties. At one point, she may be advising the Vallourec board on regulatory matters or governance. At another time, she may be making sure the lawyers in her department advise commercial teams about any major risks in their sector and suggest the most adequate structure for deals. She also may be called on to negotiate M&A deals in order to close each deal the fastest and with intelligent structuring to avoid too much economic and operational exposure. Finally, she may participate in major state representative forums to ensure an ongoing legislative watch.

ROUTE TO THE TOP: Fougou graduated from the University of Paris II and obtained her bar certification in 2002. She started her career with the TF1 audiovisual group and then worked for 13 years for the France-Telecom Orange Group, including serving as deputy group legal counsel. While there, Fougou says, she was able to negotiate with Apple for the first iPhone exclusivity in Europe. She also created a special project mode profile legal team in France-Telecom for international negotiations addressing the then-new sectors, including Facebook and Google. In 2011, Fougou moved to the hospitality sector. She joined Club Mediterranee, becoming GC in charge of legal structuring of real estate development, legislative lobbying and joint venture structuring. She left that post to join Vallourec.

LAST BOOK READ: Elena Ferrante's last book on a Naples family. Notes Fougou, "Loved it. Poetical and historical, feels like living in Naples years ago."

PERSONAL: Fougou, 43, was raised in Africa and says she lived in 11 different countries during her childhood. She has traveled a lot, both for her jobs and outside of work, and says she is a fan of Italy, has studied Italian and visits the country to restore herself when needed.

WHAT KEEPS HER UP AT NIGHT: Fougou cites a number of concerns, including how to propose new opportunities in the law to the younger generation and make them love it. She also worries about how to make her team proud of their achievements and making sure they stay focused on priorities and do not get lost or overwhelmed in useless points.

PRIORITIES: Fougou says she always wants to be ahead of legislative information, and to translate what that could mean for her company. She also wants to promote achievements. Each time the team closes a deal, that should be communicated. When asked what she likes the most about her job, Fougou says, "It is a watchtower with 360-degree vision in a company from where you can leverage law to help [the] company become the best and do good."