Name: Olivier Pognon
Position: Chief Legal Officer
Company: Airtel Africa PLC
Sector: Telecommunications
Worked in current position for (number of years/months): 6 years
Years in-house: 11 years
An overview of my role is: Oversight of legal matters at Airtel Africa, including contracts, litigation management, M&A, shareholders related matters, corporate governance…
The best thing about my current job is: great diversity in scope and geographies, fast and growing industry
The most challenging thing about my current job is: I don’t have the luxury of time for personal development and studying new trends in the legal world.
My most pivotal career move: I graduated as a corporate lawyer, and practiced corporate law for 5 years then decided to go back to school to do a project finance and structured finance degree. This not only decisively broadened my horizons, but later gave me the opportunity to confidently take up management positions, since I was able to understand aspects of the business which are usually inaccessible to lawyers.
Hardest lesson I have learned as a lawyer: never base your legal views on assumptions. Always back them with proven facts and/or solid evidence.
What advice would you give your younger self? Trust your capacities. Don’t doubt yourself too much. Aim for the seemingly unreachable goal.
Who are the key influencers that have shaped you along the way? Essentially my parents and my wife. My dad: a sharp, combative and purposeful man, who would never compromise with hard work and integrity. My mum: a strong, committed and caring person who achieved a remarkable career despite obstacles that would ordinarily break anyone. My wife: my master coach when it comes to resilience and unselfishness.
My favourite pro bono or volunteer activity is: I don’t have time for one at the moment, unfortunately.
Most valuable life lesson that I still apply today is … whatever the circumstances: 1. Pause 2. Breathe 3. Pray 4. Then, keep going
I achieve work-life balance by: deliberately getting off my phone and emails on Saturdays J exercising, playing guitar, cooking.
If I were not practicing law, I would probably be: probably a journalist of some sort. I never really considered anything other than practicing law.
I’m currently reading: Trevor Noah – “Born a crime”
My current music playlist includes:
- “Nara” by Sofiane Pamart
- “Respire” by Gael Faye
- “Mwanza” by Rayvanny (feat. Diamond Platnumz)
- “Change” by Jermaine Dupri and others
- “Way too Big” by Burna Boy