Canadian Lawyer InHouse

Dec/Jan 2009

Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives

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PROFESSIONAL PROFILE Cross-border shopper A day at Office Depot with general counsel Elisa D. Garcia C. By donalee Moulton W hen Elisa D. Garcia C. goes to her office in Boca Raton, Fla., she knows a full day awaits. It may include a teleconference with in-house counsel in Brazil, an e-mail from outside counsel in the United Kingdom, a review of operations in Can- ada, and a meeting with the senior management of the com- pany. The company is Office Depot, Inc., providing more of- fice products and services to more customers in more countries than any other company in the world. Garcia is its executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary. As general counsel, Garcia oversees a staff of 22 lawyers — 10 - relations. With so many employees, and so much responsibility, it would be easy to get bogged down in the details. But that's not her role, says Garcia. "My greatest focus is acting as a member of the executive committee and board of directors." That focus, she adds, encompasses everything from exploring corporate restructuring activities to identifying ways to increase sales. "As a general counsel, you wear a lot of hats. I am some- times giving very specific legal advice, but for the most part, I am a member of the executive committee. My role is far beyond giving legal advice." The numbers underscore the need for that broad-based role. Office Depot sells to customers throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America through wholly- owned entities, majority-owned entities, or other ventures covering 35 countries, and through alliances in an another eight countries. Forty per cent of the company's revenue comes from retail operations, 30 per cent from business-to-business sales, and the remaining 30 per cent in international sales, notes Garcia, who joined Office Depot in 2007 from Domino's Pizza, Inc. Its international division sells office products and services through direct mail catalogues, contract sales forces, Internet sites, and retail stores using a mix of company-owned opera- tions, joint ventures, licensing and franchise agreements, alli- ances, and other arrangements. In 1990 Office Depot began operations in the United King- dom. Today, Office Depot has catalogue offerings in 14 countries The lawyer: Elisa D. Garcia C. The company: Office Depot Elisa went to law school at St. John's University in New York. She has a joint BA/MS in Political Science and Management and Policy Studies from W. Averell Harriman College, State University of New York at Stony Brook. Garcia C. began her legal career as a corporate associ- ate with Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York. She was the Latin American Regional Counsel for Philip Morris International and corporate counsel for GAF Corp. Following those positions she was the executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary for Domino's Pizza, Inc. In July 2007 Garcia C. was named executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary for Office Depot in July 2007. outside of North America. In March 1999, the company intro- duced its first international public Internet site for consumers and businesses in the U.K. Now there are more than 35 separate web sites in the international division. Canadian operations play a minor role in the company's global operations. "Our business in Canada is small," says Garcia. In Office De- pot's world, small equates to annual sales of US$166 million. Because of the size of operations, there is no in-house counsel on the ground in Canada, says Garcia. Instead, outside counsel are used, and the vice president of international law oversees activities across the country. C ANADIAN Lawyer INHOUSE DECEMBER 2008 27 60-SECOND SNAPSHOT

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