2017 Hot List Recipient
2020 Hot List Recipient
2021 CEO of the Year
Accolades
Media
Milestones
2011
2015
2017
2020
2019
2021
Commences career at Corrs Chambers Westgarth initially as an intellectual property lawyer, later expanding his experience to include technology law
2011
Introduced to in-house legal work through a secondment to the commercial law division of the NSW Police Force
2015
Takes on first full-time in-house role as group legal counsel at Associated British Foods
2017
Wins Australian In-House Lawyer of the Year award at the Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards
2020
Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2019
Appointed to current role as head of legal and compliance at Galderma ANZ. Joins the board of Ballet Without Borders, a not-for-profit organisation that brings ballet education and ballet pathways to children
2021
Being a pioneer
In April 2021, William Daymond made history at global dermatology company Galderma by becoming its first Australia-based lawyer, marking a change from the organisation’s usual set-up of having a Switzerland-based in-house legal team responsible for legal issues in Australia. As head of legal and compliance (ANZ), he is responsible for establishing Galderma’s legal and compliance function in Australia and New Zealand – a role he has shouldered admirably over the past year.
Daymond has drafted and reviewed legal templates, developed a streamlined contract review and approval process, implemented a compliance risk program, and helped put together the company’s inaugural Modern Slavery Statement, which was crafted alongside Galderma’s UK entity. He has also helped to launch global policies associated with anti-bribery and corruption, and transaction approvals.
This is on top of his involvement in more than 200 procurement, employment, regulatory and privacy-related matters.
Since Daymond transitioned to the in-house market after kicking off his legal career in private practice at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, he has quickly come to realise that one “can’t always ruminate on every issue or achieve perfection”.
“At times you need to adopt a rule of ‘80% finished is good enough’, otherwise you will never get through the workload,” says Australasian Lawyer’s 2022 Rising Star.
“A constant theme in-house lawyers experience is doing more with less. More is being expected of in-house lawyers; meanwhile, they are also being asked to be conscious of costs and what is outsourced to external lawyers. Although reducing outsourcing will reduce the financial strain on companies, especially those who have been significantly impacted by COVID, it could result in undue stress and a reduction in the quality of the work. This concept is difficult for those who constantly try to give 100%.”
To this end, Daymond sees the proliferation of new technology as a benefit to the profession.
Daymond has also been afforded the opportunity to contribute to a strong period of growth for Galderma.
“It’s incredibly exciting to be part of a company going through this growth, with fantastic NPD in the pipeline, corporate acquisitions and various ESG initiatives being rolled out,” he says. “In the last 10 months there has been significant transformation and growth, and I can’t see things slowing down.”
Nonetheless, Daymond’s work extends beyond just helping Galderma to expand externally – he has also been at the forefront of the Australian organisation’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. As a father looking forward to the birth of his second child, he has championed policies catering to working parents.
“I lead changes to the parental leave policy in ANZ, including removing gender references, doubling the leave given to secondary carers (previously paternity leave) and introducing a flexible return-to-work policy,” he says.
“The challenge is trying to assist in creating an appropriate separation of work and personal life. This is in addition to ensuring staff feel valued and supported and giving them assistance when needed for mental health issues.”
Daymond places particular value on the importance of flexibility in the profession, given his personal struggle with incorporating work-life balance in his situation.
“Over the last two years, I have had my computer set up on the dining table in an open-plan living–dining room. Creating that work-life separation was very difficult, especially when having a two-year-old running around singing loudly, throwing tantrums and everything in between,” he says.
“Flexibility isn’t simply about implementing hybrid work policies. It extends to flexibility as to hours of work, for example start and finish times or gaps in between; work patterns, for example job sharing; and public holiday switching, for example switching the Queen’s Birthday for Chinese New Year. By adopting some of these changes to improve flexibility, it can also have a positive impact on diversity and inclusion.”
While Daymond applauds the considerable progress in flexibility-centric initiatives by law firms and companies over the past two years, he believes “more can be done”, particularly in the age of the Great Resignation, which makes attracting and retaining talent all the more important.
“If businesses can retain talent in this challenging environment, it can help stop the loss of institutional knowledge, skills and relationships and keep productivity and morale high. By minimising turnover, it can help avoid the time, effort and cost of recruiting new employees,” he explains.
While Daymond concedes that reading cases “is not as enticing as the latest John Grisham thriller”, he is eager to see what the future holds as he follows Galderma through its growth journey.
“Being part of this ride will give me an amazing opportunity to grow and learn, both from a legal perspective and a business operations perspective,” he says.
Spotlight
“There is a lot of fantastic innovation available, including those relating to document management, contract automation and workflow platforms. There should be a focus on implementing this software so that lawyers can work more efficiently and effectively,” he explains.
Still, Daymond relishes the fast pace and variety of his role, which he says is “a far cry from when I would spend months – or years – on one litigation”. One thing he appreciates about going in-house is how it’s given him the opportunity to stay with a project from start to end.
“Being able to sit down with regulatory affairs, innovation managers or the marketing team and brainstorm ideas and solutions is incredibly rewarding, especially when you get to see the finished product on the supermarket shelf or on a billboard or hear the latest ad on TV,” he says. “Being in-house allows you to be deeply involved in such projects rather than just be involved in minute fragments of a project.”
Galderma is the world’s largest independent global dermatology company, initially founded over 40 years ago as a joint venture between L’Oréal and Nestlé. In 2019, it was acquired by private equity and has since been experiencing bumper growth, with double-digit top- and bottom-line growth. Galderma has brands and services across aesthetics, consumer care and prescription medicine, with one of its best-known consumer products being Cetaphil.
Company Profile
2019
Became an independent company
40
Number of countries company operates in
3 out of 4
Number of factories on 100% renewable electricity
5,100
Number of employees across the globe
61%
Greenhouse gas emissions reduced in years 2010–20
Bio
Spotlight
Milestones
Media
Accolades
Company Profile
Years of Experience (IN-HOUSE)
5
Tenure IN current position
1
BAsed In
Sydney, Australia
Fast Facts
Gaining international experience and learning about different people and cultures
William Daymond
Head of legal and compliance (ANZ) at Galderma
Galderma’s head of legal and compliance (ANZ), William Daymond, sits down with Australasian Lawyer to talk about being the company’s first Australia-based lawyer and working on projects from start to end
Read on
“A constant theme in-house lawyers experience is doing more with less. More is being expected of in-house lawyers; meanwhile, they are also being asked to be conscious of costs and what is outsourced to external lawyers”
WILLIAM DAYMOND,
GALDERMA
“Being able to sit down with engineers, innovation managers or the marketing team and brainstorm ideas and solutions is incredibly rewarding, especially when you get to see the finished product on the supermarket shelf or on a billboard”
William Daymond, Galderma
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2011
Being A Pioneer
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Years of ExperiencE (IN-house)
Tenure IN current position
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Curabitur feugiat eget leo id tempus. Maecenas commodo, nibh at ultricies pulvinar, ipsum erat porta metus, et tempus justo tellus euismod dolor.
2011
Being A Pioneer
Spotlight
Company Profile
Years of Experience (IN-HOUSE)
Tenure IN current position
BAsed In
Fast Facts
Read on
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