Being a young woman in a male dominated industry can have its advantages, but the microscope can also loom large.
Rita Gustafsson, Bombardier Transportation Sweden AB
Rita Gustafsson is Director Contracts & Legal Affairs at Bombardier Transportation Sweden AB, one of the largest transportation companies in the world and one of the few in the industry focused on both rail and aerospace. In her role she focuses on Contract Law, Corporate and Commercial Law, Procurement and Litigation & Arbitration.
This includes:
Gustafsson is legal advisor within the field of contracts, corporate & legal affairs, as well as bidding activities and commercial support and governance. She is responsible for all corporate and legal affairs relating to the Swedish legal entities. She also serves as Secretary to the board of directors.
If that wasn’t enough, Gustafsson is responsible legal counsel for all activities in South East Asia as well as South and Latin America and Southern Europe and previously responsible for legal activities in China. As of May 2013 has coordinated legal support for third party sales and bids.
Tell us about your career track. How did you come to be involved with such a giant transportation company as Bombardier?
I was headhunted to the company shortly after I left the law firm I was at in order to do a Master of Science in General Management. At that time I decided to pursue my studies. Two years later, my predecessor called me and asked if I would be interested to meet again, and so we did.
Your company specializes in aerospace, trains and mass transportation, areas often associated with men. What is like to be a woman in that industry?
Bombardier focuses on aerospace as well as rail transportation.
Being a woman in a company which has a primary workforce of men means one has leverage to anything one does. If I perform well then I have leverage in people knowing who I am and what I have achieved because there are fewer women than men, whereas if I make a mistake, the fall will likely be much harder. Being young, however, adds another dimension to that. Most people I work with are older than myself and may have worked for many years in the company – something which also needs to be considered in approaching different tasks and managing expectations from others as well as oneself.
Did any part of your background lead you to this industry?
I have a rather diverse background, and though there is no direct connection between what I did in the past and the industry itself, I believe that my extensive international experience is a clear asset when working in a multinational company. Having grown up in a family of another MNE, I also feel at home in the environment of our company.
Tell us about your day to day. What are the main focus areas and what are the things that keep you up at night?
In short, there are three dimensions of my work that I work with on a daily basis. I coordinate our team and am involved in our sales activities in emerging markets on a divisional level, I support the site I work at and its 1,600 employees in diverse matters relating to the supply chain, claims and anything else that may come up, and I take care of the Swedish legal entities as well as act as secretary to the board. Naturally, the latter involves various tasks relating to corporate and legal affairs.
Naturally, working with different time zones requires flexibility and availability at what some may call “uncomfortable hours”.
You are a truly global company in a global industry with 26 locations around the world. How much of your time is spent with headquarters and other offices? Do you have a lot of frequent flyer miles?
Though I do spend time at the headquarters and other offices occasionally, I try to focus on being where the business needs me the most. My travels therefore tend to be to supplier or customer sites, often directly linked to negotiations.
Being based in Sweden would you describe your work as EU-wide?
I would as we have offices and projects around Europe and the legal framework is of course affected by EU-regulations, though not as much as global. When I do not work with Sweden, most of my work involves emerging markets outside of the EU.
How much of your time involves litigation and arbitration or is it more deal based?
Very little of my time is currently devoted to litigation or arbitration. Focus in our business is on pro-active solutions, good relations and deals.
Tell us about your work in China and Southeast Asia? What are your main responsibilities?
When I worked extensively with China, I supported our sales and bid activities, as well as acted as a legal counsel appointed by our company to represent the shareholder side of our JV company in China. As with any legal counsel work, this involved both supporting the development of the business, as well as ensuring compliance and adherence to governance. In South East Asia my work is currently more focused on the legal side of bidding and sales.
China has always been a bit of headache for GCs of Western companies. How do you feel about the landscape?
China is an interesting and dynamic market with rapid development. Keeping pace with such development and understanding the challenges of businesses within the domestic market as well as the consequences of daily changes on bilateral or multilateral deals is complex without being based in China. Additionally, as in any culture, relationships are important to business, and good relationships take time to build.
What else should we know about you?
Needless to say, I am very passionate about my work, and in being so it is easy to allow oneself to be completely absorbed by work. However, two of the most important factors of my work are having an exchange with good colleagues in and outside of my team, and finding room for recreational activities outside of work that nurture creativity and wellbeing in order to make sure that one’s mind is always rejuvenated when needed. My best ideas, including those for work, are usually generated after having devoted myself to the arts – writing on my two books, dancing or painting.
The Gustafsson File
Company: Bombardier Transportation Sweden AB
Title: Director Contracts & Legal Affairs
Main duties: pro-active solutions, good relations and deals
Age: 31
Interests: Art, writing, dancing and painting
