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Freshfields appoints Gil Perez as Global Chief Innovation Officer
Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has today announced the appointment of Gil Perez as Global Chief Innovation Officer, effective from April.
Based in Silicon Valley, Perez will lead the continuing evolution of the firm’s global innovation strategy. This will see him working collaboratively with clients to navigate and adopt fast-developing AI tech and tools, increasing engagement across the wider firm on best practice and ensuring Freshfields remains at the forefront of innovation developments in the legal industry.
Perez brings more than 25 years’ experience in senior leadership roles across innovation and global technology transformation in the US and Europe. He joins from Deutsche Bank, where he was chief innovation officer, with responsibility for the bank’s innovation strategy; transformation to the public cloud; AI, machine learning and GenAI initiatives; strategic technology partnerships; and the bank’s Corporate Venture Capital Group. In prior years, Perez held senior executive positions at leading software vendor SAP, having started his career founding innovative enterprise tech start-ups.
Commenting on the appointment, Freshfields senior partner Georgia Dawson said: “A culture of continuous improvement is core to our firm’s growth strategy. It’s vital to our efforts to attract the very best talent and equip them with the latest tools to serve and collaborate with our clients. Embracing the possibilities of the latest innovation and tech, such as GenAI, will ensure we remain at the cutting edge of client service standards.”
Freshfields global managing partner Rafique Bachour said: “With his strong track record leading innovation at global organisations, Gil is the right candidate to take our firmwide innovation strategy to the next level. We continue to invest in talent and technology to support our client and people strategies and deliver a firm of the future, and the appointment of Gil underscores that ambition.”
Perez commented: “I’m delighted to join a leading global firm as it enters the next phase of its innovation strategy. As organisations move quickly to maximise the opportunities borne from great innovation, and with the recent advancements of GenAI, the legal profession is destined to profoundly change in the coming years and Freshfields has the clear ambition and intent to transform the way lawyers and clients interact by leading the industry. I’m looking forward to collaborating at the firm with clients, colleagues, innovation partners and tech companies, and redefining client experience in the industry."
As trusted legal advisors to the biggest organisations in the world on high-profile, business-critical mandates, Freshfields is uniquely placed to advise on cross border regulatory challenges in an increasingly digitalised market. Initiatives such as the firm’s global cross practice AI group and the innovative Freshfields Lab ensures the firm is at the cutting edge of digital developments to support clients globally.
