Emma McDonnell

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT EMMA MCDONNELL

Senior Commercial Solicitor with a background in financial services, FinTech, digital and insurance, I combine legal capabilities and business acumen to deliver fully integrated commercial solutions. Over the years, I have delivered clear and robust legal infrastructure, ensured diligent deal and risk management, optimised resources and upskilled cross-functional teams.Having joined GoCompare in 2012, I qualified into a Legal Counsel role in 2014. By striking the right balance of legal and commercial needs, sustainable business and agile management, I successfully maximised emerging opportunities and safeguarded interests. I co-founded GoCompare’s legal function and progressed to Senior Group Legal Counsel in 2015, Group Head of Legal in 2016, Group Legal Director in 2018 and Group Vice President of Governance in 2019, successfully combining the Group’s legal, compliance and risk teams. As Group VP of Governance, I managed a multidisciplinary team to design and deliver legal, compliance and risk infrastructure that touched c.500 staff across three sites.Drawing on my experience in corporate and M&A transactions, I aligned complex legal and regulatory issues on a merger and demerger, several acquisitions and an IPO. I also supported the transition that led to the group’s takeover in November 2020.I reinforced external relationships with regulators and provided guidance on data impact, FCA regime, adverts and branding and ASA rulings.I also contributed to the CMA Online Platforms and Digital Advertising market study and the investigation into Most Favoured Nation clauses in commercial contracts between price comparison websites.