Simone Izzard is currently a senior associate at internationally acclaimed law firm Hogan Lovells, focusing on cross-border mergers and acquisitions for blue-chip and multinational clients. Although her practice deals with a number of different industries, Simone has a special interest in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and life sciences and healthcare sectors
“I started my career as a mergers and acquisitions generalist, but as time progressed I started doing more work in the FMCG and pharmaceutical sectors,’ said Izzard. Her love for the FMCG industry started when she became involved in the formation of African bottler Coca-Cola Beverages Africa. “I worked on that transaction for a number of years as an associate and later as a senior associate at my previous firm.”
Izzard also fondly recalls her secondment to global pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca where she started doing regulatory advisory work in relation to medicine supply and distribution in South Africa, which was especially relevant with the advent of Covid-19.
“It is exciting to work on multi-jurisdictional African matters with multinational blue-chip clients,” she said. “There have been a number of standout deals in my career, but working with Coca-Cola Beverages Africa was definitely one of the highlights because I took on a bigger role in a transaction that spanned the African continent and that was instrumental in the growth of my career.”
Since joining Hogan Lovells in 2022, Izzard has been involved in a number of deals for development finance institutions such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), FMO and Proparco.
“Seeing the way clients are investing in the growth and development of Africa, and working on deals that have a huge social and development impact is very close to my heart and a very fulfilling aspect of the work that I do,” shared Izzard.
She maintains that her secondments were pivotal turning points in her career at various times. “I was fortunate enough to do a number of secondments with institutions such as Glencore Xstrata, Investec Asset Management (now NinetyOne), and AstraZeneca. Secondments are fantastic learning experiences and you benefit in so many ways, but the main advantage is forming relationships that you are able to maintain after you have left the client,” said Izzard, emphasising that the most valued moments of her career have been created because of the people she has met along the way.
When it comes to sharing advice for up and coming attorneys, Izzard believes it’s important for them to understand that it’s easier to navigate their way in the legal field when they become their client’s trusted advisor.
‘’You do not want to be your client’s once-off attorney, but rather want to build a trusted and lasting relationship with them. It is also important to be interested in what is happening in the news with regard to your clients and the sectors that you are working in, and to ask the hard questions, like what keeps your clients up at night. Lastly, I would advise up and coming attorneys to remember that their journey is a marathon and not a sprint. Relationships are built over years and often the benefits are only realised years later.”
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