"As Gilead has grown, my team has grown and so have I," says Serianni
It has been 15 years since Cinda Serianni first joined start-up Gilead Sciences Canada Inc. as the company’s first in-house counsel. Bringing seven years of experience from her role as legal counsel at pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, Serianni was ideally suited to build a legal department at the fledgling biopharmaceutical research company Gilead Canada, two years after its launch in the country.
“I was able to take all the learning from GSK and apply it at my new job,” says Serianni, who holds the title of associate general counsel. “I was literally employee 28 in this company, so it was really exciting to be asked to help mold the company and the legal department.” There are now around 200 employees at Gilead Sciences Canada – the Canadian arm of the global company – including Serianni’s team of three lawyers and a senior manager in compliance.
“I’ve been in pharma for 22 years and it’s been a lovely journey. As Gilead has grown, my team has grown and so have I,” says Serianni, who is a judge for the fifth annual 2024 Canadian Law Awards.
Not only does Serianni run the legal department and navigate all risk matters and evolving regulations for Gilead Canada, but she is also an executive sponsor for Women at Gilead, and she launched a peer-to-peer group called International Legal Squads. This involves groups of lawyers who meet monthly from across the globe to discuss work issues, offer support, and compare notes on advancing their careers.
“I’m all about peer mentorship because I think it’s really important to come together and be in each other’s corner. It’s important in the legal profession and in the corporate world,” says Serianni. “I’m a lawyer, but I’m also part of a corporation and a leadership team, so I can really help make a difference in people’s lives.”
Keen to take advantage of the latest technology and artificial intelligence solutions, Serianni introduced a contract management system which allows business partners to ask certain questions and generate agreements, taking pressure off the legal department. Creating systems which make use of technology to turn around fairly complex documents, not only saves time for the lawyers, but for the business as well, Serianni says.
Helping her team members to develop their skillsets and fulfill their personal career goals is a priority for Serianni. Each lawyer in her team is fully embedded into a different therapeutic area of the business, making them the go-to person for any legal questions that arise within that area.
“This means they become really well-rounded lawyers because they are not just doing one area of the law – they are doing everything within that therapeutic area, so that if I leave, they have the ability to do my job, or to go and be a GC somewhere else,” says Serianni.
“I also want them to feel a little uncomfortable, so sometimes I move them around a little bit, because being uncomfortable is actually a good thing to energize you and make you rethink certain things,” she adds.
In 2024 Serianni plans to help put a brighter spotlight on her team, and give them opportunities to be in front of leadership. She also intends to extend her work with Women General Counsel Canada, and to continue her focus on International Legal Squads.
Nominations for the 2024 Canadian Law Awards are now open.
