Guido Santi

Career:

• 2019 Chief Legal Officer, EDF Trading
• 2010 Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary, EDF Energy
• 1995 Several roles within the legal team at Edison Group, including transitioning the Group from a conglomerate to an energy focussed business.  

Before moving to EDF Trading, Guido was a member of the Executive Team at EDF Energy. He was involved in several high-profile transactions including the negotiations with the UK Government and Chinese investors, which led to a final investment decision for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.

In his own words...

As a teenager, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. Maths wasn’t my forte but I did thoroughly enjoy debating with my teachers.

How is the regulatory landscape changing across the energy sector? How are you and your team adapting to those changes?

We live in a world where change is the norm. This is particularly true in the energy sector, where rules are essentially rewritten every ten years or even less (Brexit and climate change driven initiatives are good recent examples of this). So the question is not if change is coming, but when. In this environment, my team and I have a fundamental role to play; understand change  to ensure our companies are set up to be compliant, educate and support our colleagues to enable them to navigate the regulatory complexities and keep an eye to the future to anticipate and if possible, shape what is to come.

What attracted you to the legal profession?

As a teenager, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. Maths wasn’t my forte but I did thoroughly enjoy debating with my teachers (they most likely did not enjoy it as much as I did).  

We live in a world where change is the norm. This is particularly true in the energy sector, where the rules are essentially rewritten every ten years.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

Never make the same mistake twice and to be short, simple and ‘human’ when drafting legal documents.