Nicholas Hoffman
ANGELINE G. CHEN
VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL COUNSEL & CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER
SIEMENS GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Angeline G. Chen currently serves as Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Siemens Government Technologies, Inc. In this senior management role, Ms. Chen is responsible for all legal, contracting and compliance issues. In addition, she serves as the company’s Corporate Secretary.
Prior to joining Siemens in April 2016, she served as Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC), where she also served as the company’s Corporate Secretary and Ethics Officer. In addition to managing MMC’s litigation, governance, and compliance matters, she also oversaw and managed MMC’s Ethics Program, corporate communications, the Washington Operations office, and the company’s IT and Security departments. Her career also includes prior service as the Associate General Counsel for Technology and Advanced Concepts for Lockheed Martin Corporation, Deputy Associate General Counsel for Information Security with the National Security Agency, Assistant General Counsel with INTELSAT, and several years in private practice, specializing in complex litigation.
ExecutiveBiz:Â What legal barriers do you see as ones that can be changed to facilitate more public-private collaborations?
Angeline G. Chen: Today’s world is hyper-competitive and hyper-connected on a truly global level. There are more opportunities in this environment, but also increased challenges and risks. The criticality of effective public-private partnerships in this context is undeniable. Such collaboration leverages a more diverse spectrum of knowledge, resources, and perspectives, leading to better solutions, technological progress, and economic advancement against increasingly complex and convoluted problem sets.
And yet, legal concerns often stymie public-private efforts. Barriers typically cited include a lack of legal precedent for such partnerships, inconsistencies in relevant legal and governance frameworks, legal risks (especially in the areas of IP and shareholder liability), and the government’s dual role as both a partner and enforcer.
As long as mutual strategic or business imperatives can be articulated, however, these barriers are surmountable. Concerns should be assessed and addressed by following the basic principles in establishing any successful partnership. Namely, by negotiating and agreeing upon a holistic framework for collaboration based upon: transparency and candor in identifying relevant mutual interests and common objectives, clearly defined roles, open communication, commitment to trust and relationship building, and accountability.
Lead counsel for all entities involved must play a pivotal leadership role in ensuring that these principles are established upfront and sustained throughout all stages of the partnership – formation, establishment, and operational. This optimizes the efficiency and effectiveness of the public-private collaboration so it can meet its objectives.
