Angeliki Hadjikakou on What It Means to Be a Strategic Business Partner

Counselyn member Angeliki Hadjikakou, Head of Legal at payabl., features in the latest legal issue of Gold Magazine — The Business Magazine of Cyprus — in a cover story examining the evolving role of in-house legal teams in the fintech sector.

The piece captures something Counselyn members will recognise immediately: the shift from legal function as gatekeeper to legal function as genuine contributor to commercial strategy. For Angeliki, the in-house role is defined by proximity to the business — being embedded across the entire business life cycle, from product development and market expansion to strategic partnerships and corporate governance, rather than advising from a distance.

Her view on what makes an effective in-house lawyer is worth noting: technical legal knowledge is baseline. What matters beyond it is understanding how the business operates, what drives growth, and the commercial logic behind every decision. That is what transforms a legal team into a strategic business partner rather than a risk filter.

It is a perspective shared across Counselyn's founding cohort — and exactly the kind of thinking this club exists to bring into the same room.

Read the full feature in the legal issue of Gold Magazine.