Intro by Robyn Tongol at Lawyers Weekly
Having gleaned extensive experience as a legal counsel in the aviation and tech sectors, Andrew Truswell decided the time was right for him to move into private practice so that he might be able to “do more good” as the professional being instructed, as opposed to instructing.
On this episode of The Corporate Counsel Show, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Biztech Lawyers partner Andrew Truswell, a former GC, about his passion for data, tech and aviation and what he sees as being the foremost challenges at present in those sectors, why he wanted to move from the in-house realm to private practice, and the circumstances in which lawyers in firms can achieve more than law department counterparts.
Mr Truswell also details why he feels he might now be better placed to implement data strategies for businesses, how he plans to utilise his expertise for the benefit of businesses, the extent to which law departments are on top of their data obligations, whether the current climate is ripe for in-house lawyers to move to firms to accomplish their own professional ends, and what he is looking forward to in the aviation, data and tech spaces.
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Andrew Truswell’s long experience taught him how critical data is
A veteran Australian international technology and business lawyer, Mr Truswell has focussed his practice on the intersection between aviation and technology with a specific focus on Data (Privacy and Cyber), Information Technology (Cloud, SaaS, Infrastructure, Outsourcing and IP), and Insurance (Aviation, PI & Cyber).
Mr Truswell’s aviation technology expertise developed from a strong background in information technology law. He has been exposed to technology from a number of in-house legal roles at IBM, Hewlett-Packard, US information storage company EMC (acquired by Dell), and US cloud data giant NetApp.
Most recently, Mr Truswell served as in-house technology counsel for international carrier Qatar Airways, where he led all technology contracts and projects including passenger system agreements, fare data distribution, travel agent direct data distribution, e-retail, and all forms of aviation technology models. During his time with the carrier, Qatar Airways became the largest operating airline in the world thanks to its steadfast delivery of services throughout the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before his time at Qatar, Mr Truswell was General Counsel at Thai airline, JetAsia, and spent four years as Regional Counsel, APAC and Data Protection Officer at market leading travel sector technology provider, Amadeus. During this period, Mr Truswell was exposed to passenger system (PSS) and Distribution (GDS and NDC) transactions with many leading airlines, including managing data protection and cyber risks.
In his private practice, Mr Truswell has advised clients including Australia’s leading airline Qantas Airways. He has also consulted for French multinational technology consultancy Capgemini and $7.5 billion payments giant RazorPay. Mr Truswell has also advised the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland and emerging Australian tech star Versent.
