General Counsel

Description:

Rakuten Viber is one of the most popular communication apps in the world, connecting hundreds of millions of people across private chats, calls, communities, business messaging, fintech experiences and more. Our mission is to make people’s lives easier by enabling meaningful, secure connections – no matter who they are or where they are from.

We are looking for an experienced and commercially minded General Counsel to join Rakuten Viber's executive management team and lead the company's global legal, regulatory, privacy, compliance and corporate governance agenda.

This is a strategic leadership role, reporting to the company’s CEO. The General Counsel will work closely with senior stakeholders across Product, Technology, Commercial, Finance, HR, Security and Operations, helping the company navigate complex regulatory environments while enabling growth and innovation and will lead a global team of legal professionals.

As General Counsel, you will be the company's senior legal advisor and a key member of the management team.

You will provide strategic and practical legal guidance across Rakuten Viber's global operations, balancing legal and regulatory risk with business objectives. You will play a central role in supporting new products, markets, partnerships and strategic initiatives, while ensuring that Viber continues to operate with the highest standards of integrity, governance and compliance. You will oversee relationships and communications with various regulators worldwide.

This role combines strategic leadership, business partnership and hands-on legal expertise.

Legal Leadership

• Lead the company's global legal team and define its priorities, structure and operating model.
• Oversee all significant legal matters affecting Rakuten Viber globally.
• Provide strategic guidance on commercial agreements, technology, advertising, partnerships, intellectual property, corporate matters, regulatory matters, employment matters and disputes.
• Oversee complex negotiations and high-value strategic agreements.
• Manage relationships with external counsel and ensure effective and commercially focused use of outside legal resources.
• Develop scalable legal processes, templates, policies and playbooks that enable the business to move quickly while managing risk.
• Partner with Product, Engineering and Technology leadership to provide strategic legal guidance on new products, features, business models and emerging technologies, including AI, advertising, communications, payments and dating.
• Lead Viber’s global privacy, regulatory and compliance agenda, working closely with relevant internal functions and Rakuten Group to ensure compliance with evolving laws and regulatory requirements across our markets.
• Advise senior leadership and the Board on corporate governance, legal and regulatory risk, material corporate matters and significant incidents, ensuring appropriate escalation and reporting to Rakuten Group.

Commercial & Business Partnership

• Act as a business enabler, not simply a legal gatekeeper.
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, Partnerships and Business Development to support revenue growth and strategic opportunities.
• Provide pragmatic advice that enables the company to make informed decisions and move quickly.
• Help senior leaders understand legal and regulatory implications in a clear and commercially relevant way.

Leadership Profile

• Commercially minded - understands that legal should enable the business, not slow it down.
• Strategic - able to see the bigger picture and connect legal considerations to business strategy.
• Hands-on - comfortable getting into the details when required.
• Pragmatic and solution-oriented - provides clear recommendations rather than simply identifying risks.
• Highly collaborative - builds strong relationships across the organization.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and complexity - able to operate across multiple markets, products and regulatory environments.
• Strong executive presence - confident advising and challenging senior leadership when necessary.
• Globally minded - experienced in working across cultures, jurisdictions and international teams.
• High integrity - acts as a trusted guardian of the company's reputation and values.

• Proven experience as a General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer or senior legal leader in a complex international organization.
• 12+ years of legal experience, including significant experience in-house in a global technology, internet, telecommunications, fintech or consumer digital business.
• Licensed/qualified lawyer in a relevant jurisdiction.
• Strong experience advising senior executives and boards on complex legal, regulatory and business matters.
• Deep understanding of commercial technology law, privacy/data protection and regulatory frameworks.
• Experience leading legal teams across multiple countries and jurisdictions.
• Strong experience negotiating complex commercial and strategic agreements.
• Experience working closely with product and technology organizations.
• Experience managing regulatory matters, investigations, disputes and external counsel.
• Excellent understanding of corporate governance, risk management and compliance.
• Experience in a highly regulated or rapidly evolving technology environment is highly advantageous.
• Experience in both B2B and B2C environments