Features

Joshua Markus – Ardagh Group

Legal and business messages in a bottle … or can

Joshua Markus comes across as the complete package. Bright, articulate, friendly and in good humor, he makes a good first impression. Perhaps, best of all, he seems to have a lot of substance, which had to be among the reasons his services weren’t just retained, but upgraded, after his company was bought last year, fittingly enough, by another global packaging heavyweight.

It could have been the opposite scenario. The role of a general counsel can turn precarious when his or her employer changes ownership.

But Ardagh Group kept Markus on the North American leadership team after acquiring a portion of the U.S. plants owned by Rexam in the summer of 2016. Markus had integrated himself well at Rexam’s North American headquarters in Chicago. He managed all aspects of Rexam’s North and Central American legal requirements, including the negotiating and drafting of its customer contracts with well-known consumer product companies, overseeing litigation and leading M&A efforts. The University of Wisconsin law grad is now continuing his work on an even bigger stage.

Joshua Markus – Ardagh Group

“I like being a part of a great team, to be in the midst of the decision-making, offering advice and making decisions based on both legal and business acumen,” Markus says. “And I see the value in being expedient; it comes from experience in making legal and business decisions in a timely manner.”

Can-do spirit anywhere

He obviously was doing everything well at Rexam, where he worked from 2008-2016, including the last three years as general counsel for North and Central America. Previously, he was in private practice at McDermott, Will & Emery out of law school and, prior to joining Rexam, was a senior attorney of mergers and acquisitions for Walgreens.

Also in the consumer-packaging industry, London-based Rexam was a leading manufacturer of beverage cans, supplying beer, juice and soft-drink manufacturers from its 55 plants in North and South America, Asia and Europe. In 2016, in order for the Colorado-based Ball Corp. to acquire Rexam, the Federal Trade Commission required Ball to divest eight aluminum can plants to Ardagh in the United States, together with other plants in Europe and Brazil. That’s how Markus changed companies while remaining in his Chicago office.

Markus concedes he wasn’t very familiar with the packaging industry when he joined Rexam almost 10 years ago, but he’s a fast learner, and understands—among other things—that the consumer packaging market is large and complex.

Markus interacts with individuals at all levels of the company to make decisions based on the best information available. His new position allows him the opportunity to support both Ardagh’s glass and metal food businesses in North America and the beverage can business.

Joshua Markus – Ardagh Group

“To fully understand our business, one of the first things I did was get out of the office,” he says. “You can’t be shy. You can’t wait for others to call on you or to come to your office. You’ve got to take the initiative and develop relationships at all levels. It’s not all about legal; it’s understanding the roles every function offers in moving a business enterprise forward.”

And, he stresses, it’s very important for in-house lawyers to understand the business operations they represent. It’s critical, Markus believes, that in-house counsel learn and understand more than the legal issues, all the more so because the lines between legal and business issues are overlapping more and more. Markus notes, “The numerous matters that I participate in that combine core legal and non-legal components have increased significantly over the years.”

Further, the legal group must be a true partner. “I don’t want to be the office of ‘no,’” he says. “It’s better to ask ‘how about this’ or ‘have you thought about an alternative?’” he says. “It won’t help in-house relations if you’re just saying ‘no’ all the time. We better have practical business/legal solutions whenever possible.”

Effectiveness and speed

While many corporate legal departments lack the resources of private firms, the daily needs of the business remain and can be quite challenging. Increasing efficiencies is critical to keep up with the demand.

Mindful of international time zones, he often starts his mornings before sunrise, reviewing inbound email from Europe and talking to colleagues before heading to the office. He is ready to shift gears quickly, depending on what is needed, regardless of function, addressing the needs of commercial, corporate, regulatory, compliance and litigation.

“It’s about effectiveness and speed,” he says. “Often you need to make quick decisions on which issues need immediate legal attention and which issues demand more strategic thinking. In this business, it’s very important to prioritize.”

Moreover, it is crucial to have reliable external counsel.

Joshua Markus – Ardagh Group

“My trusted advisers understand my business and give me pragmatic and honest counsel,” he says. “I don’t want to engage counsel who provide me unrealistic legal counsel nor do I want counsel who are shy about speaking up.”

That’s yet another reminder to Markus of how integrated and effective the total operation must be. He believes a legal department can go a long way toward facilitating success by recognizing the needs of every department and aligning these interests with overall company success.

It’s this diversity that provides a great deal of job satisfaction.

“I really like understanding all aspects of the business, and being a driver and partner who helps make the decisions that move the business forward,” he says. “But it’s still about being a part of a great team. It’s our people that make the difference in strengthening the alignment across functions, whether it’s between legal, commercial, manufacturing or across continents.”

Showcase your feature on your website with a custom “As Featured in Vanguard” badge that links directly to your article!

Copy and paste this script into your page coding (ideally right before the closing tag) where you want to display our review banner.

Testimonials

The piece highlighting my company, Bob Baker Enterprises, Inc., came out fabulous. Our company is in the new and used car sales and service industry. Everyone was great to work with and extremely professional. They produced a high-quality product and have provided expert assistance and guidance post-production of the article.
– Wade Poulson, General Counsel, Bob Baker Enterprises Inc.
It was a great honor to be featured in Vanguard Law. Working with every member of the team, from the initial interview with Erin Clark, through production with Victor Martins, writing the article with Taryn Plumb and creating the final content with Dave Gushee, was a true pleasure. Everyone was very professional, enthusiastic and supportive, and their creative approach and positive attitude clearly came through in the final product.
– Kevin C. Rakowski, Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Compliance with Radian Group Inc.
As promised in advance, my feature in Vanguard has increased my visibility within the profession and prompted more than a few people I have not communicated with recently to reconnect. One of the Italian law firms I have used in the past is now in the process of interviewing me for an article on their website and tweeting out the feature story. Activity and the number of people connecting with me on LinkedIn has soared, which is great. The Vanguard writers and editorial staff were great to work with—highly professional and made the effort to make the experience both fun and rewarding (they were also respectful of the time pressures and demands all lawyers face). I was very pleased with the experience and the final outcome. Needless to say, I have been very pleased. All in all working with Vanguard has been a very positive experience which generated good publicity for both Shawcor and myself. My sincere thanks.
– Tim Hutzul, General Counsel, ShawCor Ltd.
I was honored to be the subject of an article. I enjoy reading Vanguard articles and seeing how other attorneys got to their positions and see their jobs. It's also interesting to see how different law firms partner with the subjects of the articles.
– Henry Marquard, in-house counsel, Stanley Consultants Inc.

LATEST EDITION

Spring III 2023

READ NOW

GET VANGUARD IN YOUR INBOX.

  • * We’ll never share your email or info with anyone.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.