Working with new regulations
Laurie Mortier's area of legal expertise is data protection. After gaining extensive experience in that area as a lawyer, she went to work at KBC. As part of the Compliance team, her work focuses on the application of GDPR and implementation of the AI Act. It’s an interesting role, in which she works alongside with business stakeholders on ideas for innovating within the legal framework.
What exactly does your job entail, Laurie?
In my role as Compliance Advisor Data Protection, my job is mainly to work in collaboration with business stakeholders. How can we organise our business processes in a way that is fully compliant with all regulations? Are there any risks related to data processing? And if those risks are significant, what additional security measures should we take?
That exercise often starts with a risk assessment, which I then review and decide whether or not to validate it; sometimes it may be a business question. When there is a project that will involve data processing, colleagues come to me for advice at an early stage of the project. Given my expertise in relation to data protection, they see me as a trusted advisor who also works with them to devise solutions.
What kind of regulations do you have to deal with?
Until recently, the main one was GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). Recently, the AI Act also came into force, requiring companies to assess the risks of AI applications. In the same way that we implemented GDPR, we are now doing the same for the AI Act. It’s a learning process because it involves completely new regulations and that makes it very interesting.
The nice thing about my job is that I have the space to really delve into the applicable regulations. Following a risk assessment or a business question, I apply that to different cases, which gives me a lot of variety and insights.
As Compliance Advisor, I also provide training to colleagues and management. That’s always interesting because I tailor the training to what is relevant for them. That’s not the same for stakeholders from KBC Insurance as for colleagues in the HR team, for example.
What are the biggest challenges in your job?
KBC is a large, complex organisation. When I get involved in a project, I first have to understand the context of the business question very clearly, something that isn’t always straightforward. I also always have to strike a balance between encouraging innovation and applying the legislation. That is intellectually very challenging, especially since new case law is constantly being added.
Keeping up with case law and guidelines is important, but takes time. We have therefore divided up the topics within our team. Everyone has their own topics to focus on and shares new information about them.
What’s the collaboration like in the Compliance Team?
Compliance is a relatively large department at KBC. My team works on Data Protection, AI and Consumer Protection. We each have our own focus, but a case often brings together different disciplines. So it’s a combination of working independently and coordinating with colleagues according to the needs of a case. That collaboration runs very smoothly; there’s a good connection between the colleagues in our team.
Every Monday we are all in the Brussels office and are able to meet physically; at other times our meetings are often online. Not a month goes by without someone bringing a treat into the office, which also helps create a good ambience.
What are the benefits for you of working for KBC?
Before joining KBC, I worked in the legal profession. I didn’t have a good work-life balance there. The workload was so heavy that I didn’t have the time to deal with all the files as I would have liked. I was also concerned about working at a company where all the work was so repetitive. I was looking for a job that offered a combination of a good work-life balance, variety, challenge and a degree maturity within the data protection organisation. I found that combination at KBC.
Another big plus are the career opportunities. During meetings with my manager, I can discuss very openly which direction I want to take. Do I want to eventually lead a team or would I rather take up an Expert role? We will gradually map out my career path together and see what training courses are available to me. The growth and training opportunities at KBC are exceptional.
