Turning CLM Setbacks Into Success with James Donald

In this episode of the Contract Heroes Podcast, we are delighted to sit down with James Donald. James is the Deputy General Counsel, Global Premium Midscale and Economy Brands at Accor in Dubai and  has 10+ years' hospitality experience. He has advised on all manner of hotel-related agreements throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Previously, before joining Accor, he led legal and risk in India, the Middle East, and Africa. James is a solicitor of England and Wales, with an economics and finance degree, and a father of twin boys.During our conversation, James shares his background and how he ended up in his current role. The discussion focuses on legal operations and implementing  technology at Accor. James explains the initiatives they have taken to streamline legal processes and improve collaboration between legal and other business departments. He also discusses the implementation process of their contract lifecycle management system and highlights the importance of evaluating and re-evaluating processes. James discusses a significant aspect of their discussion, which revolved around the learnings from a previous CLM implementation. He shares how they have used that knowledge to avoid making the same mistakes with their new vendor, Agiloft. By reflecting on past experiences, James and his team have gained valuable insights that inform their approach to implementing the contract lifecycle management system, ensuring a more successful outcome with Agiloft.WHAT WE DISCUSS:[00:30] - James' career background and how he ended up as Deputy General Counsel at Accor[03:33] - James’ key initiatives to align and streamline legal processes at Accor[09:34] - James’ approaches to CLM implementation and the role of external consulting firms[11:34] - Evaluating tools and processes[12:47] - Considerations during the evaluation and implementation of a CLM tool[13:58] - James’ experience of extracting data from legacy contracts and the challenges they faced in manually extracting over 300 pieces[16:15] - Strategies for successful implementation of complex systems, focusing on phased approaches and user adoption[20:28] - The importance of integrating different systems within organizations and the challenges it poses.[24:38] - James’ considerations and options for post go-live support and system administration in implementing and evolving organizational CLM solutions[27:59] - Continuous improvement of operational effectiveness[30:46] - Speeding up the contracting process[33:47] - How success is measured in implementing a software solution[37:08] - James’ tips for a successful contract management processNOTABLE QUOTES:[00:10:05] - “When you're trying to load lots of different templates into a solution, or you've got lots of different processes that vary regionally, of course it's really hard to get that to work when there's so much complexity. So we realized that that was something we should have done, probably more of.”- James[00:30:16] - “If there's one thing that I can suggest young in-house lawyers do is to really understand the business that they're in, because there's often a criticism that I hear about, Well, do they really understand me? Right? Do they really understand what my challenges are, the business person's perspective, when they're trying to get something done.” - JamesUSEFUL RESOURCES & LINKS:Accor WebsiteJames Donald on LinkedInThe Contract Heroes Podcast