Jennifer Wills, Chief Privacy Officer

In our new series, we ask our key thought leaders to share a more personal perspective on their career journey and current position.

Jenny Wills is our Chief Privacy Officer, responsible for privacy compliance across our global community. Jenny is a qualified lawyer who worked as a corporate solicitor before joining Orion Health seven years ago. She initially worked as legal counsel for the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on commercial contract negotiations, and then took up the position of Senior Legal Counsel responsible for UK, French and Spanish operations. Jenny’s particular area of expertise is international data protection law, and she shares insights from her global experience.

Can you share with us five things you wish you knew before you started out?

Mix with others
I began my career working in a law firm surrounded by other lawyers. When I started in the Orion Health legal team in 2014, I realised just how much I had to learn about how a tech company really worked.

When I moved to the Assurance team in 2017 it was like the blinkers had been removed; I was starting all over again. Working closely with our Security team, Clinical Safety experts and R&D has been a real eye opener.

Write things down
You can have a really meaningful meeting, but unless you record the actions it can be a waste of time. People are busy and will forget what’s been said.   

Speak up when you don’t understand
We deal with complex stuff. In a group situation the chances are someone else doesn’t understand either, and you’ll ensure you don’t proceed on the basis of an incorrect assumption. 

Pick up the phone
Email and chat forums are great for recording an exchange of information with somebody, but sometimes you need to make sure you’re on the same page. I always feel more enlightened after having a real conversation with someone, even if the subject matter is complicated.

Be nice to people
We all have busy workloads and competing priorities. If you need someone to help you with something they will be more inclined to do it if you’re kind and show gratitude when due. There is always time for that.


Interested in learning more about what we do?