After starting his career working for a leading IP management software company in various roles, Michael moved to Novartis 10 years ago to support their IP community with process and technology-driven change. He later led the building and deployment of an internal Legal matter management tool before orchestrating the transition to a new Legal eBilling system. For the last couple of years, Michael has been the program manager for Novartis’ Legal contract automation and analytics initiative, leading the selection and implementation of contracting technology and supporting the function in the change management journey.
Michael Francony
Senior Legal Project/Operations Manager, Novartis
Sessions
10 June 2026
09:45
Roundtables – Part Two
Start the day the relaxed way - with a choice of one informal roundtable discussion. It’s a chance to ease into the morning, pick up conversations from the night before, swap ideas with peers, and kick things off with some fresh perspective before the main programme begins
Roundtables – Part Two
Start the day the relaxed way - with a choice of one informal roundtable discussion. It’s a chance to ease into the morning, pick up conversations from the night before, swap ideas with peers, and kick things off with some fresh perspective before the main programme begins
1. Culture eats tech for breakfast
A candid discussion on why transformation fails without mindset shifts and an effective change management and user adoption programme.
Michael Francony, Senior Legal Project/Operations Manager, Novartis
2. Beyond ticketing: Designing an intake system people actually use
Designing a legal intake portal or any cross-functional ticketing system sounds simple in theory but the reality is far more nuanced. How do you build a digital front door that people actually want to walk through? And how do you empower colleagues to be more autonomous and self-serve without making legal feel distant or inaccessible?
In this roundtable, we’ll explore the real process of building your own intake system: what worked, what didn’t and what unexpected challenges surfaced along the way. We’ll discuss how to balance usability with governance, how to make intake feel supportive rather than bureaucratic and how to avoid becoming “another system” people try to bypass in search of a human touch.
Oliver Prokopczyk, Senior Legal Counsel / Local Compliance Officer, TGW Logistics
10 June 2026
12:00
The Great Debate: Rethinking CLM
As AI reshapes enterprise platforms and build-your-own tools become more capable, legal teams are reconsidering whether to build contract workflows internally or continue to buy dedicated CLM solutions.
The Great Debate: Rethinking CLM
As AI reshapes enterprise platforms and build-your-own tools become more capable, legal teams are reconsidering whether to build contract workflows internally or continue to buy dedicated CLM solutions.
The boundaries between enterprise tech, automation and specialist platforms are shifting and so is the role of CLM.
We’ll open with two contrasting perspectives on build vs buy, before inviting leading CLM vendors to offer a right of reply and join a wider discussion on how the technology is evolving.
Expect a fast-paced debate that cuts through features and functions to ask: what does effective contract management look like now and how should legal teams future-proof their approach in an AI-driven world?
