Roy Lizzi celebrates 20 years at the helm of Ericsson Canada’s legal department

In his 20 years as senior legal counsel and secretary at Ericsson Canada Inc., Roy Lizzi has seen the organization through many changes and significant growth. He ran legal matters for the information and communication technology giant’s US$1.13 billion acquisition of the majority of Nortel’s North American wireless business in 2009, which resulted in a tremendous expansion of Ericsson’s North American footprint. The acquisition also resulted in building a new campus in Ottawa and building a global data centre in Montreal.

“We really expanded our business footprint in Canada – not just in terms of selling our wireless infrastructure equipment – but also in the R&D side of the Ericsson Canada business,” says Lizzi. He also acted as Canadian counsel for the purchase of Canadian based BelAir Networks Inc., ConceptWave Software Inc. and Telcocell Ltd.

Ericsson has developed its offerings significantly during the past two decades – transitioning from 3G, to 4G and now 5G technology, so Lizzi has been heavily involved in all legal matters relating to the evolving tech offerings. In June this year, Bell Canada selected Ericsson’s 5G Radio Access Network technology to support its nationwide 5G mobile and fixed wireless access deployment, in a deal that Lizzi describes as a “breakthrough”. The deal was built on a longstanding relationship between the companies.

“We’ve had a trifecta of success with customers in Canada – Bell, Rogers and TELUS,” says Lizzi. “In a short period of time, we were able to secure business in the 5G space with each of them, so getting those relationships secured from a contractual basis was a lot of work. Negotiating contracts that are of mega importance to the customer because it’s the foundation of their networks, is very important all round.”

As the sole lawyer at Ericsson Canada, Lizzi is responsible for drafting and negotiating contracts with all Canadian customers, as well as managing compliance and corporate governance for the business. As corporate secretary, he prepares corporate filings and maintains a minute book for the organization. He is also a member of the Canadian senior management team which develops and executes company strategy while overseeing the execution of legal services. Lizzi is also a member of the crisis management task force which came into play in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in March.

Lizzi is accustomed to working remotely as he reports into Ericsson’s North American head office in Plano, Texas, so the pandemic crisis required minimal adjustments for him.

Lizzi’s goal for the year ahead is to support the organization in continuing to foster strong relationships with customers.

“I try to facilitate discussions with customers –  including when something goes wrong – so if we have a problem we can try to figure it out together instead of allowing it to develop into something more acrimonious,” says Lizzi. He is also working with the crisis management task force to continue protecting employees during the pandemic crisis, which means returning to offices is not currently a priority. Although some critical staff have been able to return on occasion to the Montreal and Ottawa office locations, the majority of employees will continue to work from home for the time being, Lizzi says.