Chris Apple
Manager, Member Services & Development
Arkansas
The CLOC Member Spotlight series profiles the incredible individuals within our community who are driving transformation in legal ops. Each spotlight provides inspiration, fosters connections, and gives readers a chance to learn more about their peers. By sharing these stories, we celebrate the diverse voices and talents that make CLOC a vibrant and connected community.
Sheila Dusseau is the Head of Global CLO Operations & Innovation at Ferring Pharmaceuticals. She is a member of CLOC’s Europe Advisory Council and also serves as a lead for CLOC Switzerland. Keep reading to learn more about Sheila.
About me:
I grew up in Panama, which gave me an early appreciation for different cultures, perspectives, and ways of working. That global lens stayed with me as I later settled in Atlanta, Georgia, where I spent most of my adult life building my career and raising my family.
In 2019, I made one of the biggest decisions of my life – I packed up my family of five and moved from the U.S. to Switzerland for the opportunity to build Ferring’s Legal Operations function from the ground up. It was a leap that required trust, resilience, and a shared sense of adventure, and it remains one of the most defining and rewarding experiences of my career and my life.
My professional journey has been intentionally non‑linear. I started in finance, moved through operational and leadership roles across global organizations, and ultimately served as CFO of a large, acquired business. Along the way, I realized that what energized me most was being close to the heart of the business – solving complex problems, building strong teams, and shaping how work gets done.
That realization led me to Legal Operations in 2009, where I found the perfect intersection of strategy, operations, and impact. Legal Ops allows me to bring together everything I’ve learned over the years and apply it in service of building functions that operate with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
Today, I lead Global CLO Operations & Innovation at Ferring, working with a talented, globally distributed team. We focus on designing smarter ways of working through innovation, data, and thoughtful operating models – always with the goal of improving how legal services are experienced by the business. What I’m most proud of is the culture we’re building together: curious, collaborative, and deeply committed to continuous improvement.
Why I love being a CLOC member:
CLOC is one of the few communities where legal operations professionals can be both strategic and human. It’s a place where people openly share what’s working, what’s evolving, and what they’re still figuring out – without pretense.
I’m continually inspired by the generosity of this community and the willingness to collaborate across industries and geographies. Every interaction reminds me that legal ops is still being shaped, and that we’re better when we learn and build together.
My advice for other legal ops professionals:
Don’t underestimate the value of your diverse experiences – especially if your path hasn’t been traditional. Legal operations thrives at the intersection of disciplines, and that breadth is a real strength.Invest in designing how work gets done, not just delivering outcomes. Clear ownership, strong relationships, and thoughtful operating models will carry you further than any single tool or process ever could. And don’t be afraid to take bold steps – the most meaningful progress often comes from building something new.
A fun fact about me:
I’m genuinely happiest when I’m bringing people together to solve complex problems – give me a whiteboard, sticky notes, and a curious group, and I’m in my element. I also love all kinds of music and can often be found singing while I work. A boss once joked that if I wasn’t singing, he’d worry that I wasn’t getting much done that day.
CLOC Member Spotlights provide an opportunity to showcase members within our community who are making a difference in their organizations, in their CLOC groups, within the CLOC community and/or the industry as a whole. Do you know of a really cool thing a CLOC member is doing? We invite you to nominate a member of the CLOC Community for a future feature in the CLOC Member Spotlights Series.