Marie-Louise Skafte is an award-winning global leader, entrepreneur, and internationally licensed commercial-minded lawyer with over 25 years of success providing expertise in international commercial matters, strategy, operations, negotiations, leasing, human resources, corporate and regulatory compliance, and C-Suite relationship management across the transportation, logistics, aviation, distribution, freight-forwarding, engineering, construction, financial, and professional services industries.

Licensed to practice in Canada, England, and the US, Ms. Skafte is the Founder and President of Skafte Global Law, P.A, a boutique fractional general counsel and legal consulting firm she founded in 2015. She is also COO and General Counsel for Roger L. Martin, Inc., where she has a decade of strategy development and deployment experience working as a thought partner and content contributor alongside her business partner and husband, strategy and management guru Roger L. Martin.

These ventures follow her distinguished tenure as Global General Counsel, CHRO, and head of Corporate Compliance at Bermuda-based Cronos Ltd., a private equity-owned global marine container leasing company operating in 19 countries, where she was instrumental in its successful sale and post-integration efforts. Ms. Skafte also served as General Counsel of international shipping giant, Deutsche Post DHL Canada, serving 220 countries, where she established and led the first legal department for its Canadian operations.

Ms. Skafte’s governance acumen is highlighted by multiple board and committee roles for notable business, academic, and charitable global organizations, including an elected board officer role of Corporate Secretary for Suffolk University where she serves as a Charter Trustee. She also serves on the board of Corporate Counsel Women of Color (CCWC) and has served as board member and global ambassador for One Love Foundation, personally conducting workshops and bringing awareness to South Africa, Bermuda and Europe.

Recognized for legal excellence, she has been awarded titles such as Global General Counsel of the Year by legal powerhouse K & L Gates for CCWC in 2015, Transportation & Logistics Lawyer of the Year in 2016, Top Rated Lawyers in Florida in 2022 and 2023, and Lawyers of Distinction from 2022 to 2024.

Beyond legal mastery, she is committed to enriching the community through contributions to thought leadership as a featured speaker and contributor to podcasts including Worklife with Adam Grant, multiple books including most recently Amy Johnson’s Smart Growth, and roundtable discussions on pivotal issues affecting global business, relationships, and corporate leadership.

Ms. Skafte earned her JD from Suffolk University Law School and also holds a BA in Labor/Management Relations & Business from the University of Toronto and Industrial & Labor Relations at Cornell University, where she earned academic and athletic scholarships. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and is an avid world traveler and licensed Commercial-Rated Jet Pilot.