2021 Canadians to Watch

CHOSEN BECAUSE:

From working on mergers and learning new trade rules, to navigating constantly shifting pandemic regulations, Zahar Orlov, 37, has been critical in helping Martinrea International sort through major issues. As the auto supplier’s executive legal director, he has worked with the company’s executives and other industry voices on the implementation of the United StatesMexico-Canada Agreement. When questions arose over how to count labour toward the USMCA’s requirements, Orlov and other Martinrea executives gave government officials a tour of the company’s operations to show how a modern plant works.

Since last year, Orlov has helped Martinrea sort through constantly shifting COVID-19 rules and regulations around the world.

“It’s been a fascinating time to practice law,” he said.

IN HIS OWN WORDS:

“I don’t think there’s ever been a time — and there probably won’t be a time again in my lifetime — where laws change that frequently. Typically, a law changes once in a blue moon. Here, you wake up and it’s like, what happened? You can’t travel here, you can’t operate there, but you can operate here with exclusions. It has been a lot of work, but it has been a very fascinating time. Hopefully, we’re at the end of it.”