Colombia 2018 – GC Powerlist
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Colombia 2018

  • Industries

  • Powerlist

Adriana Sinisterra Plana

Vice president business and legal affairs | Fox Networks Group Latin America

Sports and media

Adriana Sinisterra Plana leads the legal team at Fox Networks Group Latin America (Fox) with extensive industry experience and commercial acumen that makes her a leader in the industry who...

Alejandra Bonilla

Corporate vice president legal | Frontera Energy

Energy and utilities

With a strong focus on operations in Colombia, Canadian petroleum company Frontera (formerly Pacific Exploration and Production) has contributed heavily towards to the nation’s economy through its production of oil....

Alejandro Acosta Hernández

Legal and compliance manager | Praxair Colombia

Materials and mining

Alejandra Acosta Hernandez has over 10 years’ experience of working in-house including at multinationals such as Schneider Electric, Millicom, Codere and, since 2016, Praxair Colombia. He is an expert in...

Alejandro Amelines Guerrero

General counsel and secretary of the board | Carbones San Fernando (San Fernando Coal Mines)

Materials and mining

After just one year of impressing colleagues in his previous role as senior in-house lawyer at utilities company Vatia, Alejandro Amelines Guerrero was recommended for the position of general counsel...

Alfredo Azuero

Legal and compliance manager | Riopaila Castilla

Food, beverages and tobacco

Riopaila Castilla is a Colombian Agroindustrial Group with 100 years of experience in the national and international sugar, honey, alcohol, energy and palm markets in both production and commercialisation. Alfredo...

Alirio Uribe García

Director legal and compliance - LAO | Stork

Industrials and real estate

Alirio Uribe García joined MASA, part of the flour company Stork, in 2008 to lead its labour law area where, at that time, MASA had around 2,500 direct employees in...

Anabella Vegas

Director of legal and corporate | Oleoducto de los Llanos Orientales and Oleoducto Bicentenario de Colombia

Energy and utilities

With extensive commercial and corporate law experience in private practice in Venezuela and Colombia, an LLM in Banking and Financial Law from Boston University, and two years at the Inter-...

Andrea Campo

Legal director | Centrales Eléctricas del Cauca (CEDELCA)

Energy and utilities

Andrea Campo’s areas of focus are conflict resolution, litigation and consulting. Practising first as an independent lawyer in the area of public and household services and utilities, contract law and...

Andrea Eugenia Camargo Niño

Legal director - financial issues | Grupo Odinsa

Industrials and real estate

Odinsa, an infrastructure construction company and a subsidiary of Grupo Argos, is a Colombian company dedicated to the structuring, promotion, management and development of road and airport infrastructure projects focusing...

Andres Jaramillo Caballero

Senior associate general counsel - Ingersoll Rand Latin America | Trane de Colombia

Industrials and real estate

With a deep knowledge of all relevant legal and commercial factors affecting multinational corporations business in the region, Andres Jaramillo Caballero is known for his skill across several practice areas...

Andrés Perez Velasco

Head of legal affairs | Publicar

Commercial and professional services

With extensive experience in the telecommunications industry, and previous regulatory experience in the Chamber of Commerce of Bogota, Andrés Perez Velasco joined Publicar in 2011 as head of legal affairs....

Arusiak Mardirousian

South America global legal affairs director | HP Inc. Colombia

Information technology

Highly respected amongst peers and colleagues, Arusiak Mardirousian has been working in high-profile in-house legal roles for Hewlett Packard since she joined the ranks of the US multinational technology company...

Bernardo Avila

Legal and compliance manager | Corona

Industrials and real estate

As legal and compliance manager for Corona, a Colombian multinational with 135 years of business history that manufactures and markets products for home and construction, Bernardo Avila occupies a prominent...

Camilo Abello

Vice president of corporate affairs | Grupo Argos

Materials and mining

Camilo Abello has been the vice president of corporate aff airs at Grupo Argos, an industry leading multinational coal mining company in Colombia since 2012. He is a lawyer from...

Camilo Gutierrez

Legal manager (Andean region), ethics and compliance officer (Latin America) | Corteva

Food, beverages and tobacco

The agriculture division of DowDuPont, Corteva, is the only major agriscience company completely dedicated to agriculture. In Latin America, the company relies on the counsel provided by Camilo Gutierrez, a...

Carlos Aldana

Legal director - capital markets and corporate finance | Grupo Bancolombia

Financials

Since moving in-house to join the prominent financial services company Grupo Bancolombia in 2010 as a senior associate in their investment banking division, Carlos Aldana has progressed quickly in Colombia’s...

Carlos Andrés Rodríguez Schrader

Associate corporate counsel, Latin America | gategroup

Commercial and professional services

After a short time in private practice Carlos Andrés Rodríguez Schrader is making a name for himself as an up and coming in-house lawyer. Since 2015, Rodríguez has worked his...

Carlos Calderón

Head of legal and compliance - Andean zone | Siemens Healthineers

Carlos Calderón started his career at Lizarazu, Sossa and Peña, a boutique consumer goods and antitrust law firm, and was subsequently seconded to AbbVie, where he began specialising in healthcare...

Carlos Cesar Barrero Vicuña

Head of legal and compliance - general secretary | Mazda

Consumer products

Since beginning his legal career just over 10 years ago, Carlos Cesar Barrero Vicuña has excelled in a number of positions which landed him the role of head of legal...

Carlos Herrera

General counsel | ETB

Telecommunication services

In a career that started over 25 years ago, Carlos Herrera has held high profile government and corporate positions and today is the general counsel of ETB, a large Colombia...

Carlos Laguado

Head of legal (Compliance International Operations) and general counsel (Australia, Colombia and Peru) | General Motors Financial (GMF)

Financials

Carlos Laguado’s, reputation as a global leader in financial legal management started at Grupo Bolívar, a Latin American financial conglomerate active in banking, insurance, stock brokerage and real estate. As...

Carolina Forero Isaza

Legal manager Latin America North (Colombia, Peru and Ecuador) | Janssen Cilag

Carolina Forero is a practicing attorney from the Universidad de los Andes with a LLM from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a specialist degree in environmental law...

Carolina Neira

Senior counsel Andes Region - International Legal Operations | Abbott

Healthcare

Carolina Neira has been at Abbott, the US based pharmaceutical giant, since 2013 and is currently senior counsel for the Andes region for international legal operations. She has previously been...

Carolina Parra

Client contracts manager | Schlumberger

Energy and utilities

Joining Schlumberger in October 2015, Carolina Parra brings her previous in-house experience, sales and marketing technique to the client contracts manager role having a hand in a number of deals...

Catalina Robledo Ramirez

Legal manager - general counsel | Distribuidora Nissan (Grupo Vardí)

Consumer products

Catalina Robledo Ramirez has been a corporate lawyer for over 15 years, acquiring wide experience as general counsel in board of directors and shareholder meetings and all matters related with...

Christian Castro Agudelo

Legal manager and compliance officer | HOCOL

Energy and utilities

HOCOL is a hydrocarbon exploration and production company with six decades of oil and gas experience in Colombia. Since 1956 the company has had a presence extending to the lower...

Claudia Caballero

Legal director and general secretary | Alpina

Food, beverages and tobacco

In the role of legal director and general secretary, Claudia Caballero has led the legal team at Alpina, Colombia’s number one dairy production company, since July 2015. She brings her...

Cristina Lloreda

Vice president legal affairs | Grupo Sanford

Materials and mining

Christina Llordeda has led the legal team at Grupo Sanford since 2013 joining with strong in-house experience from Citibank Colombia, experience in private practice as an associate at Brigard and...

Daniel Perea Villa

Vice president corporate and legal affairs | Terpel

Energy and utilities

For twelve years, Daniel Perea Villa has worked as corporate and legal affairs head at Terpel. It is a consultant position through which the company’s biggest challenges are projected from...

Diana C. Daza Vallejos

Senior legal counsel (director legal) | SGS Colombia

Commercial and professional services

Diana C. Daza Vallejos started working at SGS Colombia, a world leading inspection, certification, verification and testing company in 2013 as a contractual coordinator. Since then she was first promoted...

Diana Patricia Ramírez Castro

Compliance officer and senior counsel - Latin America | ConvaTec

Since January 2017 Diana Patricia Ramírez Castro has been serving the multinational medical devices company ConvaTec in the capacity of compliance officer and senior counsel for Latin America. In the...

Eduardo Bettín Vallejo

Vice president of legal and institutional affairs | Grupo Odinsa

Industrials and real estate

A subsidiary of Grupo Argos, Colombian company Odinsa invests heavily in the country with a strategy focused on creating value through structuring, promoting, operating, managing, and developing highway and airport...

Eduardo Rosado Fernández de Castro

Corporate affairs vice president and general counsel | Promigas

Eduardo Rosado Fernández de Castro has been vice president of corporate affairs and general counsel at Promigas since 2012 after originally joining the company in 1999 as legal manager. He...

Fabian Moreno Barbosa

Assistant general counsel (Colombia, Peru and Venezuela) and CRB co-lead (Latin America) | Willis Towers Watson

Commercial and professional services

Fabian Moreno Barbosa, has been the assistant general counsel for Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela at Willis Towers Watson since 2014. Before this he was an attorney at the Colombian Insurance...

Felipe Marquez Robledo

Vice president corporate affairs and country manager Colombia | AngloGold Ashanti

Materials and mining

Having been at the company since 2012, Felipe Marquez Robledo has an advanced understanding of the operations of AngloGold Ashanti, a South African headquartered international gold mining and exploration company...

Fernán Ignacio Bejarano Arias

Vice president legal | Ecopetrol

Energy and utilities

Fernán Ignacio Bejarano Arias has served as vice president of legal affairs at Ecopetrol, Colombia’s largest company, since 2016 after a long in-house career in the energy and financial sectors...

Fernando Rodas

Vice president, legal and secretary general | Grupo Suramericana

Financials

Grupo Suramericana (Grupo SURA) is a Latin American diversified financial services company listed on the Colombian Stock Exchange and registered with the ADR- Level 1 program in the US. It...

Fernando Victoria Peña

Legal and compliance director, Andean Region | Teleperformance

Commercial and professional services

Fernando Victoria Peña is a Colombian lawyer from the Rosario University with specialisations in corporate and commercial law, and a Master’s degree in business and corporate law from the University...

Germán Bacca Medina

General counsel Central America and Andean region | Unilever

Consumer products

With extensive academic experience in financial and commercial law as a professor of competition and international procurement law at the Externado de Colombia University, Rossario University and Pontifical Javeriana University,...

Gustavo Sáchica

General counsel and company secretary | MetLife Colombia

Financials

Gustavo Sáchica joined MetLife Colombia Seguros de Vida (MetLife) in November 2015 and has since led the legal team with his composure, experience and emphasis on legal education. He has...

Hector A. Garcia Corredor

Head of legal, data privacy and compliance - Andean region | Bayer

Healthcare

German healthcare multinational Bayer is able to rely on the expertise of Hector A. Garcia Corredor, its head of legal, data privacy and compliance for the Andean region (Colombia, Ecuador,...

Helena Alvarez Uribe

Legal director | DaVita

Healthcare

DaVita is an established healthcare multinational that recently established a presence in Colombia. Its youth and incredible growth potential allows its senior leaders to innovate and create new strategies and...

Hernán Mejía Alvarez

Legal and corporate affairs vice president | Colombina

Food, beverages and tobacco

Much more than an in-house counsel, Hernán Darío Mejía Álvarez is a lawyer, professor of competition law at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali, and referee of the Chamber of Commerce...

Humberto Suárez Gómez

Legal director | everis Colombia

Commercial and professional services

Active in a whole range of sectors, management consulting firm everis is a fast-growing organisation offering business and strategic solutions to companies. In Colombia, the company’s legal function is headed...

Ingrid Pahl Maya

General manager, legal vice president and corporate secretary | Itaú BBA Colombia

Financials

Since doing her training at Citibank in Miami, Ingrid Pahl Maya went on to representing the multinational in Central America, before making the move to Itaú Brazil being chosen as...

Jaime Ignacio Escobar Muñoz

Legal transactions counsel – Latin America | Uber Colombia

Information technology

Jamie Ignacio Escobar Muñoz started his career at prestigious law firms in Colombia, such as Zuleta and Partners Legal Group and Cuberos, Cortes, Gutierrez Lawyers, specialising in a wide area...

Jairo Arias

Director - legal representation | ISAGEN

Energy and utilities

Jario Arias joined ISAGEN in 2015 with an extensive background of in-house counsel experience within the energy and construction sectors and brings this strategic legal acumen to the legal department...

Jairo González Gómez

Vice president, general counsel and legal assistance manager | Grupo Nutresa

Food, beverages and tobacco

Grupo Nutresa is the leading company in processed foods industry in Colombia and one of the most important companies in the sector in Latin America with more than one million...

Jesús Esteban Revelo Barragán

Technical link - Territorial Strategy of Hydrocarbons | Superintendence of Industry and Commerce

Administrative bodies

Since March 2018, Jesús Esteban Revelo Barragán acts as a technical link at the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce for the Hydrocarbons Territorial Strategy, strengthening the management of this initiative...

Joaquín Idoyaga Larrañaga

Regional vice president legal and compliance | SURA Asset Management

Financials

Joaquín Idoyaga Larrañaga joined SURA Asset Management in 2013 as chief legal, compliance and risk officer in Uruguay after working in independent law firms for seven years. In 2016, he...

Jorge Adrián Rincón Plata

Chief legal counsel | Grupo Aval

Financials

Jorge Adrián Rincón Plata started his career after completing a LLM in international business law from Queen Mary University of London, as a lawyer at the Banco de Bogotá, and...

Jorge Alberto Diaz Gomez

Legal director | Caracol Radio

Sports and media

Since its founding in 1948, Caracol Radio has become one of Colombia’s largest and most popular radio networks with a portfolio of leading stations. Jorge Alberto Diaz Gomez joined the...

Jorge M. Meneses

Assistant general counsel - Latin America and Caribbean | Guy Carpenter

Financials

Jorge M. Meneses is a corporate lawyer with more than 14 years of experience in leading international companies in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region with multidisciplinary knowledge focused...

José Andrés Rojas

Corporate affairs director, general secretary and vice president legal and corporate affairs | Auteco

Consumer products

Since April 2013, José Andrés Rojas has headed the legal and corporate affairs departments at Auteco, bringing his 18 years of experience in corporate law from in-house positions and private...

José Joaquín Díaz Perilla

Chief legal officer | Banco de Bogotá

Financials

José Joaquín Diaz Perilla is legal manager at Banco de Bogotá, having been in the position since 1974. He has held several positions at Banco de Bogotá since 1967 and...

Juan Camilo Castro Salcedo

Legal director - Latin America North Region | DIRECTV Latin America

Sports and media

DIRECTV Latin America provides best-in-class digital entertainment experiences by delivering high in demand content across the continent. Juan Camilo Castro Salcedo serves the organisation as legal director for the Latin...

Juan Camilo Medina Moreno

Legal coordinator and compliance officer | Vision Software

Information technology

Juan Camilo Medina Moreno joined Vision Software in April 2015 after working at J. Echeverri and Asociados covering IP, commercial law and other civil law topics. Medina worked at Vision...

Juan Carlos Rivera

Director - legal business management | ISAGEN

Juan Carlos Rivera has served at ISAGEN, a leading sustainable energy production company in Colombia, since 2011, and is responsible for the legal function with a focus on infrastructure and...

Juan Felipe Cruz Ulloa

Senior legal manager and board attorney - Latin America North | Johnson & Johnson - Consumer Division

Consumer products

Juan Felipe Cruz Ulloa began his career in the cement and construction business at Cemex Colombia, but in 2013 he moved to the fast moving consumer goods industry (FMCG). He...

Juan Manuel Cuéllar Cabrera

Legal manager - Colombia | Repsol

Energy and utilities

With extensive experience as a legal manager and representative in the energy industry of Colombia and Peru for over 20 years, Juan Manuel Cuéllar Cabrera expertly manages the legal team...

Juan Pablo Barrera

Vice president legal and chief legal officer | Hoteles Decameron

Hotels

Having worked in three other multinational Colombian companies in the hospitality, energy and industrials sectors, Juan Pablo Barrera joined Hoteles Decameron in 2014 to build its legal team essentially from...

Juan Pablo Mora Valderrama

Legal and integrity manager - Colombia and Ecuador | ABB

Industrials and real estate

Responsible for ensuring that ABB’s cluster in Colombia and Ecuador adhere to legal standards and enforcing regulations in all aspects and levels of business as well as providing guidance on...

Juan Pablo Ovalle

Country counsel Colombia and Latin Caribbean Region (LCR) | IBM de Colombia

Information technology

Since July 2011, and after spending more than five years at Huawei Technologies’ legal department, Juan Pablo Ovalle has been the country counsel for Colombia and the LCR at IBM...

Juan Pablo Restrepo

Chief counsel (Andean, Pacific and Central American countries) | Mondelēz International

Food, beverages and tobacco

As one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies with recognisable prodcuct brands across the globe, US multinational Mondelēz International employs the most skilled and respected in-house lawyers to...

Laura Vejarano Revollo

Vice president legal and corporate affairs and general counsel | TERRANUM Group

Industrials and real estate

Laura Vejarano Revollo is the vice president legal and corporate affairs and general counsel at Terranum, a prominent Colombian real estate developer founded in 2009. She specialises in M&A, commercial...

Luis Fernando Diaz

Regional general counsel (Latin America and Caribbean) | SAP

Information technology

Luis Fernando Diaz, has served as regional counsel at SAP since 2013 having started as a general counsel for Spanish speaking Latin America in 2006 bringing a great wealth of...

Luis Fernando Rueda Latiff

Attorney at law, specialist in commercial law | Manuelita Azucar Y Energía

Food, beverages and tobacco

A specialist in commercial law, Luis Fernando has grown into his position as chief legal officer and compliance officer at Manuelita Azucar & Energía, a large sugar, bioethanol and seafood...

Manuela Villa Gonzalez

North Latin America legal counsel | Philips Lighting

Industrials and real estate

Since September 2017, Manuela Villa Gonzalez has been the legal manager and compliance officer of Philips Lighting for the Northern Latin American region encompassing Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Central America...

María Fernanda De Salvador

Legal manager | Emerald Energy Colombia

Energy and utilities

As the legal manager of the oil exploration company, Emerald Energy Colombia, Maria Fernanda De Salvador, along with her team, handles all the exploration and production contracts to ensure that...

María José Gnecco

Legal counsel | J.P. Morgan

Financials

J.P. Morgan in Colombia has a local presence through J.P. Morgan Corporación Financiera, a credit institution established in the country since 2006, supervised by the Financial Superintendence of Colombia and...

Maria Jose Romero Higuera

Legal manager | Occidental de Colombia (OXY)

Energy and utilities

US multinational petroleum and gas company OXY has significant presence in Colombia, having been an active investor in the country for over 40 years. In charge of legal matters for...

Martin Espinosa

Senior counsel Andean Cluster | Coltabaco (Philip Morris International)

Food, beverages and tobacco

Martin Espinosa was ‘born and raised,’ as he says, at Philip Morris International (PMI) having been with the company for 12 years, occupying different positions, starting as an intern in...

Mauricio Martínez Henao

Chief legal officer | C.I. HERMECO (OFFCORSS)

Consumer products

After a short rise to senior positions in the multinational firm PREBEL, and at law firms including Preyra and Bordon covering all elements of commercial, corporate, and legal matters for...

Mauricio Rosillo Rojas

Corporate legal vice-president and general counsel | Grupo Bancolombia

Financials

As corporate legal vice-president and general counsel of the billion dollar Colombian bank, Grupo Bancolombia, Mauricio Rosillo Rojas occupies a prominent position in Colombia’s financial sector and in-house legal market....

Mauricio Valenzuela Gruesso

Legal vice-president | Banco Davivienda

Financials

Colombia’s fourth biggest company, Banco Davivienda, is a powerful commercial banking institution in Colombia and is part of Grupo Empresarial Bolívar, which for more than 70 years has operated across...

Miguel E. Ronderos

Corporate legal counsel | Apple

Information technology

Miguel E. Ronderos joined Apple in April 2017 after a glittering career in the technology sector with in-house positions at Spring Mobile Solutions as legal counsel for Spanish speaking Latin...

Mónica Durán

Legal director (Latin America) | Yara

Materials and mining

Yara is a Norwegian headquartered fertiliser, seed and crop nutrition company which produces, sells and manages the supply chain for the industrial farming sector across the world. Mónica Durán is...

Natalia Alarcón Bernal

Head of CIB legal Colombia and corporate secretary | BNP Paribas Colombia

Financials

Since returning to Colombia in 2012 after a fourteen month spell working for the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Natalia Alarcon Bernal has excelled in the financial sector. Now at French...

Natalia Camacho

Legal vice president and compliance officer | Altra Investments

Financials

After gaining over 15 years of experience in M&A, corporate finance, corporate law and private equity at top law firms in Colombia, in 2009 Natalia Camacho joined Altra Investments, a...

Nicolás Ruiz Moreno

Legal and corporate affairs director Latin America | Falck (Grupo EMI)

Healthcare

Since joining Grupo EMI (now wholly owned by Falck) in 2013, Nicolás Ruiz Moreno has made a significant and positive impact on the global leader in ambulance services’ operations in...

Nicolas Torres Alvarez

Chief negotiator | Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism

Administrative bodies

Serving as Colombia’s chief negotiator for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism from 2017 onwards, and as a lawyer within the ministry department since 2004, Nicolas Torres Alvarez is...

Oscar Vela

General counsel | Petrobras

Energy and utilities

Brazilian energy giant Petrobras has been present in Colombia for over 30 years and today conducts offshore exploration activities as well as owning plants for the production of lubricants and...

Pablo Urrego

General secretary, legal, public affairs and CSR director | Renault Sofasa

Consumer products

Pablo Urrego, started his career in private practice before joining Renault Sofasa in 2004 first as a member of the legal team, then progressing to legal manager and to his...

Paola Andrea Valero Carrero

Legal director (South America) | Schneider Electric

Industrials and real estate

Paola Andrea Valero Carrero continues to impress peers in the capacity of legal director for Latin America at Schnieder Electric. She brings her solid experience in corporate law, contractual law,...

Phyllis Gleiser

General counsel – legal director | Nestlé de Colombia

Food, beverages and tobacco

With more than 20 years of experience, and a well-rounded vision, Phyllis Gleiser leads the legal team at Nestlé in Colombia. She has had legal roles within different perspectives at...

Rafael Olivella Vives

Vice president legal and institutional affairs | Cementos Argos

Materials and mining

Multinational cement and concrete mix maker Cementos Argos is the market leader in Colombia with operations extending to the US, Central America and the Caribbean. In 2017, the company promoted...

Renato Covelo

Vice-president legal, ethics and compliance | Avianca Holdings

Transport and infrastructure

Operating passenger and cargo airline services across Latin America, Avianca Holdings has a reputation of first rate customer service as one of the region’s premium flag carriers. Complimenting their position...

Sandra Monroy Suarez

Legal and compliance director Northern and Andean Clusters, Latin America | CenturyLink Colombia

Telecommunication services

In July 2014, Sandra Monroy Suarez began her role as legal and compliance director for the Northern Latin America and Andean clusters at CenturyLink Colombia after developing her career in...

Sharon Diazgranados Peluffo

Legal director | Corporación Financiera Colombiana (Corficolombiana)

Financials

Since joining Corficolombiana in 2011 as a staff attorney, Sharon Diazgranados Peluffo’s quality and efforts as an in-house lawyer have been recognised by senior management at the financial company with...

Silvia Barrero

Vice president legal and corporate affairs | Coca-Cola FEMSA

Food, beverages and tobacco

Coca-cola FEMSA, the world’s largest bottler of Coca-Cola products, has been present in Colombia for over 10 years and today has seven bottling plants and 24 distribution centres in the...

Silvia J. Rueda-Serrano

Head of legal and compliance | Bimbo De Colombia

Food, beverages and tobacco

Grupo Bimbo, a Mexican US$14.5bn FMCG company and global leader in the baking industry, reported US$200m sales in Colombia for 2017 through its branch, Bimbo de Colombia. Among its 3,850...

Sonia Margarita Abuchar Aleman

Chief legal officer | ISA

Energy and utilities

ISA operates across Latin America as a long-term strategic investor in linear infrastructure systems. Not only a major contributor to Colombia’s infrastructure, the company is one of the country largest....

Tatiana Montealegre

Chief legal officer | Parque Arauco

Consumer products

Chief legal officer since 2009, Tatiana Montealegre is the head of the legal function for Parque Arauco in Colombia. The company is a large shopping centre, retail and entertainment company...

Tito Parra

General counsel | Lafrancol

Lafrancol, a pharmaceutical company with 100 years of history in Colombia, has been a subsidiary to Abbot Laboratories, a global pharmaceutical production giant, since Abbott purchased Recalcine Pharmaceutical Corporation of...

Ulises Canosa Suárez

Executive and legal affairs vice president and general secretary | BBVA Colombia

Financials

An in-house lawyer in the financial sector since 1989, Ulises Canosa Suárez is well known in Colombia’s legal market as an expert in the field. And having been at BBVA...

Víctor Andrés Gómez Henao

Legal process manager | La Previsora

Financials

Victor Andrés Gómez Henao is an expert lawyer in insurance law, contract law and civil liability, with extensive knowledge in private law, and has experience in litigation and arbitration. He...

Victor Enrique Cuéllar Olarte

Legal and public affairs director | American Tower Corporation (ATC) Colombia

Telecommunication services

Part of the American Tower Corporation, ATC Colombia provides wireless and broadcast towers among other telecommunication infrastructure that speed network deployment for the wireless and broadcast communications industry. Shortly after...

Virgilio Diaz Mendoza

Regional general counsel | Siemens Mobility

Industrials and real estate

Virgilio Diaz Mendoza is the regional general counsel of Siemens Mobility in Colombia since August 2018. As such, he is the head of legal for the Mobility organization in Colombia,...

Ximena Herrera

Legal counsel Andean Region, Mexico, Central America and Caribbean | Vertiv

Information technology

Since 2010, Ximena Herrera has been legal counsel at Vertiv, a global leader in designing, building and servicing critical infrastructure from air-cooling stacks to systems operational support. Her role has...

Ximena Rojas Murcia

Legal director | FoxTelecolombia

Sports and media

A major Colombian television production company, Fox Telecolombia has expanded and developed its content in recent years to establish itself as one of the most important producers in Latin America....

One of Latin America’s strongest economies, Colombia continues to be an attractive investment destination in the region with rich natural resources, a higher than average GDP growth rate and a stable economy. As a result of this ripe environment for doing business, Colombia houses a number of domestic and foreign multinationals who invest heavily in the country and employ some of the most highly respected and experienced in-house lawyers in the region.

As part of this, we found that in-house counsel in Colombia add real value to businesses around the country when advising senior management and informing company strategy. Whether it’s by managing financial transactions in multiple jurisdictions, responding to legislative and regulatory changes or devising strategies that enable their business to remain profitable, they are key to delivering innovative legal solutions to complex business issues.

In this year’s GC Powerlist: Colombia we are pleased to highlight some of the country’s leading in-house lawyers. To compile this list, we canvassed opinions from both law firm partners and in-house counsel in the jurisdiction. We identified the most impressive counsel who have utilised their legal knowledge strategically alongside business insight to make a positive impact towards their organisation’s success.

Mudasser Ahmedi
Senior research analyst, GC Powerlist series

Baker McKenzie

Baker McKenzie logo

Undoubtedly, Colombia is facing one of its most interesting times in years. The country has endeavoured in a tremendous way to achieve outstanding outcomes in terms of economical and political stability. More than ever, recent governments have followed a consistent growth path based on a credible, dynamic and resilient economic system, which has increased the international community’s attention. Broadly speaking, Colombia has been effective in combining better security indicators with facts that have contributed to improving economic dynamism. Amongst them we can refer to the large scale infrastructure program.

According to our mergers and acquisitions forecast 2019, foreign investment in Colombia is expected to be around $4.2bn by the end of 2018. Though it is true that several corruption scandals at a regional level disrupt investors’ confidence, Colombia’s institutional framework, the existence of an orthodox monetary policy, a working judicial system and clear actions supporting free trade – key factors for the recent accession of Colombia to the OECD – show Colombia as a reliable destination for doing business. In fact, when compared against the region, Colombia ranks third as the largest and fastest-growing Latin American economy. The exchange rate of the Colombian peso vis-á-vis the US dollar remains stable and maintains the country’s competitiveness. An ambitious $12bn 4G toll road plan, which is now turning to its fourth phase, in addition to further infrastructure concessions in railways, ports and airports, allow Colombia to keep a constant growth path (by reaching aggregate levels of almost 3%). Summing up, opportunities for investment and growth in key sectors such as agribusiness and infrastructure, have prompted better dynamism in business opportunities.

We cannot ignore that Colombia still faces significant challenges and the legal community, in particular, will play a key role in dealing with them. Perhaps the most salient obstacle is the uncompetitive country’s tax regime. President elect Ivan Duque has declared the strategic importance of submitting a tax reform bill to congress aimed at reducing tax burden on Colombian companies (especially SMEs and startups). Since 2015, attempts to restore Colombia’s competitiveness without sacrificing revenue, have been halted by international drops in oil prices (upon which Colombian exports and investments depend in excess), and an adverse political landscape (caused by a lack of voters’ confidence on some public institutions and the rejection by referendum of the first version of the peace agreement with FARC) both led the current government unable to obtain the structural changes that the tax regime requires.

We need to stay focused on our country’s major strengths, most of which are already mentioned in this document. Colombia’s defining moment must lead us to realise that many and great challenges are still in the path to a bright future. It is known that matters related to compliance in all areas, data privacy, innovation and human rights grow in importance by the day. In this context, it will be necessary to work alongside a reliant partner that helps you overcome the challenges of competing and being successful both in a very complex, dynamic local environment and in a globalised world. What makes us different is the way in which we think, work and behave, combining a global perspective with a multicultural approach allowing us to establish cooperation relationships providing a useful and innovative advisory.

With over 6,000 attorneys in 47 countries we have an in-depth understanding of the specific business culture of the different industries around the world, making Baker McKenzie the premier global law firm. We are capable of contributing with the necessary talent and experience to easily approach the most complex, multidisciplinary and multijurisdictional matters. Specifically in Colombia, for more than 80 years we have been helping our clients succeed by simplifying and navigating a complex country and world. This means that as well as understanding the economy at a global scale, our local roots allow us to understand the risks and opportunities of doing business in Colombia.

Last but not least, it is worth mentioning that we are highly committed to strengthening our society by the means of three basic pillars: Diversity and Inclusion, Sustainability and Gender Equality. Our pro bono mission is to deliver first-class legal services to the underserved and disadvantaged by fostering an environment that encourages and promotes service as to the well-being of the communities in which we practice and live. In addition, our belief is that diversity and inclusion creates a positive workforce environment, but building a diverse workforce is also the smart business thing to do. Finally, our day-to-day work reflects our commitment to align our policies and operations with the United Nations Global Compact’s principles in the areas of human rights, fair labour, the environment and anti-corruption, and to support the UN’s Sustainable development goals.

GC Summit Germany 2024

On March 21st, The Legal 500 returned to Frankfurt to host the GC Summit Germany 2024, which took place at the Hilton Frankfurt City Centre. We wish to thank our partners for this event–SquirePattonBoggs, Taylor Wessing, Seitz, and AlixPartners–for their help in organising the panels for this conference, which covered a variety of cutting edge and up to date topics.

Drawing on the broad experience of our highly accomplished speakers from both legal firms and in-house counsel, this event provided practical, hands-on advice. The first panel, Managing your company’s value chain – Risks and opportunities in a dynamic regulatory environment, was moderated by Volker Popp, director at AlixPartners. Its panel included Franziska Janorschke, global head of data privacy & AI compliance, Novartis; Martin Petrasch, chief counsel of compliance, Siemens; and Dr. Wolfgang Bartels, general counsel, Mercedes-Benz Group. It involved an extensive, technical discussion amongst the panellists and continued on into the Q&A.

The first panel was followed by ESG in M&A transactions, sponsored by Talor Wessing. Rebekka Krause, salary partner at Taylor Wessing, moderated a broad-ranging discussion between Maria Rostock, general counsel, Borromin, and Timo Spitzer, executive director & head of legal for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Nordic Countries, Grupo Santander. The team at Taylor Wessing and in-house panellists provided an in-depth overview of why ESG has become more and more important in M&A transactions, as well as EU legislation and new laws coming into effect.

After a short lunch break, the event continued with Seitz’s panel, Recent Compliance matters in the employment relationship, which was moderated by Stephan Pötters, partner, Seitz; and included Kathrin Bürger, partner, Seitz; Mark Mickasch, chief compliance officer, FUNKE; Julia Arbery, partner, Stoneturn; and Özlem Yesilkaya, head of investigations (Asia Pacific & EMEA), global investigation department, Fresenius Medical Care AG.

The final panel for the event was titled Legal Finance, the Universe and all the Rest: A 360o View on Dispute Funding and Dispute Hedging. Jens Petry (Squire Patton Boggs), Stefan Kirsten (KRD Kirsten. Risk & Disputes) and Katharina Fröhlich (unilegion) explored the increasing popularity of litigation funding and insurance solutions among corporates, the impact of a claimant being funded or insured on a defendant’s strategy, and defendants’ legal and commercial options to restore the equilibrium.

Closing remarks were provided by Jens Fettig, head of legal and compliance Europe, Atos. After the event-proper, participants joined sponsors and panellists in the Hilton Frankfurt City Centre’s Hudson Yards Bar for in-depth conversation, drinks and canapes.

We at The Legal 500 want to express our sincere thanks to the sponsors of the event– SquirePattonBoggs, Taylor Wessing, Seitz, and AlixPartners. Without their support, GC Summit Germany 2024 would not have been possible.

We hope to see you at GC Summit Germany next year!