Speakers
María Laura Farrapeira, general counsel, vice president for the Hispanoamerican Region, and member of the board, AB Mauri
Maria is a corporate and commercial counsel with more than 30 years’ experience in M&A, negotiations, and corporate and commercial affairs. A passionate leader, she has a strong track record of building high-performing interdisciplinary teams and managing complexity and uncertainty. For the past 19 years, she has served as General Counsel for the Hispanoamerica region of AB Mauri, a division of Associated British Foods, and as a member of several management teams and boards of directors. In this role, she has developed deep engagement with ESG, initially focusing on environmental matters alongside governance and compliance responsibilities and, over the past five years, expanding her scope to include social impact and diversity and inclusion.
Currently, she serves as General Counsel and Vice President for AB Mauri Hispanoamerica, with responsibility for legal affairs across the region from Argentina to Venezuela, excluding Brazil. Her remit includes legal management, compliance, anti-bribery and antitrust, ESG, and inclusion and diversity. She coordinates and negotiates M&A activity throughout the region, sits on several boards within the group, and oversees intellectual property coordination with marketing and development teams. She also supports other Associated British Foods businesses operating in the region, including Twinings, AB Vista and AB Foods.
During this period, she personally led the negotiation of a significant labour crisis involving a 48-day plant blockage, managing the crisis team and engaging with union leaders, employees, labour authorities, provincial and national government representatives, and shareholders, successfully guiding the organisation through a complex and sensitive situation.
She has been with ABF Americas for 19 years and brings more than three decades of legal experience. Prior to joining ABF, she worked as a Senior Associate at Brons & Salas, a leading Argentine law firm, specialising in corporate and business law and leading the corporate department. Before that, she spent 11 years as Legal Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Tax and Legal Department in Buenos Aires, focusing on M&A and tax matters. Earlier in her career, she worked at Estudio Echezarreta, specialising in labour law.
Alongside her professional career, she served as Assistant Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Buenos Aires and has participated as a lecturer in international and local seminars on inclusion and diversity, compliance, environmental issues including carbon credits, sustainability, M&A, investment and tax matters. She is also a member of several international organisations, including the Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers (GAIL), where she serves on the Latin American Board, Women Corporate Directors (Argentina), ACDE and Fundación Flor.
She collaborates with the biotechnology start-up BeCaps, supporting new generations through technological innovation and sustainability, and participates as a mentor and coach in programmes including Universidad Siglo XXI, ACDE and Fundación Flor.
She holds a law degree from Universidad Católica Argentina and also studied at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. She completed a Fellowship at the College of Law in London through the Fifth International Practice Diploma Programme coordinated with the International Bar Association, and a Fellowship in the Top Management Programme (PAD) at the IAE Business School of Austral University in Argentina. She remains committed to continuous learning to broaden her knowledge and contribute to a better world through her work.
She was nominated for the 2012 International Law Office Latin American Counsel Award as a tax specialist. In 2022, the AB Mauri Hispano ESG project for the Tucumán site received the Associated British Foods award for environmental and inclusion initiatives, and in 2023 the Chilean site received the same award for an educational project supporting baker training for individuals without formal education.
Maria is happily married and has three daughters, aged 28, 25 and 19.
Federico Basile, partner, Tavarone Rovelli Salim Miani
Federico is a corporate employment lawyer with proven and recognised experience in all labour matters.
He possesses strong analytical skills and a well-developed ability to design labour structures and tools that contribute to the effective management of human capital and the advancement of the company’s business.
He provides precise and clear advice, focussed on the most creative solutions that enable the successful mitigation of risks arising from the inflexibility of labour regulations.
He has been included in international rankings in Labour & Employment (individuals), including Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500, among others.
Eugenio Aramburu, partner, PAGBAM
P. Eugenio Aramburu is a corporate lawyer and his professional practice is focused primarily on mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, mining law, private equity, venture capital, project finance, corporate finance and acquisition finance.
P. Eugenio Aramburu has been a partner in PAGBAM since 2007, and since 2018 he is one of the three members of PAGBAM’s Executive Committee. He was a foreign associate at Dewey Ballantine LLP (New York, USA) and he was also associated with Cuatrecasas (Madrid, Spain) as a member of the Latin American Desk, advising major European companies investing in Argentina.
Juan Ignacio Dighero, partner, labour law, PAGBAM
Juan Ignacio Dighero is a corporate lawyer whose practice focuses on banking and finance, foreign exchange law, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial law. He regularly advises local and international clients across a wide range of industries, including financial services, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, agribusiness and technology.
Mr. Dighero joined PAGBAM in 2018 and has recently been appointed as partner of the firm. His practice involves advising on M&A and financial transactions, due diligence processes, financial and foreign exchange regulations, restructurings, and the drafting of complex commercial and financial agreements. He also has experience in cross-border transactions and regulatory matters.
Mr. Dighero graduated as a lawyer from the University of Buenos Aires, where he graduated with honors. He also completed a Master ‘s degree in Business Law at Universidad de San Andrés (thesis pending). He currently serves as a lecturer in postgraduate programs at the University of Buenos Aires.
Héctor García, partner, labour law, García & Pérez Boiani
Attorney-at-Law, graduated from the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of the National University of Córdoba in 1986.
Specialist in Collective Labor Relations in the automotive sector (Mercedes-Benz Argentina, 1987–1991).
Awarded a scholarship by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Switzerland in 1998, and by the NCC (Japanese Chamber of Commerce) in Japan in 2000, for advanced training in Collective Labor Law.
Founding Partner of the law firm specialized in employer-side labor law, García, Pérez Boiani & Asociados, since 2006 to date.
Postgraduate lecturer, speaker, and author of various publications in the field.
Julio Lalanne, partner, labour law, Lalanne Abogados
Julio E. Lalanne is an Attorney-at-Law and holds a Ph.D. in Legal Sciences from the Argentine Catholic University (thesis awarded highest honors), where he serves as Full Professor and Chair of the following courses: Philosophy of Law, Legal Argumentation, and Labor Law.
He has taught at the University of Buenos Aires and the Catholic University of La Plata.
He has participated as a speaker and lecturer at conferences and academic events at universities in Argentina and abroad.
He is a name partner at Lalanne Abogados, a law firm specialized in labor law for senior management.
Mario Fera, judge, National Chamber of Appeals
Attorney-at-Law (University of Buenos Aires – 1988)
Judge of Chamber IX of the National Court of Appeals for Labor Matters.
He served as President of the National Court of Appeals for Labor Matters in 2010 and 2018.
He also served as President of the Council of the Magistracy of the Argentine Judiciary (2011 and 2013), a body of which he was a member from 2010 to 2014, representing federal and national judges.
He is a Specialist in Judicial Law.
He is the Founder and President of the Center for Legal Studies and Research (CEIJ).
He serves as Director of the Specialization Program in Judicial Law and the Master’s Program in Labor Law at the University of Business and Social Sciences.
He is also Director of the Diploma Program in Management and New Technologies Applied to the Judicial System at the University of Buenos Aires.
He is an undergraduate lecturer in Constitutional Law, Labor Law, and Social Security Law, and a postgraduate professor at various universities.
He is the author of numerous publications, including books (as author and co-author), research works, and scholarly articles in specialized journals.
He serves as Deputy Editor of the Revista Derecho del Trabajo (La Ley publishing house).
He is a member of the Labor Law Institute of the National Academy of Law and Social Sciences.
He is Director of the Labor Law Institute of the Argentine Association of Constitutional Justice.
Rosario Maffrand, leading legal counsel, Vista Energy
Rosario Maffrand is an international senior energy specialist with over 14 years of experience in the oil and gas and energy sectors. She currently serves as Leading Counsel at Vista Energy, where she plays a key role in structuring and negotiating complex transactions across joint ventures, M&A, and midstream projects. At Vista, Rosario has led high-impact initiatives including the development of strategic partnerships, participation in capital markets transactions such as the company’s NYSE IPO, and the structuring of large-scale infrastructure projects. Her work spans project finance, regulatory strategy, and the development of new business opportunities.
Maria Mercedes Olano, head of legal and compliance, Bank of China
María Mercedes Olano is a lawyer with over 20 years of experience specializing in financial law, regulatory compliance, and anti-money laundering. She currently serves as Legal and Compliance Manager at the Buenos Aires branch of Bank of China, a position she has held since 2019.
Throughout her career, she has led legal and compliance teams at renowned international financial institutions, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., where she was KYC Manager for Latin America, and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, where she headed the Legal Office in Buenos Aires.
She has been recognized multiple times on The Legal 500’s GC Powerlist Argentina.
Tamara Cañete Chadra, legal manager, AkzoNobel
Tamara Cañete Chadra is Legal Manager for South Latin America at AkzoNobel. She advises the business on corporate, regulatory, compliance, and commercial matters across the region. Previously, she held legal roles at Philip Morris International, Natura &Co, SEA Group, and Cencosud, partnering with business leaders to support strategic decision-making and responsible growth in Latin America.
Mónica Diskin, director of legal and corporate affairs for Argentina, Enel
Mónica Diskin is Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs for Argentina at Enel and a board member of several group companies. She has extensive experience in corporate law, M&A and regulatory matters in the energy sector, and recently led the sale of Enel’s thermal generation assets in Argentina.
She is actively involved in corporate governance and compliance initiatives, and has represented the company in international forums, including the United Nations. She holds a law degree with honors from the University of Buenos Aires.
María Eugenia Fernández Pouchan, managing director and head of corporate finance, Santander Argentina
María Eugenia Fernandez Pouchan is Managing Director and Head of Corporate Finance at Santander Argentina, where she leads the team responsible for M&A and equity capital markets transactions, both locally and internationally.
She has more than 15 years of experience in investment banking, having led the origination and execution of M&A, ECM, DCM and structured finance transactions for leading Argentine companies. She began her career in equity research, covering sectors such as utilities, oil & gas and telecommunications.
She holds an MBA from IAE Business School, is a CFA Charterholder, and graduated in Economics from the University of Buenos Aires.
Esteban Olivera, founding partner, Fenix Partners
Esteban Olivera is a Founding Partner at Fenix Partners. He has more than 25 years of experience in financial advisory, investment banking, and private equity. His professional background includes roles as Director and Board Member at Nación AFJP, Commercial Manager at Banco Privado de Inversiones, Founder and Director of a private credit card company, and Analyst at BBVA Banco Francés.
His M&A advisory experience includes advising Waterlogic on its expansion across Latin America; supporting companies such as EOG, Orange, and ENAP in their exit strategies from Argentina; advising family-owned businesses on full divestments, including PEISA and Labmed; assisting companies such as Schlumberger, Mercuria, and Grupo Rotoplas with their market entry strategies in Argentina; and providing financial advisory for growth to companies such as ROCH, Mogotes Metals, and President Energy. He has also made private equity investments in Bodega Chakana, IGS Solutions, Aivo, Seeds Energy, Tecnosalud, and Pac Pac Chile.
Esteban holds a degree in Economics from the Universidad Católica Argentina and an MBA from the Stern School of Business at NYU.
Nicole Amado, manager, Deloitte Legal