Speakers
Marco Antonio de la Peña, partner, energy and infrastracture, Cuatrecasas
Specialist in infrastructure and energy projects, regularly advising national and multinational businesses on implementing energy projects and on corporate compliance matters.
Before joining Cuatrecasas, Marco Antonio de la Peña held several positions in leading law firms, as well as in the Mexican public sector, including the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit and the Bank of Mexico. He also worked at the National Works and Public Services Bank, SNC (Banobras), where he managed legal affairs and, for several years, also trusts.
Later, he joined Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) where he served as general counsel and then legal director.
He has helped draft legislation, particularly the initiative for the Act on Public-Private Partnerships and the constitutional and legal reform of energy matters.
He recently headed the Legal Affairs Unit of the Mexican National Hydrocarbons Commission, the regulatory body of activities relating to hydrocarbon exploration and extraction.
He is a member of the Mexican Bar Association, where he coordinates the Energy Commission, analyzing public policies and the initiatives of the energy sector in Mexico. He is also a member of the Mexican National Association of Business Lawyers (ANADE), where he is on the Energy Committee and where he speaks at conferences.
He regularly speaks at courses and conferences. He has collaborated in many publications and was a lecturer on monetary law at Universidad Panamericana in Guadalajara (Mexico).
Gizeh Polo, partner, equity capital markets and corporate governance, Cuatrecasas
Capital Markets Specialist, with expertise in securities regulation and the Mexican financial system.
Gizeh Polo specialises in domestic and international transactions involving equity and debt securities offerings, structured instruments, all types of financing transactions, restructurings, and regulatory matters relating to the Mexican financial system. His experience includes advising on a number of innovative and first-of-their-kind structures in the Mexican market, notably: the first and second (and to date only) SPACs listed in Mexico (BMV: VISTA; BMV: GAV (formerly PAC)); the largest FIBRA-E public offering in Mexican history to date (BMV: FNAIM); the first telecommunications-sector FIBRA (BMV: FSITES); the first CKD focused on the Mexican agricultural sector (BMV: RRG); the first synthetic securitisation by a Mexican bank*; and the first social-purpose securitisation in Mexico (BMV: FINAE)*.
More recently, he advised Goldman Sachs (acting as sole financial adviser) on the competitive sale process of Terrafina (BMV: Terra) and its acquisition by Fibra Prologis (BMV: FIBRAPL) through a public tender offer, which at the time represented the largest real estate transaction in the Mexican market. He also advised institutional investors on the subscription of development certificates issued by FIECK (BMV: FIECK), the largest energy infrastructure transaction in Mexico in recent years.
Prior to joining Cuatrecasas in Mexico City, Gizeh worked at leading domestic law firms and served as an international associate in the New York offices of Shearman & Sterling LLP, where he participated in numerous capital markets transactions in New York, London and other jurisdictions. He also advised on the development and financing of infrastructure and energy projects throughout Latin America.
He is the author of numerous publications, including a book on general legal theory and the judicial function. He has also contributed to a compilation of essays honouring José Ramón Cossío Díaz, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Mexico. A regular contributor to World Bank publications, he has also written opinion pieces for Milenio Diario and Letras Libres.
Gizeh is a lecturer at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate law students.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the ITAM Alumni Bar Association (CAEITAM).
Liliana Anzaldua, legal director, SEMPRA Infraestructura México
Liliana Anzaldua is a senior transactional energy lawyer with more than 25 years of experience advising on complex legal, regulatory, commercial, and infrastructure matters across the energy sector. She currently serves as Legal Director at Sempra Infrastructure, where she provides legal counsel on large-scale energy projects.
Throughout her career, Liliana has held senior roles at Norton Rose Fulbright and Pemex, where she led and strategically advised on upstream, midstream and downstream projects, regulatory matters, financing and M&A. She also contributed to the drafting team for the USMCA Energy, State-Owned Enterprises, and Public Procurement chapters, and has participated in global climate policy work as observer in the Climate Investment Funds at the World Bank. Liliana holds a master’s degree in enterprise law from Universidad Panamericana, cum laude, and a J.D. from ITAM. She has held leadership roles and participated in leading energy and legal organizations, including ICC, ANADE and AIPN.
Ernesto Palacios Juárez, partner, Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez
Ernesto Palacios Juárez is a Partner at Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez in the Mexico City office. His practice focuses on civil, commercial and administrative litigation.
Mr. Palacios gained extensive experience in constitutional litigation early in his career while working at the law firm of a former Justice of the Supreme Court, enabling him to develop sophisticated litigation strategies involving constitutional issues in civil, commercial and administrative disputes.
He specialises in high-stakes civil litigation, primarily involving material, moral and punitive damages. In addition, he has significant experience in complex commercial litigation relating to financial institutions and financial services, including banking, insurance, leasing and trusts, as well as matters concerning the hospitality and real estate sectors.
Mr. Gleb Kouznetsov, director, Bancomext
Francisco J. Valdés López, partner, Sainz Abogados
Francisco J. Valdés López is a Partner of the Firm and heads its Energy, Administrative Law and Public Procurement practices. He advises clients across a broad range of matters in the hydrocarbons and electricity sectors, representing both domestic and international clients on regulatory issues and the development of major infrastructure projects.
His clients include leading private sector companies and public authorities, including CEMEX, Gas Industrial de Monterrey, Consejo Coordinador Empresarial, Ternium, Techgen, Kaltex, BayWa r.e., New Fortress Energy, the Ministry of Communications and Transport (Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes), the Federal Electricity Commission (Comisión Federal de Electricidad – CFE), and Grupo Empresarial México.
Prior to joining the Firm, Francisco served as Executive Secretary of the Energy Regulatory Commission (Comisión Reguladora de Energía – CRE). He has also held senior public sector positions as Regional Delegate of the Federal Roads and Bridges Agency (Caminos y Puentes Federales de Ingresos y Servicios Conexos – CAPUFE) and as Head of the Legal Unit of the National Workers’ Housing Fund Institute (Instituto del Fondo Nacional de la Vivienda para los Trabajadores – INFONAVIT) in the State of Mexico.
Alejandro Sainz Orantes, partner, Sainz Abogados
Alejandro Sainz heads the Insolvency, Restructuring and Bankruptcy practice and is a member of the firm’s Finance, Corporate Reorganisations and Compliance, as well as Corporate Governance and Investigations practice groups.
He has more than 30 years’ experience advising and representing clients, both debtors and creditors, on all legal aspects of complex insolvency and restructuring matters in Mexico and cross-border contexts. His experience covers both out-of-court restructurings and formal insolvency proceedings in Mexico (concurso mercantil), as well as the Mexican law aspects of US Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 proceedings. He also advises on matters involving financial issues, liability management, refinancings, corporate reorganisations and acquisitions and disposals of assets in distressed or otherwise complex situations.
Throughout his career, Alejandro has represented corporate clients across a broad range of sectors and industries, both domestically and internationally. His clients include Mexican and international companies, both public and private, as well as various ad hoc committees of international holders of bonds and notes issued abroad by Mexican issuers, together with domestic and international banks, creditors and suppliers.
He is also recognised for his commitment to the community through his pro bono representation of a number of organisations. Alejandro is a certified mediator accredited by the Mexican Institute of Mediation and has acted as lead counsel in numerous complex negotiations. He has taught and spoken at a wide range of courses, seminars, postgraduate programmes and panel discussions in Mexico and internationally on topics including restructurings, insolvency proceedings and cross-border restructuring and insolvency matters. In addition, he serves actively on a number of boards of directors and committees.
Roberto R. Pupo, parter, Holland & Knight’s Miami
Roberto R. Pupo is an attorney in Holland & Knight’s Miami office and co-chair of the South Florida Corporate, M&A and Securities Practice Group, as well as co-chair of the Latin America Practice Group. He has substantial experience in complex domestic and international mergers and acquisition matters, corporate financings, joint ventures and cross-border transactions. Mr. Pupo represents large U.S., Canadian, European and Latin American corporations, private equity and venture capital funds, corporate groups and family offices in a wide range of corporate transactions, cross-border acquisitions, joint ventures and affiliations, including health care and managed care transactions. He is also a frequent speaker on a wide range of legal industry matters.
Paola Frettlohr, head of legal Mexico, WeWork
As the Head of Legal at WeWork in Mexico, Paola Frettlohr leads the legal, corporate, and regulatory strategy for the country’s leading flexible workspace platform. In her current role, she focuses on driving nationwide business growth, structuring complex commercial transactions, and managing corporate governance in a highly dynamic market.
Bridging experience in top-tier international law firms like Jones Day and Creel with in-house leadership in disruptive sectors—including her previous tenure as Head of Legal at the proptech startup Clau (formerly Flat.mx) —Paola is recognized for her agile, business-enabling mindset. Her contributions as a strategic legal partner has been recognized by The Legal 500 GC Powerlist Mexico. She holds an LLB from Universidad Iberoamericana and a Master’s in Law & AI from the Brussels Study Center (BSC).
Javier Barrera Gazcón, general counsel, Nexxus Capital
Javier is a Partner and General Counsel at Nexxus. Before joining the firm in 2021, Javier spent nine years at Ritch, Mueller y Nicolau, S.C., where his practice focused on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and financing transactions. Javier received his law degree from Universidad Iberoamericana in 2014 and holds an LL.M. from Columbia University. He also worked as an international associate in the New York office of Proskauer Rose LLP.