Chief legal and corporate affairs officer | D1
Silvia Juliana Rueda-Serrano
Chief legal and corporate affairs officer | D1
How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?
In periods of instability, we manage legal risks with composure, agility, and a strong business mindset. As Colombia’s leading retail company, with over 2,600 stores and 25,000 employees, our legal team plays a key role in supporting operations nationwide, ensuring continuity and minimising disruption.
A recent and significant evolution has been the integration of corporate affairs into the legal function, which I now lead. This includes crisis management and government relations. This broader mandate allows us to contribute more directly to the company’s strategic resilience — ensuring not only legal compliance but also proactive stakeholder engagement and effective crisis response.
Our legal strategy is fully aligned with the business: just as the company aims for operational excellence, we pursue legal and strategic excellence, delivering value through disciplined, cost-effective, and results-driven work.
What are the major cases or transactions you have been involved in recently?
While I cannot share specific details due to confidentiality, I can say that throughout my career I have led major national and international mergers and acquisitions, managing complex regulatory, operational, and cross-border challenges. These experiences have sharpened my ability to connect legal strategy with business priorities and long-term value creation.
More recently, my focus has been on the expansion and transformation of the legal department, which now also encompasses corporate affairs, government relations, and crisis management. This broader scope reflects the company’s trust in the legal function as a strategic pillar, and it has allowed me to reposition the role of General Counsel beyond legal risk management — toward active involvement in the company’s continuity and stakeholder engagement.
In line with this transformation, we have nearly tripled the size of our in-house legal team, developing new capabilities and bringing in talent with diverse and complementary expertise. We are proud to be a high-performance legal team — committed not only to legal excellence, but also to enabling the business through fast, effective, and value-driven support.
Our evolution from a traditional legal function to a trusted, cross-functional business partner continues to generate measurable impact across the organisation.
What emerging technologies do you see as having the most significant impact on the legal profession in the near future, and how do you stay updated on these developments?
Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, generative AI, legal automation platforms, and cybersecurity and data privacy tools are significantly reshaping the legal profession. These innovations are changing how legal departments deliver, manage, and scale their services — enabling greater efficiency, agility, and strategic impact.
At our company, we are a high-performance legal team, fully aligned with the broader business culture. We approach technology adoption not as a trend, but as a strategic enabler. These tools challenge us to evolve constantly — developing new capabilities, anticipating legal and regulatory risks, and offering creative, business-driven solutions.
To stay at the forefront, we promote continuous learning, participate in specialised courses, pilot tools through partnerships with tech providers, and ensure our team is hands-on in testing and deploying legal tech. When recruiting, we actively seek professionals with a strong affinity for technology and innovation.
Recently, I co-led a networking session with female legal leaders to discuss how AI is being applied in our teams in real, practical ways — sharing experiences, use cases, and lessons learned. I am also participating in the development and implementation of “D1ana,” our virtual legal assistant, created jointly by our legal and IT teams. D1ana helps automate responses to recurring internal legal queries, improving efficiency and allowing our team to focus on more strategic, high-impact work.
While these technologies offer tremendous value, legal expertise remains essential. It is our responsibility as legal professionals to ensure these tools are used ethically, effectively, and in full compliance with legal standards — reinforcing our value not only as advisors, but as trusted business partners.
How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?
Diversity and inclusion are core principles in how I lead. I have been fortunate to work in companies where equal opportunity is a reality, and I bring that commitment into our legal department every day.
I promote an open, transparent environment where everyone feels safe to express themselves and contribute authentically. Psychological safety and mutual respect are non-negotiable. I strongly believe that communication is the foundation of inclusion, and that leaders must model the behaviours they want to see — fairness, openness, and consistency.
This inclusive culture helps us attract and retain diverse talent, encourages innovation, and strengthens our collective impact across the organisation.