Legal Manager for Colombia and LSP (Cluster Chile, Perú and Ecuador) | GlaxoSmithKline
Pedro Nicolás Aguilar Herrera
Legal Manager for Colombia and LSP (Cluster Chile, Perú and Ecuador) | GlaxoSmithKline
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?
By understanding the business’s strengths, areas for improvement, priorities, strategies, the people behind the different business areas, and the ecosystem, the legal team can add significant value. We can identify opportunities for timely training, adaptation, and proactive approaches, all while supporting the business in maintaining its focus. Additionally, in my experience, the legal team can serve as a connector between the different strategic areas and internal stakeholders. This not only enables innovation and flexibility from a risk management perspective, but also prevents business paralysis.
It’s important to recognise that the legal team can have a positive and significant impact during times of instability or crisis by being a reliable and trusted ally for the business. This is maximised from a people-oriented legal role, allowing the legal area to be seen as an integral part of the business rather than a distant structure. When there is trust, proper legal advice can be provided from the inception of a new strategy, allowing for smart risk approaches aligned with the relevant legal and corporate framework.
What are the major cases or transactions you have been involved in recently?
In complex environments like Latin America, I have been involved in several major legal initiatives. These include rethinking the business contractual model to allow for greater flexibility and efficiency in the current business environment, participating in competition risk assessments across Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru to gain a deeper understanding of the business and identify key areas for synergy and risk mitigation, and exploring new business initiatives such as omnichannel and AI.
In your opinion, what are the main trends that are salient in your country currently (these can be legal, political, economy or business-based)?
In Colombia, the changes in the healthcare system and new rules for engagement between different actors bring both challenges and opportunities. Furthermore, it is essential to closely monitor and understand the legal, regulatory, and political landscape. Trends in data privacy legislation in Latin American countries, as well as changes to pension and labor law systems in Colombia, are particularly important to keep an eye on.
