Team Size: 6

What are the most significant cases, projects, and/or transactions that you and/or your legal team have been involved in recently?

Over the past year, we have led two major, interrelated projects as part of our broader strategy for digital business transformation and operational efficiency. From the Legal Department, our primary focus was to ensure legal certainty, data protection, and sustainability—addressing key issues related to jurisdiction, taxation, distribution, confidentiality, processes, and regulatory compliance throughout the project lifecycle.

These efforts involved a complex contractual overhaul that laid the legal foundation for a more robust digital infrastructure. As a result, the company now benefits from more accurate data, more agile processes, and a better-integrated distribution network—achievements made possible through strategic legal guidance embedded in every stage of the transformation.

How do you manage legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure organisational resilience?

During times of instability or crisis, we prioritise clear and consistent communication with critical business functions to ensure swift, well-aligned responses. We implement fast-track review protocols for contracts and internal policies and bolster legal training for operational leaders—empowering them to anticipate and manage emerging risks while maintaining business continuity.

One core component of our approach is the Compliance Committee, through which we assess critical issues from a multidisciplinary perspective, ensuring alignment with ethical standards and regulatory obligations. We also maintain active engagement with regulators and key stakeholders, including employees, trade unions, and industry bodies, promoting open, constructive dialogue.

In this environment, the Legal team plays a dual role—not only ensuring compliance but also acting as an enabler of innovative, market-aligned solutions. We strive to propose disruptive, forward-thinking alternatives that help the business adapt rapidly to complex scenarios while upholding fair market practices.

Our approach centres on risk prevention, reputation protection, and organisational resilience, always grounded in the legal framework and the company’s core values.

What strategies do you employ to ensure a successful digital transformation of the legal department while maintaining compliance with your country’s data protection laws?

We have implemented a number of digital tools for document management and the automation of key legal processes, which has significantly improved the efficiency, consistency, and traceability of our operations. These tools also allow us to evaluate KPIs more effectively and communicate our team’s activities and value-add across the organisation.

Importantly, we have structured and centralised our internal data collection to better serve our internal clients—always in compliance with Law 172-13 on the Protection of Personal Data in the Dominican Republic, and aligned with international standards such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Our approach includes data protection impact assessments, specific contractual clauses with tech providers, and robust internal privacy policies.

This digital transformation is further supported by the adoption of Nestlé’s global data protection and retention policies, ensuring a uniform approach to compliance. Additionally, we conduct regular training sessions and crisis management simulations in collaboration with our IT team, helping to build a culture of awareness, preparedness, and accountability.

What factors influence your team’s decision to use external legal services instead of handling matters internally, and what criteria do you use to evaluate their performance?

We engage external legal counsel when matters require a high degree of specialisation—such as international tax, intellectual property, or complex litigation that falls beyond our internal team’s capacity or expertise. We also assess the current workload and the need for agility in delivering legal solutions without compromising on quality.

To evaluate external counsel, we consider several key factors: the technical soundness of their advice, their ability to meet deadlines, their alignment with our compliance and ethical standards, and whether their solutions are practical and tailored to our business context.

We particularly value external advisors who are not only technically strong but who act as true strategic partners—those who understand our organisational culture, collaborate closely with our internal teams, and proactively contribute to business decisions. This partnership-based model helps us maintain a legal strategy that is both robust and fully aligned with our corporate objectives.