Career Biography
Team size:  5  

José Tomás Palacios is a highly accomplished corporate lawyer with extensive experience leading legal teams in complex, multinational organizations across Latin America and beyond. His career spans private practice, government service, and senior in-house counsel positions, consistently marked by leadership in corporate governance, M&A, financing, and regulatory matters.

He obtained his law degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in 2010 and was admitted to practice in Chile in 2011. In 2015, he earned an LL.M. from Columbia Law School in New York as a Fulbright Scholar, reinforcing his international legal expertise.

José Tomás began his professional career at Barros & Errázuriz and later at Carey, one of Chile’s leading law firms, where he specialized in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and international transactions. During this period, he advised both domestic and multinational corporations on complex deals and regulatory issues.

Between 2012 and 2014, he served as Advisor to President Sebastián Piñera, where he played a direct role in shaping public policies and government programs in areas such as social development, environmental law, indigenous law, and labor law. He also participated in the Investment Acceleration Committee, addressing barriers to major mining and energy projects, gaining valuable experience in high-level government negotiations and regulatory strategy.

In 2015, José Tomás transitioned to the corporate sector as Chief Legal Officer of Inmobiliaria Aconcagua S.A., a leading real estate developer and subsidiary of SalfaCorp. He led the company’s legal team, oversaw financing and development of large-scale projects, and managed M&A transactions. In 2018, he was promoted to Corporate General Counsel of SalfaCorp S.A., Chile’s largest engineering and construction company. There, he directed a team of over a dozen lawyers and paralegals, advised on corporate and financial legal matters, served as secretary to the Board of Directors and multiple committees, and represented the company across its diverse international operations.

In 2022, José Tomás assumed the role of Corporate General Counsel of SM SAAM S.A., a publicly traded Chilean multinational and the leading towage operator in the Americas. Under his leadership, the legal team successfully navigated one of the company’s most transformative periods. SAAM experienced significant inorganic growth through acquisitions in Canada, Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador, and in 2022 signed a landmark US$1.1 billion agreement with Hapag-Lloyd for the sale of its port terminals and logistics businesses. Balancing these high-profile M&A transactions with the day-to-day operational needs of subsidiaries across 13 countries demanded extraordinary coordination and legal expertise. José Tomás emphasised a team-driven approach, highlighting the contributions of his colleagues as instrumental to the success of these processes.

Throughout his career, José Tomás has combined deep technical legal knowledge with a pragmatic and strategic vision, positioning legal departments as trusted partners in value creation and growth.

During the last year, SAAM’s legal team, under his leadership, has focused on strengthening internal processes and legal compliance, preparing capabilities for upcoming organic and inorganic growth.