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

One of the most complex and high-stakes matters we handled recently was a litigation process to recover 1.600 m. owed to Unilever by an insurance company. The complexity of this case stemmed from the fact that it touched the very core of our multinational business model. We had to translate the intricacies of our day-to-day operations into a legal narrative that could withstand both arbitral and judicial scrutiny. This required a deep dive into how our business operates, and a strategic effort to align legal arguments with commercial realities. Internally, there was a strong recovery expectation, which added pressure and visibility to the case. We also successfully concluded a decade-long compliance process with the Chilean Competition Authority (FNE), related to a settlement agreement. This required sustained legal oversight, cross-functional coordination, and a long-term commitment to regulatory excellence.

Another key milestone was the legal leadership of the sale of a historic Unilever property in Quinta Normal, Santiago, for over 8.000 m. This transaction involved complex negotiations, regulatory approvals, and strategic alignment with our asset optimisation goals along a great exposure due to the reputational impact for the company.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

As head of legal for Unilever Chile, with over 13 years of experience and a long-standing leadership role, I have guided the company through multiple crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019 social unrest in Chile, and more recently, a full organisational reshape under a new global structure. This included managing all legal aspects of the transformation, as well as adapting to evolving business models and operational frameworks.

In these moments, my approach is grounded in four pillars: deep business understanding, flexibility, alignment with strategic objectives, and a global end-to-end operational view. Legal must not only ensure compliance but also provide clarity and confidence to the organisation.

A key part of this is understanding the pain points of different stakeholders, managing expectations, and, above all, helping the organisation navigate uncertainty by reducing anxiety and risks. Legal must act as a stabilising force, translating complexity into actionable guidance and ensuring that the company feels protected and supported at every step.

AI has been taken seriously as a potentially revolutionary technological change in the legal world for a number of years now. Has it had a meaningful impact in how your legal team works in this time?

Yes, AI has had a meaningful impact on how our legal team operates, not only in the tools we use, but in how we think, collaborate, and deliver value.

At Unilever Chile, AI has begun to reshape our legal function in tangible ways. We’ve implemented AI-powered tools for contract review, document automation, and legal research, which have significantly improved the speed and consistency of routine processes. This has allowed us to redirect our time and focus toward higher-value strategic work.

Beyond operational efficiency, AI has also influenced our mindset. It has encouraged us to reimagine the legal team not just as a risk gatekeeper, but as a business enabler, one that uses technology to anticipate risks, support decision-making, and scale legal insight across the organisation.

We have taken deliberate steps to ensure responsible adoption. In 2024, we led internal training sessions on the legal implications of generative AI, including data protection, IP, and regulatory risks. We also introduced internal governance protocols requiring all AI-related projects to be registered and assessed for legal and ethical compliance.

Additionally, we’ve embedded AI governance into our commercial agreements, requiring prior legal approval for any AI tools used by third parties and including contractual safeguards around data use and confidentiality.

This approach reflects Unilever’s global vision of AI as a force for good, one that empowers people, drives productivity, and is governed by strong ethical principles. For us, AI is not about replacing human judgment, but about enhancing it.

Looking forward, what trends do you foresee in the legal landscape over the next 5–10 years that companies should prepare for?

Over the next five to ten years, one of the most transformative shifts in the legal landscape will be the rise of agentic AI.

Unlike current models that require human prompts to execute tasks, agentic AI will be capable of operating autonomously, setting goals, making complex decisions, and adapting to context. This will fundamentally change how we conceive legal work, from contract management and compliance to dispute resolution and strategic advisory.

For legal teams, this will demand a deep evolution in skills, governance, and mindset. Companies should prepare to redefine roles and capabilities, with lawyers shifting from task executors to strategic supervisors of intelligent systems, strengthen technology governance with robust ethical, contractual, and regulatory frameworks being essential to manage autonomous AI responsibly and integrate AI into the legal operating model, not as a standalone tool, but as a structural component of legal service delivery.

At Unilever Chile, we are already taking steps in this direction, exploring how AI can enhance the legal function as a business enabler, helping us anticipate risks, accelerate decisions, and deliver value at scale. Agentic AI won’t replace human judgment, but it will expand it. Those who learn to combine both will be best positioned to lead the transformation.