Team size: Two in-house IP specialists, two legal interns, and eight top-tier external law firms.

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 times of instability or crisis, my legal strategy is rooted in integrity, compliance, and alignment with Sigma’s core purpose: Delicious Food for a Better Life. I prioritise transparent decision-making, proactive risk management, and close collaboration with business leaders to ensure legal actions support operational continuity and long-term resilience. Embedding compliance and ethics in every process allows Sigma to adapt quickly, protect its assets, and maintain stakeholder trust, ensuring growth remains ethical and sustainable.

What are the major cases or transactions you have been involved in recently?
When four relevant competitors launched products imitating Sigma’s distinctive packaging, I led a coordinated enforcement strategy. Managing external counsel, market surveillance, and evidence, we demonstrated distinctiveness and consumer confusion. As a result, we obtained favourable rulings from authorities that set legal precedent on the distinctiveness, relevance, and protectability of food packaging design, recognising the creative development behind it.

These rulings confirmed that packaging reflects innovation and consumer experience, deserving IP protection. By defending our rights, Sigma not only preserved its position but also promoted the true purpose of IP law: encouraging all competitors to innovate in Mexico. In developing economies, innovation drives industry investment, fuels economic growth, and benefits consumers—making intellectual property vital for national development.

In the past three years, I have led IP due diligence and integration for major global acquisitions, ensuring that the most valuable intangible assets are fully protected and assigned to Sigma in every jurisdiction. I am responsible for FUD® (USD $1,000M annually) and sixteen brands each worth USD $100M annually, which presents daily challenges—especially in preventing trademark squatting worldwide. My role is critical to safeguarding Sigma’s leadership and enabling expansion.

Additionally, I trained over 100 IMPI inspectors in trademark and design enforcement, strengthening IP protection across Mexico and supporting our growth.

I recently led a global compliance assessment on competition law in response to significant national regulatory changes.

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company?
Sustainability is one of Sigma’s strategic pillars and is deeply linked to our purpose, Delicious Food for a Better Life. Sigma has a dedicated sustainability team leading initiatives in climate action, circular economy, and responsible sourcing. My contribution focuses on ensuring that all these innovations and collaborations are protected, defended, and optimally leveraged through intellectual property.

I work closely with R&D and sustainability teams to identify protectable developments, protect eco-efficient technologies, and secure trademarks and designs that reflect our responsible product evolution. My role ensures that each innovation—from renewable energy projects and packaging redesigns to sustainable product formulations—is legally protected as a long-term competitive advantage.

By using IP as a mobiliser of sustainability, I help transform environmental and social innovation into lasting business value. For Sigma, protecting sustainability-driven innovation is both a legal imperative and a reflection of who we are: a company that grows responsibly, with integrity at its core.