Team size: Eleven

Major legal advisors: PLMJ, CMS, VdA 

Jurisdictions your role covers: Portugal, Chile and Mozambique

In what ways does your legal function contribute to international business strategy, transformation or growth, beyond traditional compliance or risk mitigation? 

Beyond its traditional role in compliance and risk management, REN’s legal function is deeply embedded in the company’s international business strategy, acting as a strategic enabler of transformation and long-term growth. 

The legal team works closely with the board, executive committee and business units to anticipate regulatory change at European level and translate it into actionable strategic options. This includes active involvement in the design of cross-border infrastructure projects, regulatory engagement with national and EU institutions, and the structuring of complex partnerships that support REN’s positioning in the evolving European energy market. 

A key example is REN’s role in the development of hydrogen and renewable gas infrastructure, including its positioning within emerging European hydrogen corridors. The legal function has been instrumental in navigating new EU regulatory frameworks, supporting the designation and governance models for hydrogen network operators, structuring investment and cooperation models, and ensuring regulatory and compliance readiness in a highly dynamic environment. 

In parallel, the legal team plays a central role in supporting digitalisation, sustainability and resilience initiatives, including regulatory aspects of network expansion, cybersecurity, ESG and energy transition policies. By combining deep regulatory expertise with strategic and commercial insight, REN’s legal function actively contributes to shaping the company’s growth path in an increasingly integrated and competitive European energy landscape. 

How do you structure relationships with internal stakeholders and external counsel across different jurisdictions to ensure effective collaboration and decision‑making? 

I structure relationships with internal stakeholders and external counsel around clarity of roles, early engagement and trust, with a strong focus on enabling informed and timely decision‑making. 

Internally, the legal function operates as a strategic partner to the business rather than as a downstream control function. We invest in close, ongoing relationships with the board, executive committee and key operational teams, ensuring legal input is brought in at an early stage of strategic initiatives. Advice is framed in commercial and strategic terms, with a clear articulation of options, risks and recommended paths forward, which is particularly important when supporting complex decisions at board level. 

When working with external counsel across different jurisdictions, I adopt a hub‑and‑spoke approach. The internal legal team retains strategic ownership of matters, defining scope, priorities and decision points, while relying on trusted external advisers for local law expertise or highly specialised topics. My background in international private practice has been instrumental in setting clear expectations with external counsel, fostering efficient collaboration, and ensuring advice is concise, business‑focused and aligned with the client’s risk appetite. 

Across jurisdictions, consistency and communication are essential. Regular alignment, clear escalation lines and an emphasis on judgment rather than volume of advice help ensure that legal input supports, rather than slows down, strategic execution in a multinational and fast‑moving environment. 

How do you see the role of Portugal‑based corporate counsel with international mandates evolving over the next few years?

Over the next few years, the role of Portugal‑based corporate counsel with international mandates will continue to evolve from jurisdiction‑focused legal advisers into strategic connectors between local regulatory realities and global decision‑making. 

As regulation, particularly in areas such as energy, sustainability, digitalisation and governance, becomes increasingly driven at European level, corporate counsel based in Portugal are well positioned to combine deep knowledge of EU regulatory frameworks with a pragmatic understanding of local implementation. This creates an opportunity to play a more influential role in shaping strategic choices, rather than simply validating them from a legal perspective. 

At the same time, the expectation from international leadership teams and boards is shifting. There is growing demand for legal advice that is concise, commercially grounded and focused on outcomes, integrating legal risk with strategic, financial and reputational considerations. Counsel with international experience and a strong understanding of board dynamics will be particularly well placed to meet this expectation. 

Operating from Portugal also requires corporate counsel to be increasingly proactive and confident in international forums, ensuring that geographic location does not translate into reduced visibility or influence. Ultimately, the role will be defined less by where counsel is based and more by their ability to act as a trusted strategic adviser, capable of navigating complexity across jurisdictions and translating it into clear, actionable guidance for global decision‑makers.