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Personal bio and in-house history

I hold a law degree (1999) and a master’s degree in international commerce law (2001), both from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. From a career standpoint, I have spent more than 27 years in-house, building my career exclusively within multinational organisations across the manufacturing, consumer products and industrial sectors. This experience has given me a broad commercial, regulatory and business perspective.

I began my career at Carrier Mexico as a Contracts Attorney before joining Industrias AlEn as Corporate and Industrial Property Attorney. I later moved to Mars as Legal Manager and then to Navistar Mexico, where I held several positions, culminating in the role of Legal, Compliance and Government Relations Director for global operations outside the United States and Canada. I subsequently served as Legal Director for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean at Honeywell.

Since 2020, I have been General Counsel for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean at General Motors, where I lead legal and compliance across a complex and highly regulated region. I also co-lead the Generations pillar of General Motors de México’s Inclusion and Diversity Committee and the Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence for General Motors’ International Law Department.

What are the main cases or transactions in which you and your team have recently been involved?

I am focused on building a more strategic, efficient and technology-enabled Legal & Compliance function for General Motors de México. Our priorities include strengthening team structure and performance; advancing AI governance, adoption and process automation across Mexico and GM International; modernising regulatory compliance—including AML, environmental and product compliance—through AI-enabled systems and dashboards; reducing legal exposure arising from active litigation and managing legal-spend risk; and improving core legal operations, including contract management, corporate secretary activities and local corporate compliance.

In parallel, my team and I have supported labour and union strategy, strategic vehicle-export transactions and compliance communications across the business. Collectively, these efforts advance risk mitigation, process improvement, cost avoidance and organisational capability building, while delivering significant year-on-year results, savings and measurable cost-avoidance benefits.

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?

During periods of instability or crisis, I apply a risk-based, business-oriented approach: rapidly assessing the situation, prioritising exposures, establishing practical response protocols and maintaining clear communication with leadership and key stakeholders. The immediate objective is to protect people, operations, assets and reputation while preserving business continuity and minimising legal and regulatory risk.

Legal & Compliance is integrated into business planning and decision-making—not limited to reactive support. We leverage technology, AI-enabled tools, dashboards and automation to enhance visibility, accelerate escalation and strengthen compliance monitoring, while reinforcing team capability, contract management, corporate compliance and legal-spend discipline. This alignment supports disciplined growth, operational efficiency and resilience, enabling the organisation to navigate uncertainty, remain agile and emerge stronger from disruption.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

In my opinion, the most important attributes of modern in-house counsel are sound judgement, business orientation and the ability to translate legal risks into practical, timely solutions. Counsel must be proactive, resilient and comfortable operating in uncertainty while communicating clearly and building trust with leadership, colleagues, regulators and other stakeholders.

Strategic thinking, strong prioritisation and a focus on protecting people, operations, assets and reputation are equally essential. In addition, modern counsel should be technologically capable and curious—using AI, data, dashboards and automation to improve visibility, efficiency, compliance and decision-making. Above all, in-house counsel must enable the business to move forward responsibly while strengthening long-term organisational resilience.

What do you think is the greatest innovation you have enacted in the past year?

Since joining General Motors de México, my most significant contribution has been repositioning Legal & Compliance from a primarily reactive function into an integrated, data-driven and technology-enabled business partner. By advancing the responsible use of AI, dashboards, automation and standardised processes, I have improved risk visibility, accelerated decision-making, strengthened compliance monitoring and increased operational efficiency.

This transformation is not technology for its own sake. It enables Legal & Compliance to anticipate risks, support the business more effectively, deploy resources responsibly and deliver greater strategic value while reinforcing governance and organisational resilience.