Having had a presence in Argentina for over 80 years, Merck currently commands a dominant position in the local market for chemical drugs and biopharmaceuticals. The Argentine legal department at the company, led by dynamic lawyer Gonzalo Videla, provides general legal and compliance advice across the larger Southern Cone region of Latin America. Videla, who has served as a legal and compliance director at Merck for approximately five years, has overseen fundamental changes to the legal unit that have resulted in noticeable improvements to its work.

These include standardisation of work carried out in the department, simplification of certain procedures and automation of key processes. Besides demonstrating what nominators described as an ‘ability to work under pressure, resolve conflicts and work as a team’, under Videla’s leadership Merck’s Southern Cone legal department has impressed with its handling of corporate transactions, in particular, closing strategic partnerships with other pharmaceutical companies involving contracts that contain important legal and compliance content. The team in charge of legal support to Merck’s Animal Health Division in the Southern Cone region, which is headed by María Michel, has also received wide praise by nominators in this year’s research; sources highlighted its effective legal support and coverage of specific areas such as commercial, corporate, labour and M&A.