Head of legal | Yanbal
Lorena Hurtado Céspedes
Head of legal | Yanbal
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?
Bolivia is currently facing a period of economic instability. One of the most pressing issues is the shortage of foreign currency, which complicates international transactions due to the lack of U.S. dollars in the country. In response, the Legal department has studied the new regulations on cryptocurrencies and explored their application in our commercial transactions. We have also worked on drafting strong contractual clauses to enable indexation using cryptocurrencies.
In line with this, to strengthen profitability and support sales, a fundamental factor for the company, we work closely with the commercial area to ensure that business strategies are implemented within a safe and compliant legal framework. In this way, the Legal department becomes a facilitator of growth and resilience for the business.
What role does the legal department play in promoting and ensuring corporate social responsibility in your organisation?
The legal department plays a key role in driving corporate social responsibility. Part of my role as head of legal is to lead sustainability initiatives, which form an integral part of Yanbal Bolivia’s CSR strategy. Among the projects I have led is Mujer es Poder (“Women are Power”), through which we have graduated three classes of 40 women each, including girls, adolescents, and young women in vulnerable situations. These participants received training focused on personal and economic empowerment, equipping them with the tools to strengthen their self-esteem and pursue greater independence.
This project also engaged our corporate staff, raising awareness of the importance of supporting initiatives with social impact. Additionally, every year we organise internal campaigns to raise awareness about the fight against gender-based violence, reinforcing our commitment to equality and to building a fairer society.