Brazil 2024
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
Legal director, head of legal commerce Brasil (marketplace and shipping) | Mercado Livre
Executive legal director and chief compliance officer - Latin America | Bridgestone Brazil
Assistant general counsel, Latin America | Microsoft
Executive vice president, corporate and external affairs | Vale
Legal and corporate compliance director for Latin America | Volvo Brazil
Chief of legal operations | Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras – Eletrobras
Legal director and company secretary | Vivo (Telefônica Brasil)
Vice president, M&A, legal, compliance and governance | BRF
Vice president corporate affairs and regulation | AES Brasil
Head of legal and tax department | Camil Alimentos
Executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer | Embraer
Legal director for Brazil, Venezuela, Central America and the Caribbean | Johnson & Johnson
Executive legal director and organizational culture PMO | Minerva Foods
Vice president and general counsel | The Coca-Cola Company
Head of legal for East Coast of South America | Maersk Group
Group chief legal and compliance officer and general counsel | Natura & Co
Head of legal deparment | Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras – Eletrobras
Legal director, compliance officer and data protection officer | Equatorial Energia
Director of legal, governance, risk and compliance | VLI Logística
Vice president, legal, general counsel | PepsiCo Brasil
Executive general counsel, Latin America | General Electric Aerospace
Legal manager | Cia Latino Americana de Medicamentos
Vice president of legal and business affairs | Warner Bros Discovery
Chief legal, ethics and compliance officer | Ambev
Executive legal director | Fiesp - Federação das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo
Vice-President, Legal, Government Affairs & Sustainability | Siemens
Legal affairs director for South America | Volkswagen Brazil
Vice president, legal, Brazil | Kinross Brasil Mineração
Director and associate general counsel for APAC and LATAM | Meta
General Counsel and head of compliance and audit for Latin America | Panasonic Latin America
Head of legal and compliance, Latin America and country manager, Brazil | Phillips
Latin America legal director | Archer Daniels Midland - ADM
Deputy general counsel for South America | Valeo
Vice president, legal and governance, and general counsel | Nexa Resources
Legal, governance and compliance director | Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio
Legal, government relations and compliance senior director | Mercado Livre
Chief legal and institutional relations officer | Localiza Rent a Car
Senior director, government and legal affairs, Latin America | Hasbro
General counsel and compliance officer | Generali Brasil Seguros
General counsel, governance, risk and compliance officer | Eneva
Regional general counsel for Latin America | Zurich Latin America Serviços Brasil
Legal, compliance, public policy and purchases director | Loggi Tecnologia
After the resounding success of the series return to Brazil last year, The Legal 500 is thrilled to introduce the GC Powerlist: Brazil 2024, our flagship publication dedicated to recognising and celebrating the exceptional accomplishments of the country’s top in-house lawyers.
The GC Powerlist showcases the remarkable contributions of corporate lawyers to businesses in Brazil. It stands as a testament to their expertise, leadership, and unwavering dedication to excellence. This year’s edition highlights outstanding achievements and innovative approaches as these professionals navigate the complexities of the Brazilian legal landscape, addressing issues such as technological advancements, business partnerships, the indispensable role of the GC in C-level management, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and more.
Within these pages, you will discover comprehensive profiles and exclusive interviews with the most influential and esteemed in-house lawyers from a variety of industries within Brazil. These leaders consistently showcase their talent for shaping legal procedures, managing risks, and offering strategic guidance to their organisations. Their achievements inspire the legal community, highlighting the significant impact that in-house lawyers have on their businesses’ strategies and success.
This research brings to light several key findings on the role of the in-house lawyer. Among them, is the growing indispensable role of the GC to their company’s C-level management and executives. As echoed by Valeria Camacho Martins Schmitke Ducatti, regional general counsel for Latin America at Zurich, “legal department has a mission of protection of the company and its executives, but is also [in] supporting and enabling […] legal department has to build bridges and relationships. We need to be constantly adding value to the business, presenting them creative solutions for implementing their projects in compliance with the law. […] That is what makes me choose to be an [in-house] lawyer.” Reinforcing this idea, Jose Virgilio Vita Neto, chief legal officer at Itaú Unibanco states that “at Itaú Unibanco lawyers and business executives work very close. The lawyers participate in all the relevant meetings and discussion regarding new transactions and the implementation of new products and features. We do not have (and feel that this would be counterproductive) a separate legal governance.”
Another particularly important takeaway from the development of this publication is the strong commitment many in-house lawyers have to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, considering them one of their primary business passions. As an example of the voice of many, Isabella Maciel de Sá, regional director at Abbott Laboratories shared that diversity and inclusion “has been one of my passions for a long time. I believe in creativity, in the best solutions for problems, and the innovative capabilities that only a diverse team can create. Becoming a leader capable of creating an inclusive environment that promotes a feeling of belonging, of purpose, and of well-being for all members of a team that is diverse in terms of gender, race, culture, sexual orientation, religion, age, technical and human competences is no easy task but it´s my personal objective as a team leader.” Another great testimony on this is provided by Ana Luiza V. Franco Forattini, chief legal at Inter, who declares a passion for contributing to “gender diversity; helping women be included and thrive in their challenges as their evolve in their careers [as well as] being involved in small programs that help underprivileged in Brazil.”
This publication delves into numerous other pertinent topics and challenges, offering exclusive discussions that we encourage you to explore. Here, you will uncover the extraordinary stories of these remarkable individuals as, through their experiences and insights, we provide a comprehensive overview of Brazil’s corporate legal landscape and the invaluable role played by in-house legal individuals.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude and congratulations to everyone featured in this publication for their invaluable contributions and for sharing their journeys with us. It is our pleasure to present this distinguished list of Brazil’s most exceptional, diligent, and celebrated in-house lawyers.
Francisco Faria e Castro | Senior research analyst | GC Powerlist Series
In today’s legal landscape, we cannot ignore the constant and significant changes we experience on a daily basis. These changes are particularly driven by technology and innovation, as well as the regulatory environment.
In such a challenging context, legal counsels are the ones who manage risks, understand the companies’ strategies and policies, and make the best decisions for them. It is a demanding and complex job.
As business partners, we must be prepared to quickly adapt to these transformations and continuously improve our processes and practices, always grounded in legal intelligence. This is essential to offering the best support to our clients, and managing resources efficiently and according to their needs.
We thank you for trusting us and for your partnership in another GC Powerlist Brazil. We also congratulate the GCs recognized this year and look forward to shaping the industry’s next steps together.
The Legal 500 was proud to host the third edition of the GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 at the Capitol Hotel Tokyu, honouring the top General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Directors, and senior in-house legal professionals operating at the highest level of Japan’s corporate legal landscape. Held in Tokyo, this year’s reception welcomed around 100 of the most respected and senior corporate counsel from across Japan. It was an unrivalled success, and cements Legal 500’s status as the leading force in legal media supporting the achievements of in-house counsel in Japan. The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 marks the continuation of our commitment to recognising excellence in-house, and this year’s edition represents the most competitive and selective list to date.
Joe Boswell, lead editor of the GC powerlist publication at The Legal 500, opened the evening with an introduction that reflected on the growing prestige of the Japan list. He emphasised how the Powerlist has grown stronger each year, both in scope and quality, making the task of selection more difficult. This year’s honourees emerged from a deeply competitive field, making their recognition even more meaningful.
Boswell extended heartfelt congratulations to all honourees and acknowledged the critical support of key partners and sponsors who made the evening possible. Special thanks were given to Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, JustLegal, and SS&C Intralinks for their generous sponsorship and ongoing collaboration.
In a moment of reflection, Joe paid tribute to Tim Mackey, chief legal officer at SoftBank, who sadly passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. Tim had contributed to the Powerlist in each of its three editions and was known not only for his exceptional legal acumen but also for his warmth and generosity.
The evening featured insightful remarks from distinguished speakers representing our partners and the broader legal community: Mischa Mulligan, Japan Director at SS&C Intralinks; Hiroki Kodate, Partner and Management Committee Member at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune; Jeremy White, Global Co-Chair of M&A for Morrison Foerster; and, representing those awarded in the Powerlist, Naoki Hamada, General Counsel for Japan at HSBC.
Each speaker provided reflections on legal innovation, leadership, and the evolving role of in-house counsel in Japan’s corporate landscape. Their remarks added valuable context to the achievements celebrated throughout the evening.
The formal awards segment celebrated this year’s GC Powerlist honourees. With assistance from long-time collaborator Isaac Uchiyama who read out awardees’ names, recipients were invited to collect their certificates, pose for photographs, and be formally recognised by their peers.
Certificates were presented on stage by Hiroki Kodate or Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Jeremy White of Morrison Foerster, whose participation further underlined the deep support of the Japanese and international legal communities.
The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 reception reaffirmed Legal 500’s commitment to spotlighting the very best of in-house legal talent. With record levels of interest and unmatched quality among candidates, the Japan edition continues to solidify its place as one of the most respected publications in the global GC Powerlist series.
We extend our sincere congratulations to all honourees and thank our partners, sponsors, and speakers for making the evening a success.
We look forward to returning to Tokyo again next year. As a parting gift, you can view Naoki Hamada’s excellent keynote address below, where he touches on a lot of issues and themes that many other GC, whatever country they operate in, will recognise:
‘Good evening, everyone. I am Naoki Hamada of HSBC. I am very pleased to be here speaking to you today. It is a great pleasure and honor, and at the same time, I feel a bit overwhelmed being surrounded by the busiest and most expensive lawyers in the industry—even if I know that nobody will be charging us for their time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Legal 500 for organizing such a great event, and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, SS&C Intralinks, and Just Legal for sponsoring and supporting it. And, huge congratulations on the recognition each of you is receiving, which is truly a great accomplishment and the result of your hard work and the accumulated trust the entire industry has placed in you.
It must be emphasized that this award is given only to general counsels. Being a general counsel means a lot more than just being a subject matter expert. You are a most reliable strategic partner for the business, and I am sure that you have distinguished yourself from the crowd by your ability to identify underlying risks, devise legal solutions, ensure the right processes and governance for corporate decisions, influence others, and educate the next generation of lawyers. This is what you are being recognized for.
Looking back on my career, I have been hugely helped by lawyers in other companies through various industry communities. When I joined the in-house world 12 years ago from a Japanese law firm, large international banks were all struggling with a huge wave of regulatory reform. Back then, I was relatively new to that particular area of finance, and my hiring was somewhat potential-based. Nonetheless, I was assigned to lead the regulatory reform efforts locally. My predecessor had left the bank before I joined, there was no sufficient handover, and I was completely lost as to what to do. What helped me most were the industry peer group discussions, where in-house counsels from major banks would get together to discuss common issues. I learned so much from what was discussed there and absorbed as much as I could. Without that network, I am sure that I wouldn’t have survived that time.
However, our situation today is far more difficult. The changes in the landscape we face today are unprecedented. Technological developments and the corresponding shifts in geopolitical and industrial landscapes are completely unpredictable, and the speed at which they happen is far faster than before. We might face a time that requires us to pivot, forcing us to redefine how we add value and rebuild the way we work. That is somewhat intimidating. But, I am confident that a way forward will be found through the collective wisdom and effort of the people in this room. I would like to be a part of that, and this network of people is enormously valuable and truly priceless.
Finally, let’s have a drink and celebrate our achievements for now – before your CEO calls asking you to join a call! Thank you so much.’
