Team size: 28

Major legal advisors: Kincaid Mendes Vianna; Reis Braun e Regueira; Machado Meyer

Jurisdictions your role covers: Brasil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

Working in a multinational company with a strong global footprint is both rewarding and challenging. It exposes the legal team to a wide range of matters that vary from routine day‑to‑day support to highly complex strategic legal work that underpins large‑scale investments capable of reshaping the company’s direction. Among the most significant matters our team has been involved in recently, we can highlight the negotiation of transportation contracts for oversized components and large structural modules for a major industrial plant to be built in Brazil. This project is confidential and has required more than three years of intensive multidisciplinary studies. It involved the development of a comprehensive technical and legal strategy to ensure that the final commercial and operational design could be approved with a balanced allocation of risks and obligations between the contracting parties.

In parallel, the legal department also supported the company’s organic investment initiatives aimed at expanding its asset base and business operations this year, including the enhancement and growth of existing assets. In addition, the team played a key role in supporting the business in competitive bidding processes for strategic port‑infrastructure assets that could reshape the country’s logistics dynamics, engaging closely with technical, operational, and regulatory stakeholders as part of the Group’s long‑term growth strategy.

In addition, the team continues to manage a very substantial litigation portfolio – exceeding 3,000 active cases – covering both routine and specialized disputes arising from the company’s activities. These cases, in many ways, contribute to the continuity and legal certainty of the business.

A major milestone in 2025 was the significant reduction of legal contingencies following final and favorable decisions issued by higher courts, confirming several legal theories advocated by the company over the years.

How is your organisation adapting to the rapid evolution of data protection, AI governance and cybersecurity requirements in Brazil?

Our organization has been proactively strengthening its governance framework to keep pace with Brazil’s evolving regulations in these issues. In practice, this means operating with an increasingly integrated model where Legal, Compliance, Technology and Operational teams work together from the design stage of new products and processes. We have enhanced our LGPD compliance structure, reinforced data lifecycle controls, and embedded privacy-by-design principles across the business. As AI technologies evolve, we are implementing AI governance standards aligned with global Maersk policies, ensuring transparency, risk classification and responsible-use guidelines for all tools deployed locally. From a cybersecurity standpoint, we have expanded employee awareness programmes and invested in continuous monitoring and incident‑response capabilities. We continuously update internal policies and training so that our teams, systems and processes remain ready to adapt to new regulatory or technological developments.

What strategies has your legal team adopted to manage disputes and mitigate risks in Brazil’s dynamic business environment?

We have adopted a preventive and data‑driven legal strategy, with strong emphasis on early risk identification and alignment with the business. This includes close partnership with commercial and operational teams to anticipate potential friction points, improve contract governance, and design clearer customer communication channels – which has proven to significantly reduce litigation exposure. For existing disputes, we use a portfolio‑based management approach, prioritizing efficiency, predictability, and consistent legal positions across the region. We also created an internal cell in the Legal Department, to use negotiation mechanisms pre-litigation whenever they offer a better route to avoid litigation, protect the company’s interests and preserve customer relationships. Additionally, we are investing heavily in Legal Ops, strengthening automation, analytics and dashboarding capabilities to give the business real‑time visibility over risks, trends, and root causes. We regularly distribute contingency reports and internal KPI monitoring reports to the board of directors, as a way to update the business on what has been handled by the team. This approach enables faster and more accurate decision‑making in a complex market like Brazil.

How have economic fluctuations, exchange‑rate volatility or supply‑chain pressures in 2026 influenced your legal priorities?

Working for a multinational company like Maersk – one that faces complex challenges every day, both nationally and internationally – means operating in an environment where volatility is the norm. This context requires the legal function to remain agile, forward‑looking and deeply connected to the business. Economic and operational pressures in 2026 have required the legal function to be even more agile and closely connected to the business. Exchange‑rate volatility, international bunker variation, and changes in demand patterns have increased the importance of contractual resilience, prompting us to reinforce review protocols for pricing mechanisms, adjustment clauses, and allocation of risks related to supply chain disruptions. We have also prioritized scenario‑based legal assessments to help the commercial teams navigate uncertainty while protecting Maersk’s financial and operational exposure. This includes closer monitoring of regulatory developments affecting maritime transport, ports, and logistics, ensuring the company remains compliant and competitive. Finally, economic pressure has accelerated our efforts to simplify processes, improve turnaround times and leverage technology so that the legal function continues delivering high‑value support even in a challenging environment.