About

Karla Gross Veras is an experienced in-house counsel and compliance officer within multinational corporations at a local and regional level. As the regional legal director for Colgate-Palmolive Dominican Republic, she runs a fully dedicated legal resource for the Caribbean region, working as a key strategic member of the business team and sitting within the Greater Caribbean leadership team. Under her lead the legal department provides advice regarding legal processes and the interpretation enforcement of regional laws and corporate policies and guidelines. Gross has developed and increased the legal department’s business acumen, fully knowing the business is a key part of succeeding in an in-house position. As well as taking a more proactive approach to legal spend management, Gross has also been responsible for introducing self-service documents and standardised templates. This has had a business-boosting effect of saving both time and money. Her remit has entailed a variety of interdisciplinary work, ‘Colgate is a globally successful company that has caring, team working and continues improvement values and it also enjoys an excellent reputation as an employer. In summary, my career has been a result of turning challenging developments and opportunities that are consistent with my passions and interests’, shares Gross. Prior to her current role she served as legal and compliance officer for Dominican Republic and compliance officer for Panama, giving legal advice and support to the Dominican business. Gross also served as the legal coordinator for Unilever’s greater Caribbean department from 2004 to 2011.