Team size: three

Major legal advisers: Hunton Andrews Kurth and Facio Canas

What are the most significant cases or transactions you and your team have been involved in?

Given the nature of our business, we constantly deal with distribution agreements, terminations, and re-negotiations; the latter is the most challenging, especially because in central America and the Caribbean region, the legislation is very protective and does not allow us to move as fast as we would like to. We continually ask ourselves how we can improve the connection with our customers and deliver more quality — our consumers are our priority, and we aim at providing them with the best service. However, we are often challenged by old agreements that prevent us from bringing changes. Nevertheless, we are strongly present within the region, and we keep on working in order to find opportunities to grow. Additionally, we deal with lots of taxes and tariffs concerns — alcoholic beverages are under tougher scrutiny from the government, giving the misconceptions that surround the brand. We are deeply engaged with overcoming those old conceptions and obtain the same trading rights as other beverages.

Which recent political, economic, or regulatory changes have impacted the company and the team the most?

We were impacted by Covid-19, especially in terms of our supply chain. We have been deeply engaged in finding alternative solutions and preventing those disruptions from affecting as again. We are also incredibly involved in environmental and safety governance, to prevent universal pollution. We aim at the protection of our brand; therefore, we are committed to make responsible choices when we select who to do business with and in which territories. We have just recently started a campaign aimed at recycling bottles.

What do you think are the biggest risks facing your industry now and how are you preparing your team and organization to deal with them?

I am convinced that the biggest risks that face our industry concern health conditions. It is crucial to have robust policies in terms of production to avoid that goods are damaged or produced in a non-conventional way that could affect our consumers. Responsibility and sustainability of the processes to safeguard customers are necessary in our sector. Additionally, we also campaign for responsible drinking, because we want our products to be enjoyed and not abused. A great challenge we are facing concerns high taxes, caused by illicit import from outsiders that act illegally not paying the government. It will likely cause tougher restrictions and control for the future to come.