General counsel, director senior legal, regulatorio y compliance | Cable & Wireless Panamá
Legal, compliance and government relations manager NCA (Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras) | Samsung Electronics
Legal director | INCAE Business School
Angela is the current legal director of INCAE business school, a position she has held since 2019. Prior to that, from 2013 up until 2019 she was the regional director...
Senior legal counsel LADMAR - Panama | Procter & Gamble
Corporate lawyer | Grupo Arribada
Camila RodrÃguez Montero currently serves as a corporate lawyer for the Costa Rican-based holding company Grupo Arribada. Prior to joining the company in November 2022, Camila worked at well-respected law...
Corporate legal manager | Grupo HAME
Carlos RÃmola is a prominent figure at the Latin American agro-industrial company Grupo HAME, overseeing a variety of matters across several categories including corporate structure, contracts, real estate, M&A, commercial...
Gerente legal | Progreso
Carlos González Castellanos serves as the legal manager for Progreso, the largest cement and building materials player in Central America with operations in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama,...
Regional general counsel Mexico and Central America | Enel Green Power
Asesor gobierno corporativo y cumplimiento | Evolucion Corporativa
Gerente legal | CMI ALIMENTOS Costa Rica - Corporación Multi Inversiones
Legal manager | Grupo Cayalá
With over eight years of experience in the practice of law, Francisco has dedicated his career to specialising in corporate legal analysis to improve the functioning of the organisations for...
Legal director, legal-regulatory control and corporate secretary | Grupo Financiero Davivienda Costa Rica
Legal and compliance head for Central America and the Caribbean | Servier Pharmaceuticals
Legal director - Latam | MPC Capital
Gabriela Bergantino is the legal director, Latam at MPC Capital, manager and co-investor for real asset investments focusing on real estate, renewable energy, and shipping. Gabriela manages the renewable energy...
Legal regional manger tax controversy | Walmart de México y Centroamérica
Director of legal affairs Central America, Caribbean, Argentina and Uruguay | JCDecaux
Head of legal commercial operations Latin America for care enablement | Fresenius Medical Care
Directora senior de asesoria legal | Copa Airlines
Legal business partner PACA (Central America, Caribbean and Andean Region) | Bayer
Javier Madrigal is legal patents and compliance business partner at Bayer — a global enterprise with core competencies in the life sciences field of healthcare and agriculture. In his role,...
Chief legal officer | Claro CR Telecommunications
Executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary - AMLCA | BLADEX (Banco Latinoamericano De Comercio Exterior)
Jorge Luis Real serves as executive vice president – chief legal officer and corporate secretary. He joined Bladex as vice president, head of legal risk in 2014, was appointed secretary...
Corporate general counsel and corporate governance director | Corporación Multi Inversiones
General counsel, Central America and Caribbean | SUEZ
José is a senior lawyer with an outstanding career in the legal field and extensive experience in advising public entities and multinational companies on a variety of legal matters, including...
Latam regional legal affairs manager and compliance officer | Foundever
José Carlos Quesada Gonzalez is a lawyer with approximately 15 years of experience, primarily serving as legal counsel advising Latam Leadership Teams on issues related to business and organisational effectiveness....
Asesor jurÃdico, oficial de gobierno corporativo | Banco Promerica
Asesor departamento jurÃdico - jefe de sección | CervecerÃa Centro Americana
Legal and external affairs director and general counsel | Dole Tropical Products Latin America, Standard Fruit Company and Dole Shared Services
Vice president legal and compliance | Banco Agromercantil de Guatemala (Bam)
Legal and compliance head | Roche
Juan Ignacio Zamora Montes de Oca is the legal and compliance director of Roche Pharma CCAV (Central America, Caribbean, and Venezuela). He holds a Juris Doctor from Universidad Escuela Libre...
Senior vice president and general counsel | Citigroup
Julio Arjona is general counsel for Citibank, Panama Branch. He has worked with the bank for 20 years; starting out as legal counsel in the legal department. During his tenure,...
Legal and contracts manager | MRO Holdings
LucÃa Martin Méndez is the legal and contracts manager for the MRO Holdings group — a business that owns well-known companies in the aerospace sector, such as Aeroman and TechOps...
Legal director In Central America, South and the Carribbean | Grupo Roble
Legal regional director, corporate secretary and deputy CEO Costa Rica | Scotiabank de Costa Rica
Vice president legal department and general secretary | Banistmo
Asesora legal | E. Chamorro Industrial
Gerente legal de Centroamérica | Vitali Alimentos
Legal manager and compliance officer | Centro Distribuidor (CENDIS)
Director, legal affairs | EnergÃa del PacÃfico - Invenergy
Gerente legal | cbc (The Central America Bottling Corporation)
Subgerente de registros y litigios - representante judicial suplente | Banco Davivienda Salvadoreño
Legal director and assistant general counsel | Procter & Gamble
Managing assistant general counsel Latin America | Cargill
Michelle is a lawyer with more than 25 years of experience with a master’s degree in business administration from the University of San Pedro Sula, Honduras.  She joined Cargill’s law...
Head legal and corporate security | Walmart de México y Centroamérica
Executive vice president legal, chief legal officer and chief compliance officer | Integra Capital Group
Global trade compliance counsel and area general counsel, Latam, enterprise supply chain | 3M
Legal, ethics and compliance director Americas hub and Latam export markets | Haleon
Manager, legal affairs and data privacy officer Latam | Foundever
Ricardo Zúñiga works as manager, legal affairs and data protection officer Latam for Foundever, one of the largest and leading global BPOs. As part of his dual role, he handles...
Asesor legal area Centroamérica | Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos DÃas
Legal advisor Central America and Mexico | TransUnion
General counsel | Universidad Latina de Costa Rica y Universidad Americana
Legal and compliance manager for Central American and the Carribean | Kuehne + Nagel
Legal lead for North Latin America (Central America, Mexico, Caribbean and Venezuela) | Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Director senior legal corporativo | CMI-Corporación Multi Inversiones
Director legal | Cooperativa de Productores de Leche - Dos Pinos
Legal, ethics and compliance director | Novo Nordisk
Silvia Arce is a legal and compliance director with over 20 years of experience in the legal field. She has a degree in Law from the Universidad Internacional de las...
Global legal counsel north america and Latam | Unilever Central America
Asesor legal | Unity Willis Towers Watson
Tamara currently works as legal leader for Central America for WTW, one of the largest insurance brokers at the regional level, a leading global consulting and solutions company, with a...
Senior legal counsel Central America, Caribbean and Andean Region | Uber
Tamying is a business-focused corporate lawyer with outstanding experience working in large multinational companies with impact across the Latam region. He has extensive experience as an in-house counsel of several industries...
Vice president, head of compliance and data protection Americas | DHL Global Forwarding
President and executive director | CASEM -Cámara de Sedes de Empresas Multinacionales
Legal director Central America, Panama and The Caribbean and Andean Region (ACAC) | Uber
Legal counsel manager for Costa Rica and Mexico | Accenture
It is with great pleasure that I introduce The Legal 500’s highly anticipated GC Powerlist: Central America 2024. This publication serves as a tribute to the exceptional talents of the leading general counsel throughout Central America. Within these pages, we embark on an enlightening journey, exploring the ever-changing landscape, the evolving role of general counsel, and the transformative influence of technology on legal departments in today’s dynamic environment.
This edition of the GC Powerlist Central America is characterised by its diverse content: featured in-house lawyers offer unique perspectives, addressing specific questions and sharing personal journeys, which serve as a wellspring of inspiration for their peers.
A prominent theme that emerged from our research is the resilience of in-house lawyers in Central America amidst constant change. They demonstrate a readiness to embrace innovation and technology, adapting to new responsibilities that will shape the future role of the general counsel. Monica Polanco, head of the nearshore legal team at Cognizant, emphasises the need for adaptation: ‘The role of the in-house lawyer must be adjusted to various changes in the future derived from technological advances and market evolution. Internal legal departments must know the scope and consequences of the implementation of automation and artificial intelligence technologies to streamline tasks, in a way that allows lawyers to focus on more strategic and decision-making matters’. Similarly, Maira Serrano Prados, senior legal counsel at 3M Panama Pacifico, underscores the importance of strategic focus and technological support: ‘In-house lawyers continue to be partners of the business. Our role should focus more on being strategic and continuing to protect the company. I think that technology will be an ally for lawyers. Artificial intelligence will certainly make work easier on those tasks that are repetitive, which is good, as it will help us focus on what really matters in order to promote the growth of the business ’.
Amidst an environment marked by instability and volatility, general counsel recognise the importance of robust risk management and compliance measures. Marie Claire Palacios de Bauer at CENDINS said: ‘As the regulatory landscape continues to evolve around the world, legal professionals are likely to place greater emphasis on proactive compliance measures and programmes. This may involve a more integrated approach to risk management, including the use of advanced technologies. In addition, the broadening scope of corporate responsibility and the growing importance of ethical business practices may lead to a broader role for legal teams in guiding and implementing better compliance programmes in their organisations’.
Our Central America Powerlist features lawyers from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Many of the top general counsel in this edition offer insights into key developments and geopolitical dynamics in their respective countries. I invite you to delve into the stories and perspectives of Central America’s leading in-house lawyers showcased within these pages.
On behalf of The Legal 500, I extend sincere gratitude to all who generously contributed their time and insights during the research process. Congratulations to all featured in the 2024 edition of the GC Powerlist: Central America.
Sara Maggi | Deputy Editor The Legal 500 GC Powerlist Series
The Legal 500 hosted its first GC Powerlist event in Guatemala City on Thursday 15th of February 2024, in partnership with its long-term sponsoring firm, Arias. This marked a significant milestone as it was the first time the launch event took place in Guatemala, underscoring the region’s growing importance.
Leading general counsel recognised in this year’s powerlist gathered to celebrate their recognition and achievements.
Following insightful speeches by The Legal 500’s Global Business Development Manager, David Freeman, and a warm welcome from Arias’ Guatemalan partners, attendees had the opportunity to network and celebrate throughout the evening.
We express our heartfelt gratitude to the leading general counsel in Central America for the continued engagement during the research process each year. We also extend our appreciation to Arias for their unwavering support of the GC Powerlist Central America. We eagerly anticipate our return to the region in 2025, as we look forward to hosting next year’s event in another key jurisdiction in Central America.
