About

As legal director of the Colombian branch of one of the world’s most recognisable transnational companies, Hyundai, Katherine Silva is kept very busy. Her areas of competence include corporate issues like antitrust, trademark registration, contractual disputes, regulatory affairs and conflict resolution. Unsurprisingly, she encounters many challenges: ‘Changes in market conditions, and the lack of contractual obligations on contractors, has made the exercise of my profession a challenge,’ she says. However she is thankful as these challenges allow her to be ‘constantly learning’, have ‘direct and continuous contact with the economic activity of the company’ and allow her to ‘affect company decisions in a manner that meets Hyundai’s corporate responsibility’. Owing to the expertise of Silva, and her experienced team of four, the legal team has a broad scope of influence within Hyundai Colombia Automotriz. Silva has had a significant impact on the way that the company operates. She established control and audit elements for all economic aspects and contractual obligations in order to ensure mutual fulfillment of obligations by both the company and its contractors. Secondly, her team has engaged the CEO to redefine company policy in relation to direct contact of the legal area of the company, in order to ensure management decisions are made in a coordinated and timely manner. Lastly, she incorporated ‘Legal monitoring committees’ in order to control and monitor all legal matters related to the company and possible related parties.