Co-Founder and chief legal officer | Ultra Air
General counsel and secretary | Frontera Energy
Legal and compliance manager Colombia | Fura Gems
Senior manager of legales and GR | Mercado Libre
In-house legal counsel SR | Comunicacion Celular Claro Colombia
Legal vice president | Banco Davivienda
Legal head Andean, Central America and the Caribbean | Sanofi
Legal lead Colombia – contracting counsel senior manager | Accenture
Head of legal Colombia | Steward Health Care International Colombia
Ana María Flórez Ocampo has more than 15 years of experience leading and managing legal areas and high-performance teams in the hospital sector. Ana graduated from the Universidad Externado de...
Legal and compliance director, Colombia and Central America | SGS Colombia
Vice president - legal services | Brookfield
General counsel, compliance officer and head of corporate affairs | Tecnoglass
General legal counsel of palm oil business | Aceites Manuelita
Head of legal | Hitachi Energy Colombia
Senior advisor, legal vice president | Grupo Energía Bogotá
Legal director – corporate finance and capital markets | Bancolombia
Legal vice president – Colombia and Perú | Cemex Colombia
Head of legal and compliance | Mazda de Colombia
Senior legal counsel – Andes Region | Abbott Laboratories
Corporate and legal counsel for Andean, CCA and Mexico. Compliance officer for the Andean Region | Avaya Communication de Colombia
Head of arbitration group | Refinería de Cartagena
Head of legal department | Haleon
Global commercial and contract manager - SCM | Hitachi Energy Colombia
Legal director, fintech and innovation | Banco Davivienda
Coporate general counsel | Organización Espinosa
Senior legal manager for Colombia | GlaxoSmithKline Colombia
Legal and compliance manager | RIOPAILA Castilla
Legal vice president and general secretary | Bancolombia
Legal director and general secretary | Alpina
Legal director - general counsel | Credicorp Capital
Legal director - Investments | Porvenir
Legal director Northern Cluster | Johnson & Johnson MedTech
Coporate legal manager, LATAM | GeoPark
Compliance officer and senior counsel for LATAM | ConvaTec
Legal director, general counsel - Colombia | Compass Group Services Colombia
Chief legal officer | Huawei Technologies Colombia
Legal vice president | Itaú Colombia
Director E&C, Americas | Elanco Animal Health
Legal affairs executive | ISAGEN
Elizabeth Villa Mesa has a law degree from the Universidad de Antioquia, with a specialisation in private law and a Master’s degree from the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana of Medellín and...
Legal director | Airplan
Legal manager | Repsol
General counsel | Addi
Legal vice president and corporate secretary | Arthur J. Gallagher
General counsel | ISAGEN
Chief legal officer | Teleperformance
Legal vice president and secretary general | Citibank Colombia
Corporate counsel and ESG director | Grupo Empresarial Levapan
Legal counsel | IDB Invest
Senior legal counsel Covec Cluster | Mastercard Colombia
Chief legal officer | Grupo Aval
General secretary and legal director | Caracol Primera Cadena Radial Colombiana
Legal business partner | Betsson Latam Services
Having worked for different companies in highly regulated industries, Jorge Andrés Torres, Betsson Group’s legal business partner for Latin America, has been praised for his skilful handling of complex legal...
Senior general counsel | Automotores Toyota Colombia
Vice president of corporate affairs and general counsel | Alianza Team
Director legal | DSV Air & Sea
Director de lex | British American Tobacco
Associate Legal Director EPD & MD Colombia, Ecuador & Venezuela | Abbott
Legal director | Bavaria & CIA
Legal manager | Scania Colombia
General counsel | Trina Solar
Legal vice-president, general counsel | Hoteles Decameron
Country counsel and LCR | IBM
Chief counsel | Mondelēz International
Senior managing counsel, senior director Andean region | Visa
Legal director Alsea Colombia | Gastronomia Italiana en Colombia
Head of law, patents and compliance for Bayer Andean, Central America and Caribbean Countries (PACA) | Bayer
Head of the legal department | Refinería de Cartagena
Legal corporate manager | Ajover Darnel
Legal Director Latam | Yara International
Senior counsel | Primax Colombia
Legal manager | Grupo Empresarial Colombina
Legal vice president | Ashmore CAF-AM Management Company
Legal manager Andean cluster | Kuehne+Nagel
Vice president of corporate affairs, legal affairs and sustainability | Amarilo
General legal counsel and corporate secretary | BBVA Valores Colombia
Senior legal manager Central LATAM | Medtronic
Legal manager | Rappi
Legal counsel – team manager legal and corporate | Schlumberger
Legal counsel | Fondo Latinoamericano de Reservas (FLAR)
Legal affairs manager | Air Liquide
Legal and compliance manager LATAM | Bureau Veritas
Legal and compliance lead | Treinta
Secretary and vice president legal | Grupo Bolivar
Legal manager | Coca-Cola Femsa Colombia
Chief strategy, SPEED and legal officer | GeoPark
Legal director Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela | Abbott Laboratories
Head of CIB legal | BNP Paribas Colombia
Senior counsel, regulatory Mexico and antitrust counsel, LATAM | Uber
Legal director Colombia and Venezuela | PepsiCo Colombia
Vice president legal, product and churn - Latin America | Grupo EMI / Falck
General counsel | UBITS Learning Solutions
Corporate legal manager LATAM | Manuelita
Legal vice president and general secretary | Scotiabank
Olga Varón Palomino, legal vice president and general secretary of Scotiabank Colpatria, is in charge of leading the legal vision of the Bank, in order to leverage business strategies, plans...
Legal manager | Petrobras International Braspetro
Chief business and legal officer | Dynamo Producciones
Paola earned her law degree from the Universidad del Rosario in 2000. She received a specialisation in commercial law from Los Andes University in 2003 and postgraduate studies in Legal...
Legal manager | Unilever Andina Colombia
Lead counsel Colombia and Andean | Takeda Colombia
Corporate, commercial leasing counsel | Terranum
General counsel and compliance officer | Nestlé Colombia
Phyllis Gleiser has nearly 20 years of experience advising companies in the FMCG sector. Her diverse experience in private practice at leading law firms in Colombia and as in-house counsel...
General counsel | CNR
Legal manager | Perenco Colombia
Legal manager | Alianza Team
Head of legal and business conduct | Gilead Sciences Colombia
Gerente jurídico corporativo y de inversiones | Porvenir
General counsel | Bimbo De Colombia
General counsel beauty and wellbeing LATAM, head of legal Andean region and data privacy and governance leader LATAM | Unilever
Legal counsel - Colombia and Peru | Schlumberger
Legal vice-president and general counsel | BBVA Colombia
Legal director of corporate affairs | Bancolombia
General legal counsel | Manuelita
The Legal 500 takes great pleasure in introducing the latest edition of the GC Powerlist Colombia: 2023. In the contents of this publication, we embark on a thorough journey, delving deeply into the intricate interplay of legal innovation, regulatory changes, and the ever-shifting environment. These elements collectively sculpt the dynamic responsibilities of in-house legal professionals in Colombia.
In this distinctive landscape of political and regulatory evolution, the fires of legal technology are blazing new trails within in-house legal teams. Colombian legal professionals have graciously shared their experiences in enhancing team functionality through the savvy implementation of technology, all while achieving significant cost savings for their organisations. General counsel in Colombia adopted a different mindset towards innovation to ensure the success of their teams, as Jorge Mario Castillo, senior legal counsel at Automotores Toyota, suggests: ‘I used to have a manager that said as a joke: ‘If you want to kill a deal, call a lawyer’. This joke was enlightening to me. I hate this perception of lawyers. The kind of lawyer I always wanted to be was to be a facilitator and someone who can become a legal partner in all areas of the business. I believe this approach and this mindset have been my greatest contribution to the team. This is the way all members of the team act, which enables us to gain the trust of our peers and be more involved in the decision-making process, learn from other departments and people in the company and in the long run, will make us better professionals’.
Once constrained within traditional advisory boundaries, the role of in-house legal leaders in Colombia has flourished into stewardship that spans multiple domains, including the vital initiative of promoting diversity and inclusion policies within their teams. As Natalia Encinales, legal director of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, told us: ‘I prioritise diversity and inclusion, making a visible topic of it, improving knowledge, sharing and creating greater awareness, and building a common understanding and language. I have led many D&I initiatives these past few years’.
Throughout these pages, the sagacious advice of seasoned in-house lawyers resonates, serving as guiding beacons for their colleagues. Their insights underscore the paramount importance of solid foundational legal skills and a deep understanding of industry-specific nuances. Eminent legal experts featured here have discussed their passions, emphasising the significance of fostering workplaces where individuals are appreciated, and their work-life balance takes centre stage in organisational processes.
This edition highlights the remarkable in-house lawyers featured in The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Colombia 2023. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to these outstanding general counsel, whose indomitable spirit and expertise have firmly positioned them at the forefront of legal excellence in this extraordinary nation.
Sara Maggi| Deputy Editor The Legal 500 GC Powerlist Series
