Legal director and general counsel | Ocensa - Oleoducto Central
Legal and GR senior manager | Mercado Libre Colombia
In-house legal counsel SR | Comunicacion Celular Claro Colombia
Legal lead Colombia – contracting counsel senior manager | Accenture
Legal vice president Colombia | Steward Health Care International Colombia
Legal and compliance director, Colombia, Central America and the Caribbean | SGS Colombia
General counsel, compliance officer and head of corporate affairs | Tecnoglass
General legal counsel of palm oil business | Aceites Manuelita
Advisor legal vicepresidency | Grupo Energía Bogotá
Legal vice president – Colombia and Perú | Cemex Colombia
Legal manager for Andean countries | Mercado Libre Colombia
Corporate and legal counsel for Andean, CCA and Mexico. Compliance officer for the Andean Region | Avaya Communication de Colombia
Legal and corporate governance vice president | Grupo Colpatria
Coporate counsel - legal, compliance and sustainability | Organización Espinosa
Legal and compliance manager | Riopaila Castilla
Legal director, general counsel - Colombia | Compass Group Services Colombia
Chief legal officer | Teleperformance Middle Americas
Head of legal and corporate affairs | Gases de Occidente - GdO
General secretary and legal director | Caracol Primera Cadena Radial Colombiana
Legal business partner Latam and acting lead compliance manager Latam | Betsson Group
Managing counsel for Latin America | McKinsey & Company
Associate legal director Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela | Abbott Laboratories
Legal vice president, general counsel | Hoteles Decameron
Subdirector jurídico | Grupo Alsea Colombia
Head of law, patents and compliance for Bayer Andean, Central America and Caribbean Countries (PACA) | Bayer
Gerente corporativa de asuntos legales | Darnel Group
Gerente de estrategia y asesoría legal | Ocensa - Oleoducto Central
Head of legal Colombia and Ecuador | Hitachi Energy Colombia
Vice president of corporate affairs, legal affairs and sustainability | Amarilo
Legal manager of Investment Banking | Investment Banking at Bancolombia (BIB)
General legal counsel and corporate secretary | BBVA Valores Colombia
Legal affairs manager - Colombia and Dominican Republic | Air Liquide
Legal director Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela | Abbott Laboratories
Senior regulatory counsel, Mexico; antitrust POC Latam; women of CLO global co-chair | Uber
Legal director Colombia and Venezuela | PepsiCo Colombia
Legal and compliance vice president | Grupo Energía Bogotá
Corporate legal manager LATAM | Manuelita Corporativa
Chief business and legal affairs officer - CBO | Dynamo Producciones
General counsel and compliance officer | Nestlé Colombia
Chief counsel of non-sovereign operations, legal affairs | Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF)
Rosalía Roman-Urcuyo is chief counsel of non-sovereign operations, legal affairs at the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), leading the division within the legal department that supports...
Corporate legal manager | Sociedad Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones y Cesantías Porvenir
Chief legal officer | Sociedad Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones y Cesantías Porvenir
General counsel beauty and wellbeing Latam, head of legal Andean region and data privacy and governance leader Latam | Unilever
Senior Counsel illicit trade prevention for Latam, Canada and the US | Philip Morris International
I am a dual-authorised lawyer in Colombia and Venezuela, with over thirty years of international experience as a business lawyer. My expertise lies in leading legal projects and navigating complex...
General legal counsel sugar business | Manuelita
The Legal 500 is thrilled to announce the release of the latest edition of the GC Powerlist: Colombia. This eagerly awaited publication celebrates the outstanding achievements of the country’s leading in-house lawyers.
In this edition, we highlight the pivotal contributions of in-house counsel to Colombian businesses, showcasing their expertise, leadership, and unwavering commitment to excellence. The 2024 edition shines a spotlight on the extraordinary accomplishments and innovative approaches of these legal professionals as they navigate the intricate landscape of Colombian law. From managing crises and adapting to regulatory changes to implementing artificial intelligence and advancing sustainability and diversity initiatives, these leaders exhibit remarkable resilience and adaptability in a rapidly evolving legal environment.
This publication includes detailed profiles and exclusive interviews with the most influential and esteemed in-house lawyers across various sectors in Colombia. These professionals excel in formulating legal strategies, managing risks, and offering strategic advice to their organisations. Their achievements not only serve as inspiration to the legal community but also demonstrate the significant impact in-house lawyers have on shaping their organisations’ business strategies and success.
Our research underscores the growing importance of aligning legal departments with senior management, highlighting the evolving role of general counsel as crucial business partners. As Ana María Navarrete Frías, Legal Lead Colombia – Contracting Counsel Senior Manager at Accenture, observes, “Maintaining a positive attitude is essential. Work with the business and leadership to develop strategies for navigating periods of instability or crisis, and align the legal function with that strategy. Encourage closer communication between business and legal departments, and support your legal team in staying calm and resilient during challenging times.”
In-house lawyers are also at the forefront of integrating sustainability measures within their organisations. Adriana Londoño Ángel, Legal Director and General Counsel at Ocensa – Oleoducto Central, highlights, “My legal team is instrumental in embedding sustainability into Ocensa’s governance framework. In addition to providing expert advice on sustainability reporting and regulatory compliance, we focus on creating robust contractual frameworks to support ESG strategic objectives. This includes developing clauses related to the circular economy, water management, social responsibility, and stringent HSE and human rights protections in our supplier contracts.”
This publication provides exclusive insights into the challenges and opportunities facing in-house legal teams. Delve into the GC Powerlist: Colombia 2024 to uncover the remarkable stories of these distinguished individuals. Through their experiences, we aim to offer a comprehensive overview of Colombia’s legal landscape, underscoring the vital role of in-house legal teams.
We extend our sincere gratitude to all the featured in-house lawyers for their invaluable contributions and for sharing their professional journeys with us. We are proud to present this distinguished list, celebrating Colombia’s most exceptional, dedicated, and esteemed in-house lawyers.
Sara Maggi| Lead editor – The Legal 500 GC Powerlist Colombia 2024
The Legal 500 was proud to host the third edition of the GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 at the Capitol Hotel Tokyu, honouring the top General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Directors, and senior in-house legal professionals operating at the highest level of Japan’s corporate legal landscape. Held in Tokyo, this year’s reception welcomed around 100 of the most respected and senior corporate counsel from across Japan. It was an unrivalled success, and cements Legal 500’s status as the leading force in legal media supporting the achievements of in-house counsel in Japan. The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 marks the continuation of our commitment to recognising excellence in-house, and this year’s edition represents the most competitive and selective list to date.
Joe Boswell, lead editor of the GC powerlist publication at The Legal 500, opened the evening with an introduction that reflected on the growing prestige of the Japan list. He emphasised how the Powerlist has grown stronger each year, both in scope and quality, making the task of selection more difficult. This year’s honourees emerged from a deeply competitive field, making their recognition even more meaningful.
Boswell extended heartfelt congratulations to all honourees and acknowledged the critical support of key partners and sponsors who made the evening possible. Special thanks were given to Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, JustLegal, and SS&C Intralinks for their generous sponsorship and ongoing collaboration.
In a moment of reflection, Joe paid tribute to Tim Mackey, chief legal officer at SoftBank, who sadly passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. Tim had contributed to the Powerlist in each of its three editions and was known not only for his exceptional legal acumen but also for his warmth and generosity.
The evening featured insightful remarks from distinguished speakers representing our partners and the broader legal community: Mischa Mulligan, Japan Director at SS&C Intralinks; Hiroki Kodate, Partner and Management Committee Member at Anderson Mori & Tomotsune; Jeremy White, Global Co-Chair of M&A for Morrison Foerster; and, representing those awarded in the Powerlist, Naoki Hamada, General Counsel for Japan at HSBC.
Each speaker provided reflections on legal innovation, leadership, and the evolving role of in-house counsel in Japan’s corporate landscape. Their remarks added valuable context to the achievements celebrated throughout the evening.
The formal awards segment celebrated this year’s GC Powerlist honourees. With assistance from long-time collaborator Isaac Uchiyama who read out awardees’ names, recipients were invited to collect their certificates, pose for photographs, and be formally recognised by their peers.
Certificates were presented on stage by Hiroki Kodate or Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Jeremy White of Morrison Foerster, whose participation further underlined the deep support of the Japanese and international legal communities.
The GC Powerlist: Japan 2025 reception reaffirmed Legal 500’s commitment to spotlighting the very best of in-house legal talent. With record levels of interest and unmatched quality among candidates, the Japan edition continues to solidify its place as one of the most respected publications in the global GC Powerlist series.
We extend our sincere congratulations to all honourees and thank our partners, sponsors, and speakers for making the evening a success.
We look forward to returning to Tokyo again next year. As a parting gift, you can view Naoki Hamada’s excellent keynote address below, where he touches on a lot of issues and themes that many other GC, whatever country they operate in, will recognise:
‘Good evening, everyone. I am Naoki Hamada of HSBC. I am very pleased to be here speaking to you today. It is a great pleasure and honor, and at the same time, I feel a bit overwhelmed being surrounded by the busiest and most expensive lawyers in the industry—even if I know that nobody will be charging us for their time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Legal 500 for organizing such a great event, and Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, Morrison Foerster, iManage, SS&C Intralinks, and Just Legal for sponsoring and supporting it. And, huge congratulations on the recognition each of you is receiving, which is truly a great accomplishment and the result of your hard work and the accumulated trust the entire industry has placed in you.
It must be emphasized that this award is given only to general counsels. Being a general counsel means a lot more than just being a subject matter expert. You are a most reliable strategic partner for the business, and I am sure that you have distinguished yourself from the crowd by your ability to identify underlying risks, devise legal solutions, ensure the right processes and governance for corporate decisions, influence others, and educate the next generation of lawyers. This is what you are being recognized for.
Looking back on my career, I have been hugely helped by lawyers in other companies through various industry communities. When I joined the in-house world 12 years ago from a Japanese law firm, large international banks were all struggling with a huge wave of regulatory reform. Back then, I was relatively new to that particular area of finance, and my hiring was somewhat potential-based. Nonetheless, I was assigned to lead the regulatory reform efforts locally. My predecessor had left the bank before I joined, there was no sufficient handover, and I was completely lost as to what to do. What helped me most were the industry peer group discussions, where in-house counsels from major banks would get together to discuss common issues. I learned so much from what was discussed there and absorbed as much as I could. Without that network, I am sure that I wouldn’t have survived that time.
However, our situation today is far more difficult. The changes in the landscape we face today are unprecedented. Technological developments and the corresponding shifts in geopolitical and industrial landscapes are completely unpredictable, and the speed at which they happen is far faster than before. We might face a time that requires us to pivot, forcing us to redefine how we add value and rebuild the way we work. That is somewhat intimidating. But, I am confident that a way forward will be found through the collective wisdom and effort of the people in this room. I would like to be a part of that, and this network of people is enormously valuable and truly priceless.
Finally, let’s have a drink and celebrate our achievements for now – before your CEO calls asking you to join a call! Thank you so much.’