Colombia 2026
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
Legal and compliance manager, Colombia | FURA Gems Inc.
VP, legal affairs | Steward Health Care International Colombia S.A.S.
Legal lead Colombia – contracting counsel senior manager | Accenture Ltda.
Senior advisor | Grupo Energía Bogotá S.A. E.S.P.
Associate legal director, NOLA & South Cone region | BioMarin
Legal director, Colombia; Global director of corporate and finance | Rappi
Senior corporate and legal counsel, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Central America and Caribbean Islands | Avaya Communication de Colombia S.A.
Legal and compliance director | Job&Talent
Legal director, Andean Cluster & Central America and the Caribbean | Haleon Colombia S.A.S.
Senior legal manager | GlaxoSmithKline Colombia S.A
VP, legal and corporate affairs | Alpina Colombia
Legal and compliance manager and compliance officer | Mazda de Colombia
VP, corporate and legal affairs and chief transformation officer | Organización Terpel S.A.
Chief legal officer, Middle Americas region | Teleperformance (TP)
Deputy general counsel and head of legal, Latin America | McKinsey & Company
Legal director | Bavaria & CIA S.C.A. AB-Inbev
Legal, public affairs and sustainability director; antitrust, data privacy and ethics and compliance officer; Renault foundation director, Colombia | Renault Sofasa
Director of corporate affairs, head of legal and corporate affairs function | Grupo Energía Bogotá
Head of law, patents and compliance, Central America and Andean Countries | Bayer S.A.
Legal director | Riga Asset Management SAS
Head of legal, Colombia & Ecuador (until May 2026) | Hitachi Energy Colombia S.A.S.
Cluster legal counsel and data protection manager | Kuehne + Nagel
Head of legal, corporate, international and treasury banking | Banco de Bogotá S.A.
Senior director, assistant general counsel, lead commercial lawyer (Colombia) | Cargill
General counsel and corporate secretary | ADL Digital Lab S.A.S.
Legal counsel and brand protection manager | Diageo Colombia S.A.
Head of legal | ALPINA PRODUCTOS ALIMENTICIOS S.A.S. BIC
Legal and compliance director, Northern South America | Bureau Veritas
Legal and compliance manager, Andean Region | McCain Foods Limited
Head of legal and judicial legal representative | Organización Terpel S.A.
Legal director, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela | Abbott
Lead counsel, Colombia and Andean region | Takeda Colombia
Legal manager, CCA and legal lead for Latin America distribution business unit | Cummins Inc.
Chief counsel of non-sovereign operations, legal affairs | Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF)
General counsel, beauty and wellbeing and head of legal Andean region | Unilever
Global counsel, global commercial operations | Energizer Holdings, Inc.
Legal director | Concesión Aeropuertos de Oriente S.A.S.
Senior legal and compliance director, America, Andean Countries, Chile and Venezuela | Mondelēz International
Senior legal director, Latin America North, Central America and the Caribbean | Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine Latinoamérica
Legal and compliance director | Novo Nordisk Colombia
Head of legal, Colombia & Peru and executive director | Banco J.P. Morgan Colombia
Contracts manager, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru | SLB
I am delighted to introduce Legal 500’s GC Powerlist: Colombia 2026, in recognition of the key role that in-house lawyers play in today’s legal and business landscape.
Against a backdrop of rapid geopolitical, economic and technological change, companies and their legal teams are being called upon to navigate increasing complexity, manage risk and support business growth.
As Ana Maria Galindo Lozano, senior contracts counsel at SLB, notes, ‘the practice of law has undergone a profound transformation’. The role of general counsel (GC) has had to evolve alongside it. GCs are no longer solely advisors, but also business partners, strategic interpreters and decision-makers.
Their influence within organisations continues to grow. ‘The role of the in-house lawyer is not to act as a barrier to growth, but rather to help the organisation achieve its commercial objectives within a sound legal and ethical framework’, explains Carlos Andrés Bonilla Sabogal, legal VP Colombia and Perú at Cemex Colombia S.A. Achieving this requires a ‘deep understanding of the business, industry dynamics, corporate governance and enterprise risk’, adds Beatriz Eugenia Rivera Polanco, senior advisor at Grupo Energía Bogotá.
But the modern GC’s expertise must extend beyond the legal – and the business. The role’s ‘evolution requires a combination of strong technical expertise and a deep understanding of the business environment’, points out Carlos Calderón, associate legal director NOLA and South Cone region at BioMarin.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a key example. No longer viewed as an emerging technology, AI has become a strategic priority for organisations, many of which are now moving beyond implementation towards optimisation. As a result, legal teams are playing a central role in enabling its integration.
‘AI presents a significant opportunity for legal departments to enhance efficiency and focus resources on higher-value strategic work’, explains Adriana Londoño Ángel, legal VP at Hoteles Decameron. But, she continues, ‘legal teams should ensure that the use of AI complies with confidentiality obligations, data protection requirements, cybersecurity standards and ethical considerations’.
AI’s potential is accompanied by significant risks. ‘Its use must be governed by clear policies to protect confidential and personal data and ensure accountability’, warns Tatiana González C, head of legal, Andean Region, at Unilever. Human oversight remains essential to maintaining quality, governance and trust. As Fernando Victoria Pena, legal and compliance director, Andean Region, at Teleperformance, observes: ‘In practice, this means AI does not replace legal judgment; it amplifies it’.
The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Italy 2026 brought together some of the country’s most distinguished general counsel and senior in-house legal professionals for an evening of celebration, recognition and networking in Milan.
Held on 24 September 2026 at the Organics SkyGarden Rooftop at Hyatt Centric Milan Centrale, the event provided a fitting setting in which to recognise the outstanding achievements of the lawyers featured in this year’s GC Powerlist: Italy.
The evening celebrated an exceptional and diverse group of in-house leaders representing companies across a broad range of sectors, including financial services, energy and utilities, technology, healthcare, consumer products, luxury, manufacturing, transport and infrastructure, media and professional services. This breadth reflects both the diversity of Italy’s corporate landscape and the increasingly important role played by legal departments in organisations across the economy.
Guests had the opportunity to connect with fellow members of Italy’s in-house legal community, exchange perspectives and celebrate the achievements of this year’s Powerlisters. The strong representation of senior legal professionals from across sectors also reinforced the value of the GC Powerlist as a platform for building relationships and encouraging dialogue within the Italian in-house community.
This year’s research highlighted the continued evolution of the general counsel role. Against a backdrop of increasing regulatory complexity, geopolitical uncertainty, technological innovation and changing business priorities, in-house lawyers are being called upon to contribute well beyond traditional legal advisory work. Artificial intelligence and digital transformation are also reshaping legal departments, creating opportunities for greater efficiency while introducing new questions around governance, implementation and risk.
Throughout the evening, there was a clear sense of the strategic importance that legal teams now hold within their organisations. The professionals recognised in the 2026 Powerlist demonstrate how modern in-house counsel combine technical expertise with commercial awareness, leadership and an ability to anticipate and respond to rapidly evolving business challenges.
The reception also provided an important opportunity to recognise the teams behind these achievements. As highlighted throughout the research for this year’s publication, many of Italy’s leading general counsel place collaboration, talent development and knowledge-sharing at the centre of building effective legal functions.
The Legal 500 would like to congratulate everyone recognised in the GC Powerlist: Italy 2026 and thank all those who contributed to the research and joined us in Milan for a memorable evening.
