About

Since Millicom first established a presence in Colombia through Colombia Móvil, the Tigo brand has grown to be one of the most widely-known in the country. In 2014 the telecommunications and media company significantly grew its Colombian market share when it acquired fixed-line company UNE from Empresas Publicas Medellín (EPM) – creating the brand TigoUNE. After the successful completion of the acquisition President and CEO Hans-Holger Albrecht said ‘now it’s time for the hard work as we start the integration process’ – part of the transaction in which the legal team had a very large part to play. Colombia is one of the largest markets that Millicom serves, and the country is currently undergoing a significant economic transformation. Behind the growth of the company has been an in-house legal team that is able to manage everything from significant mergers to changing regulations to new market strategies. The legal department has played a significant role in the diversification of Tigo’s products, ensuring that the company’s approach to innovation has the necessary safeguards in place to ensure success. For example, Tigo has been behind a number of firsts since entering the Colombian market: It was the first company to host a virtual network in Colombia; it established Tigo Music as the leading music streaming service in the country; through Tigo Sport it broadcast the Colombian national football league for the first time; and has made a significant play in the business-to-business and government markets for data centre services. Unsurprisingly, nominators for the GC Powerlist pointed to the exceptionally high work levels that the team had to put in to make these initiatives possible, and emphasised the diversity in expertise necessary to succeed. Ana Maria Ospina Noguera, legal vice president, drew particular praise for her work since recently joining the team.