Mexico 2025
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
Chief legal counsel and compliance officer | JLL Mexico
Partner and head of asset management, legal and compliance | Beel Infrastructure Partners
General counsel and secretary of the board of directors | Principal Financial Group México
Senior legal counsel, EU and Latam | Eiffage Energía Sistemas
Associate general counsel (labor and employment), interim LATAM legal lead | Celanese
Chief legal officer | Coca-Cola FEMSA
Deputy general counsel regional head of CIB banking for Mexico and Latam | HSBC Mexico
Partner OGC (office general counsel)Mexico and MCA Cluster | KPMG
Deputy managing legal director – corporate governance | Grupo Financiero Banorte
General counsel and chief legal officer | Grupo Aeroméxico
Corporate legal and regulatory director | FINANCIERA INDEPENDENCIA
General counsel and compliance officer | Grupo Rotoplas
VP general counsel, regulatory & external affairs | AT&T México
Director of legal and compliance | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Mexico
SVP legal & compliance | Eagle Property Capital
General counsel and chief compliance officer | OCESA Entretenimiento
General counsel, ethics and compliance and data protection officer North Latam | Capgemini
Legal Director LATAM & Public Affairs | Suntory Global Spirits
Vice president legal & sustainability, assistant general counsel | Element Fleet Management Corporation
General counsel and compliance officer | Grupo Danone México
General counsel | Banco Sabadell, Institución de Banca Múltiple
Director of legal, compliance and regulatory affairs | Grupo Coppel
Legal vicepresident and general counsel | Izzi telecom & Sky Mexico (Grupo Televisa)
Legal director and secretary of the board of directors | Grupo Bafar
Director | corporate governance, broker dealer and private bank | legal | Citi México
Tax controversy director (in-house counsel) | Walmart de México y Centro América
Director of legal and compliance | Ainda, energia & infrastructura
LATAM corporate tax planning and transfer pricing | Pepsico
General counsel and secretary of the board of directors | Volaris
Legal head TecSalud, research, entrepreneurship & innovation | Tecnológico de Monterrey
Executive director and assistang general counsel legal | Banco JP Morgan
General counsel and director of legal affairs | Grupo Lamosa
General counsel, company secretary and chief compliance officer | Grupo Bimbo
Vice president legal affairs and compliance | Esentia Energy
On behalf of The Legal 500, I am delighted to introduce the GC Powerlist: Mexico 2025.
This edition recognises the exceptional general counsel and in-house legal teams who are shaping Mexico’s dynamic business and legal landscape. Throughout our research, we have met with professionals who not only deliver expert legal guidance but also drive strategic decision-making, foster innovation, and help their organisations navigate rapid economic and regulatory change.
Across Mexico, legal leaders are stepping far beyond the traditional remit of their roles. They are instrumental in guiding corporate transformation, ensuring governance and sustainability, and enabling growth in an increasingly complex environment. The GC Powerlist: Mexico 2025 celebrates those who combine deep legal knowledge with commercial acumen, leadership, and a clear sense of purpose.
This year’s edition highlights how Mexico’s general counsel are redefining what it means to be a business partner. They are fostering collaboration across teams, building resilient frameworks for compliance and ethics, and embracing technology to streamline operations and anticipate risk. Their influence extends well beyond legal matters—into corporate culture, strategy, and long-term vision.
Equally, the spirit of partnership and community runs through Mexico’s legal profession. By cultivating trust, empowering their teams, and encouraging diverse perspectives, these leaders are creating lasting value for both their organisations and the wider business ecosystem.
This transformation reflects a broader evolution within the country’s legal landscape—from reactive advice to proactive strategy, from compliance to innovation, and from individual expertise to collective impact.
We are proud to present this year’s GC Powerlist: Mexico, a celebration of in-house counsel who are redefining the role of the legal function and connecting local insight with global ambition.
Margherita Birri
Research Editor
The Legal 500
The recent news that elite US firm Sullivan & Cromwell had apologised to a judge over AI hallucinations in a court filing prompted a collective wince from the legal profession.
But while some lawyers remain wary of AI, others are striking a more open-minded note, and at the LexisNexis AI Forum hosted this Wednesday (20 May) by Legal 500 and Legal Business, panelists argued that the risks are far outweighed by the opportunities.
Barbara Zapisetskaya, principal technology counsel at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, made the case that hallucinations and other potential pitfalls can be overcome with a shift in mindset.
‘What makes a difference,’ she said, ‘is empowering your lawyers to take responsibility for AI output – helping them become active AI operators, not just passive AI users. You have agency to decide whether you agree with the output or not.’
Zapisetskaya was among a line-up of leading in-house figures speaking on two panels, which covered everything from practical steps for AI implementation to the key decisions GCs need to be making in the coming months.
Financial Times general counsel Dan Guilford began by stressing the importance of building the right culture for AI adoption. In addition to proactively upskilling himself, Guilford talked about how he had implemented a voluntary weekly ‘show and tell’ meeting for team members to share successful use cases – or an exercise that became a gratifying measure of progress.
Other panelists discussed how increased in-house productivity is altering the dynamic with their external counsel.
While some see the use of AI by law firms as a precursor for reduced fees, Russell Davies, head of global operations for legal and compliance at Dentsu, said that faster results – however they are delivered – are something to be valued.
GSK assistant general counsel Anthony Kenny agreed, saying that while there was an expectation that external counsel would be utilising AI, the focus should be on the value of the output, rather than an overemphasis on identifying AI use as a justification to reduce fees.
Speaking on the second panel, MUFG EMEA general counsel James Morgan stressed the critical importance of education, noting that educating the C-suite on the advantages and risks of AI is just as important as enabling large in-house teams to use these tools.
Shanthini Satyendra, vice-chair of the AI Committee, Society for Computers & Law, CEO and founder of Manisain, offered a reminder of the importance of making the connection between tasks and the purpose behind them, extolling the virtues of identifying use cases for AI that can solve a meaningful problem.
Zapisetskaya concurred, adding that one of the most important tasks for GCs across the next six to twelve months is to create AI playbooks and templates, noting that ‘it is easy for lawyers to see problems – much harder for lawyers to see opportunities.’
There was also broad agreement among panellists that GCs should focus on upskilling their junior lawyers on AI, rather than – as some may expect – cutting back their workforce. As Satyendra summarised: ‘Some people are replacing human capital with AI without thinking about what’s required to make AI work. Retain your people and train them up.’
The panels were moderated by Emma Millington, head of the UK Lexis+ Finance Group, and LexisNexis director of segment management Stuart Greenhill.
