Tamara B. Cañete Chadra is an in-house legal leader with broad experience advising multinational companies across Argentina, Paraguay and the Southern Cone. She currently serves as Legal Manager – South Cone at AkzoNobel, where she leads legal matters across Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile and Paraguay, supporting the business in a highly regulated industrial environment.

Her work focuses on helping senior leadership make sound decisions in complex operating contexts, combining legal judgement with a practical understanding of commercial priorities, people matters, regulatory exposure and reputational risk. Throughout her career, Tamara has been closely involved in business-critical matters, including regional expansion, operational restructuring, litigation strategy, labour and union matters, compliance issues and regulatory challenges.

Tamara’s in-house career has been shaped by roles in companies with significant regional operations, including AkzoNobel, SEA Group, Natura &Co, Philip Morris International and Cencosud. This experience has given her a cross-industry perspective spanning industrial, technology, consumer goods and retail businesses, as well as a strong ability to operate in fast-moving and highly regulated environments.

A central part of Tamara’s profile is her capacity to partner with business teams while maintaining strong legal and ethical standards. She has advised leadership teams across multiple jurisdictions, managed sensitive workforce and organisational matters, coordinated external counsel, and led legal responses to complex disputes and regulatory proceedings. Her approach is business-oriented, pragmatic and focused on protecting the company while enabling sustainable growth.

Among her achievements, Tamara has contributed to material reductions in litigation exposure and legal costs, supported restructuring processes with limited claims impact, advised on regional digital platform operations and shutdown processes, and helped resolve significant regulatory proceedings. She has also led legal teams and managed broad networks of external counsel across different business units and jurisdictions.

Tamara holds an LL.M. in Corporate Law and a Law Degree from Universidad Austral in Argentina, and completed an exchange programme in International Private Law at Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in the Netherlands. She is a native Spanish speaker and fluent in English.

In an increasingly complex global environment, how are you helping your organisation navigate risk while still supporting growth?

 
In an increasingly complex and fast-moving environment, my focus is on enabling the business to grow while embedding a strong culture of compliance and risk awareness. This involves working closely with commercial and operational teams from an early stage to identify risks proactively and design practical, business-oriented solutions.

Rather than acting as a gatekeeper, I aim to position the legal function as a facilitator – providing clear, actionable guidance that allows the business to move forward with confidence. Strengthening internal processes, promoting training and awareness, and leveraging technology to streamline legal support are also key elements in ensuring that risk management supports, rather than hinders, sustainable growth.

How has the role of General Counsel evolved in recent years, and where do you see GCs creating the most value today?

 
The role of the General Counsel has evolved significantly in recent years, shifting from a primarily advisory function to a strategic leadership role within the organisation. Today, GCs are expected to contribute not only legal expertise, but also commercial insight, risk foresight and strong governance.

The greatest value is created when GCs are actively involved in decision-making processes, helping to shape business strategy, navigate regulatory challenges and support transformation initiatives. In addition, GCs play a critical role in fostering ethical business practices and strengthening corporate reputation, which are increasingly central to long-term success.

Looking ahead, what do you see as the main opportunity or challenge for in-house legal teams?

Looking ahead, one of the main opportunities for in-house legal teams lies in their ability to become true strategic partners to the business, leveraging technology and data to deliver faster, more proactive and commercially aligned advice. In particular, the adoption of AI and legal tech tools presents a significant opportunity to enhance efficiency, improve risk management and free up time for higher-value work.

At the same time, this transformation also represents a key challenge. Legal teams must adapt to an increasingly complex regulatory landscape – especially in areas such as data protection, ESG and emerging technologies – while ensuring that innovation is implemented responsibly and ethically. Balancing speed with sound judgement, and innovation with compliance, will be critical.

Ultimately, the in-house legal function that succeeds will be one that combines legal expertise with business acumen, embraces digital transformation and maintains a strong focus on governance and integrity.