Team size: Nine

What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

Since January 2023, I assumed the responsibility of leading the area of Regulatory Compliance in SMI Group, with presence in 15 countries in Latin America, in addition to the functions that I had been developing as legal manager since 2016. In short, I am responsible for ensuring compliance with all laws applicable to our business at international level. This new responsibility means incorporating a preventive function into everything we do. My team and I work to identify, in an orderly manner and with an established methodology, all opportunities for improvement in the area of regulatory compliance: we implement new laws, adapt to existing ones, propose changes and improvements in internal processes, monitor compliance with obligations within the legal deadlines and, most importantly, raise awareness about the importance of regulatory compliance. Our most important challenge today is to instil a culture of compliance in our organisation in a cross-cutting manner. We are on the right track!

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most?

More and more technological proposals are being offered to in-house legal areas. Some aim to remove the operational burden from the legal area, others have artificial intelligence and can provide relevant information, as well as other interesting functions. However, no technology decides for you. Therefore, I see technology as a very useful tool, because it frees my team from operational tasks and allows them to concentrate on delivering value to our business. For my part, I focus on providing my team the tools for leadership development and decision-making, skills that are irreplaceable by technology and therefore increasingly valued.

What is a cause, business related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?

SMI Group is a socially responsible business group. We are aware of the mainly environmental effects of our business, which is why we have incorporated sustainability as one of our organisational pillars. For example, we have a growing number of recycling plants, which allow us to incorporate recycled raw materials in the production of our plastic packaging. We also seek to use less raw material in the production of our products. We believe that the circular economy is profitable and beneficial for the environment and all stakeholders in society. As legal and compliance manager, I am concerned that new legislation will negatively affect our roadmaps. Some plastic regulations are enacted without legislative technique and without a detailed technical study of the needs of society and the environment; while others attempt to promote responsible plastic use by increasing the costs of our business. Nevertheless, we are constantly informed about legislative initiatives related to our industry, and we inform our managers of any new developments, enabling us to make the best decisions for the SMI Group and to anticipate changes.