How has your role as in-house counsel evolved over the past few years, particularly in response to shifting global or regional dynamics?

My job as in-house counsel is in constant evolution; over the past few years I have been acquiring more responsibilities, passing from a lawyer having single legal responsibilities to having project finance, M&A, compliance and corporate governance duties till the present day that my job involves all data, business continuity planning and cyber crisis. This evolution and changes in my responsibilities also responds to a global trend since nowadays companies are better equipped to better respond to the internal control system as they are organized in defense lines: the first line being the business itself, the second line being legal, compliance and risk management (which I am responsible for) and the third line being internal audit.

Can you describe a time when legal had to balance risk mitigation with enabling business innovation?

I think that being a good in-house lawyer involves all the time trying to balance risk mitigation with business innovation; to be successful in the delivery of our duties we need to transform ourselves into business partners and participate closely with the company strategy. We need to train ourselves in accepting that sometimes we must involve ourselves in the fulfillment of the strategy and with that bear some risks. Personally, I am part of the Executive committee of the company, and it is required of me to be in constant challenge of business innovation.

How do you build and maintain strong relationships with key internal stakeholders, especially in high-pressure or fast-moving scenarios?

To be able to build and maintain strong relationships we need to be able to work under the most complete transparency and respect and build trust as well; communications and leadership are key in that. Over the past few years, I have involved myself in profound and comprehensive training courses to improve my leadership skills.

What do you consider the biggest challenge for in-house legal teams today, and how are you addressing it within your own team?

I consider the biggest challenge for an in-house lawyer is to be considered a business partner and to add value to the company strategy and by doing that to participate in the fulfilling of the company´s financial and business outcomes. To address that we need to step out of our comfort zone, involve ourselves in difficult situations, and add value to the conversation.

With respect to my team, I am constantly challenging situations and urging them to always think outside of the box.

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company?

 In our company, we focus on two main pillars to support the sustainability of both our business and society:
(i) the application of ESG principles in the investments we make through the pension funds we manage (we are the leading AFP in Peru and administer the largest pension fund in the country); and
(ii) our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Those two topics I considered to be the most relevant given that with the first one we fulfill with our fiduciary duty of fulfilling the most sustainable investments and with the second one we add to the business and the discussion different roles that need to be considered (women, minorities, among others).

In my role, I am a member of the investment risk committee, and from that position I can work directly in the construction of better and more efficient investments. Regarding the topic of diversity and inclusion, I participate directly in the construction of policies to better address the issues of diversity and inclusion within the company, and I am part of the committee in charge of these responsibilities as well. From those two roles (aside from my regular duties) I can make the changes that my company and society need to address a better future.