Peru 2026
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
Legal manager | Cosco Shipping Ports Chancay Perú
VP, General counsel and Head of integrity and compliance LATAM | The Adecco Group
Deputy legal and corporate compliance manager | Inversiones Nacionales de Turismo S.A. (Grupo BRECA)
Regional legal, public affairs and compliance director | Expertia Travel – The Carlyle Group
Legal and administration department manager | Ajinomoto del Perú S.A.
Legal and compliance manager | HV Contratistas S.A.
Legal and risk manager | Corporación Peruana de Productos Químicos - QROMA
Corporate and legal director | Silver Mountain Resources/Sociedad Minera Reliquias S.A.C.
Legal manager of projects, business, and hotel and real estate compliance | Urbanova Inmobiliaria
Legal director and Chief compliance officer | Prosegur Perú
Head of legal | Corporación Peruana de Productos Químicos - QROMA
DPO and Compliance director | Compañia de Minas Buenaventura SAA (BVN)
Superintendent legal, mining and regulatory affairs | Minera Las Bambas S.A.
Legal manager | Pacífico EPS y Red de Subsidiarias
General counsel and Data protection and compliance officer | Luz del Sur S.A.A.
Director of legal and public affairs (CLO) | PangeaCo
Head of legal and corporate affairs | SKY Airline Perú
Head of legal and corporate affairs | Leche Gloria S.A.
Legal affairs and land access manager | Minera Las Bambas S.A.
Legal affairs manager | AC Corporativo Del Perú SAC
Senior legal manager - Perú, Head of legal | Xiaomi Technologies Perú S.A.C
Senior general counsel | Integratel Perú S.A.A.
Deputy general counsel – investment banking and capital markets division | BBVA Perú
Corporate legal and regulatory affairs manager | SilHer Corp
General counsel and Sustainability director | SOFTYS S.A.C.
Legal superintendent, mining operations | Anglo American
Deputy legal and commercial manager | Banco Santander Perú S.A.
Legal and public and institutional affairs counsel | BRAEDT S.A. - SIGMA ALIMENTOS
Superintendent of legal and permitting | Auplata Mining Group Perú S.A.C. (AMG)
Corporate finance legal manager | Danper Trujillo S.A.C.
Legal and institutional relations manager | DELOSI S.A.
Legal, corporate and labour affairs manager | San Martín Contratistas Generales
Head of legal and corporate affairs | Nestlé Perú and Bolivia
Legal and regulatory counsel | Hispasat Perú
Senior legal counsel | Andino Investment Holding
VP, corporate legal | Excellia - Grupo Romero
Associate legal director, South Cone Latam | Abbott Laboratorios S.A.
VP, sustainability and corporate affairs | Minera Las Bambas S.A.
Corporate legal partner | Excellia - Grupo Romero
Legal, compliance and permitting manager | Minsur S.A.
General counsel and Corporate secretary | Scotiabank Perú
General counsel | Compañia de Minas Buenaventura SAA (BVN)
Head of legal and corporate affairs | APM Terminals Callao
Executive director of legal and compliance | Hydro Global Perú
Director, legal and corporate affairs | Urbanova Inmobiliaria
Legal, corporate, compliance and ESG manager | Grupo Celima Trebol
Head of legal | British American Tobacco del Perú S.A.C (BAT)
I am delighted to introduce the 2026 edition of Legal 500’s GC Powerlist: Peru, which once again recognises leading in-house counsel from across the country. The list celebrates not only the individual accomplishments of those included, but also pays testament to the increasingly integral role that in-house counsel play within their organisations.
In 2026, with rising geopolitical tensions, rapid digitalisation and the impact of national elections, legal leaders continue to face an influx of challenges – as well as opportunities. It will be ‘a year of significant change for in-house counsel, driven by political, technological and market developments,’ points out Andrea Garcia Romero, Deputy legal manager at Megacentro Perú. ‘In-house counsel must be ready for regulatory shifts and economic volatility’, warns Samuel Vaisman, Legal, Corporate and Labor Affairs Manager at San Martín Contratistas Generales.
Organisations now rely on their legal teams to lead them through periods of uncertainty. Humberto Lecca, Legal and Compliance Manager at Compartamos Banco advises that ‘counsel must be prepared to design agile risk allocation mechanisms, manage multi-stakeholder contractual governance, and ensure operational continuity amid regional political volatility’.
Today’s in-house counsel are no longer just legal advisors, but trusted business partners. Carlos Gómez de la Torre, Corporate General Counsel at Real Plaza S.R.L, notes they must ‘never lose sight of the business during a crisis’. The legal team’s role is to ‘translate risk into actionable terms, not slow down decision-making’, he explains. During times of crises, the first step ‘is to understand the operational and commercial realities, allowing legal advice to be practical, timely and aligned with business objectives’, agrees Erika Reategui Soto, Legal Manager at DHL Perú.
The ‘imminent advancement of artificial intelligence (AI)’ is another defining facet of the modern in-house role. Legal teams are under pressure to incorporate AI into their processes: it has the potential to ‘streamline routine work, accelerate analysis and enhance accuracy’, explains Marcela Villavicencio, General Counsel at Repsol Peru. In turn, Villavicencio goes on to point out, this allows ‘lawyers to redirect their time toward high-impact strategic matters’.
AI must be incorporated, however, in such a way that quality and integrity remain at the forefront of legal teams. Gonzalo Barrionuevo, Head of Legal and Corporate Affairs at Leche Gloria S.A., points out that ‘clear governance and training’ are required to ‘ensure that technology remains a decision-support tool, with accountability – and the human element of experience, ethics and insight – firmly retained within the legal function’. Francisco Javier Monge Zegarra, Legal Manager at Pacífico Salud, agrees: ‘in a legal function especially, the human element will always be irreplaceable. Judgment, ethics, context and empathy cannot be automated.’
The GC Powerlist: Peru 2026 celebrates the country’s senior in-house counsel leading their companies through instability toward success. Congratulations to everyone recognised in this year’s edition.
Isabel Caine
Editor – Corporate Counsel
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.
