About

Initially operating as a corporate law specialist at one of the Philippines’ leading corporate private practice firms, Jazel Calvo-Cariño initially moved in-house with Deutsche Bank Philippines. After doing a brief stint with Macquarie Investments, she changed sectors entirely and joined Sanofi-Aventis Philippines seven years ago. ‘The rest’, as she says, ‘is history’. She hit the ground running at Sanofi-Aventis, and has been involved in some of the most important deals for the company since taking over. One example of this was her work with a transversal team in Sanofi to successfully join the Rhea brand by a Mercury Drug affiliated company: ‘This was a breakthrough, given it marked a true partnership milestone between Mercury and different pharma companies. With this project, we were able to ensure further access of affordable, high quality medicine to patients who need it. It was a very difficult negotiation because it was the first of its kind and both parties were dealing with provisions not entirely familiar with them’. Calvo-Cariño was also involved in the negotiation of a full collective bargaining agreement with the company’s labour union which was concluded three years ago. She speaks to the intensity of the work she and the team has been involved in in 2018. ‘To say this year was an eventful year is a huge understatement! The Sanofi legal team is constantly evolving because we are sensitive to the needs of our stakeholders and are agile enough to adjust our approach in offering effective legal counsel. We offer counsel to our clients but more importantly, we also need to learn from them so we can be better lawyers to the business’, she says.