About

Amassing a lengthy career at the world’s largest food and beverage company, Ricardo Cortés-Monroy joined Nestlé Chile in October 1995 in the capacity of legal counsel and went on to assume the position of general counsel within the Americas for almost nine years. In June 2000 he moved from Chile to Switzerland to assume the position of legal counsel Latin America. ‘It was my first truly international role, in the heart of Europe and in one of the most international and largest companies in the world. It allowed me to rapidly expand my legal capabilities, mainly in M&A’, says Cortés-Monroy. In June 2002 he was promoted to general counsel Americas, as his first executive role, advising a business with US$40bn in annual sales and leading an international team of more than 150 lawyers. In June 2010 he was promoted to his current role of chief legal officer and group general counsel for Nestlé Group. The first two years of his role were dedicated to building new teams, both in subject matter expertise and in business geography, to bring together the many parallel legal departments he inherited. ‘Our mottos were “no white sports” and “one potent legal function’, says Cortés-Monroy. Subsequently in 2013-2014, he expanded the remit of legal, becoming involved in sustainability related to matters of food law, compliance, human rights and environmental law. In 2015-2017, after having been entrusted by the executive board with additional responsibilities, he led a highly transformational period, where the team took over R&D and patents and created five new units in legal, digital, data protection and privacy. In the end, the quality of legal support that he delivered with the team for the Americas was well received, described by him as ‘a role that never ceases to change and expand’. Now his responsibility covers a team of 440 lawyers, 300 paralegals and admin support, servicing a business with sales of US$94bn in 191 countries. The breadth and size of the job keeps him ‘on his toes’ every day, making him look forward to the next challenge. Cortés-Monroy was integral to the largest Nestlé transaction which involved the acquisition of Wyeth business from Pfizer in 2012 for US$12bn. He also supported the board in the evolution of a 23% stake in L’Oréal.