United States Latin America Specialists 2017 – GC Powerlist
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United States Latin America Specialists 2017

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Adam Balfour

General counsel, Latin America | Bridgestone Americas

Consumer products

Bridgestone has long held a strong presence in Latin America and now, through the various subsidiaries that form its Latin American Tire division, operates more tire sales outlets than any...

Adlin Castro-Escobar

Director and assistant general counsel, debt capital markets | Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Financials

Since 2013, Adlin Castro-Escobar has advised on broker-dealer, investment grade and Latin America debt capital markets transactions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York, where she serves as...

Adrián Fernández Mondragón

Regional Chief Counsel & Compliance Officer Latin America | CommScope

Information technology

Adrián Fernández Mondragón is regional chief counsel and compliance officer for Latin America at broadband, enterprise, and wireless infrastructure company CommScope. He handles a range of matters, from transactional work...

Adrienne Cornejo

Vice president legal affairs | Phoenix Packaging

Consumer products

Adrienne Cornejo has more than 25 years of legal experience across in-house and private practice roles, covering different sectors and holding a number of international roles. In her current role...

Alex J. Tolston

Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Hemisphere Media Group

Sports and media

Alex Tolston is general counsel of Hemisphere Media Group (NASDAQ: HMTV), a leading publicly traded Spanish-language media company that operates television networks in the US and Latin America. One nominator,...

Alexandra Pizzinini

Latin America regional counsel | Swiss Re

Financials

Alexandra Pizzinini has three post-graduate degrees and is fluent in five languages (English, France, Spanish, Portuguese, and German). This thirst for knowledge has shaped her professional life as a lawyer....

Alix Apollon

Vice-president & regional counsel | UPS Americas

Transport and infrastructure

UPS, the world’s largest package delivery company, has been increasingly active in Latin America over recent years, investing in new facilities as it seeks to compete with rival carriers for...

Allison Tomlinson

Regional counsel (Northeast and Latin America) | Gensler

Commercial and professional services

Allison Tomlinson is lead counsel in the Northeast region and Latin America at architecture, design, planning and consulting firm Gensler, where she provides legal support to offices in Mexico, Brazil...

Ana Siegel

Senior vice president and general counsel for Hispanic Enterprises and Content | NBCUniversal

Sports and media

Described by one senior law firm partner as ‘one of the strongest general counsel I have ever worked with’, Ana Siegel received a wide range of nominations for her work...

Andrea Mon

Associate general counsel – Latin America region | Rockwell Automation

Industrials and real estate

Andrea Mon oversees legal affairs relating to Rockwell’s subsidiaries in Latin America, a region home to the company’s largest factory – located in Monterrey, Mexico – as well as major...

Andrés Cedrón

Senior legal counsel and senior director of compliance | Stryker Corporation

Healthcare

Andrés Cedrón joined Michigan-based Fortune 500 medical technologies company Stryker Corporation in 2010 as its first dedicated Latin America legal specialist. He now heads the legal and compliance teams responsible...

Andrew Balcar

Assistant general counsel | Murray Energy Corporation

Materials and mining

Andrew Balcar joined Ohio-based Murray Energy Corporation, one of the largest independent operators of coalmines in the US, in 2013 as assistant general counsel. He has substantial experience of dealing...

Andy Smith

General counsel, North and South America | Valeo

Industrials and real estate

Andy Smith heads legal operations across the Americas for French multinational automotive components supplier Valeo. Based in Troy, Michigan Smith’s role sees him cover a huge range of markets and...

Armando Gómez

Area Legal Director – LATAM | AstraZeneca

Healthcare

For nearly 30 years now, Armando Gómez has worked for some of the largest multinationals active in Latin America, including Colgate-Palmolive (1989-1998), GSK Mexico (1998-2001), Eli Lilly (2004-2010) and, since...

Bernardo González-Irizarry

Legal affairs director, Puerto Rico, Caribbean and Central America and Latin America compliance lead | Merck

Healthcare

Described by one nominator as ‘an exceptional lawyer with a deep understanding of the commercial dynamics that govern cross-border matters’, Bernardo González-Irizarry has been a member of Merck’s legal team...

Bettina Freire

Associate General Counsel, Latin America | Tech Data

Information technology

Tech Data acquired Avnet’s Technology Solutions business for $2.6 billion in early 2017, announcing shortly afterwards that it would continue with the existing staff. As such, Bettina Freire, associate general...

Bradley Stein

Senior vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer | Royal Caribbean Cruises

Hotels

Bradley Stein oversees more than 40 staff across the corporate legal, litigation and claims and global compliance and ethics groups at Royal Caribbean Cruises and its associated brands. He joined...

Brenda Durham

Senior vice president and regional general counsel, Caribbean and Latin America | Marriott International

Hotels

One of four continental general counsel serving Marriott outside the US, Brenda Durham is lead counsel for the company’s hotels and resorts throughout the Caribbean and Latin America and legal...

Carlos Lanardonne

Regional head, legal and compliance | Sandoz Latin America

Healthcare

Carlos Lanardonne is general counsel and compliance officer for the Latin America region at Sandoz, the generics division of global pharmaceutical company Novartis. Before joining Sandoz in May 2014 he...

Carrie Freed

Assistant general counsel | Philip Morris International

Food, beverages and tobacco

Carrie Freed directs and oversees complex litigation across many different Latin American jurisdictions in her role as assistant general counsel at Philip Morris International. Moreover, she does so with ‘with...

Casey Furman

Regional counsel, Latin America and the Caribbean | Verifone

Telecommunication services

Casey Furman heads legal affairs for the Latin America and Caribbean operations of Verifone, an electronic payment company that sells merchant payment devices and operating systems to businesses across the...

Chad Tatum

Assistant General Counsel, Latin America | Dart Container

Consumer products

Chad Tatum is associate general counsel with responsibility for Latin America at Dart Container, the world’s largest manufacturer of foam cups and containers. Tatum oversees legal matters related to Dart’s...

Christian Chomat

Assistant general counsel | Ravago Americas

Materials and mining

Christian Chomat has a wealth of experience in the legal sector, having held private practice and corporate counsel roles across the Americas. Currently assistant general counsel at Ravago Amercias, Chomat...

Cristiano Bernarde

Vice president and regional general counsel – Latin America and Caribbean | SAP

Information technology

Cristiano Bernarde is responsible for all legal affairs across the Latin America and Caribbean region at German multinational enterprise software business SAP, a major provider of software systems and applications...

Cristina Scarano Canino

Vice president, head of business and legal affairs, Latin America and US Hispanic | BBC Worldwide

Sports and media

Cristina Scarano Canino is a business and legal professional with expertise in the media and television industry. In her current position at BBC Worldwide she has responsibility for legal matters...

Dale Kimball

General Counsel - Latin America Region | Nissan Motor Corporation

Industrials and real estate

Based in Franklin, Tennessee, Dale Kimball has primary responsibility for all legal issues in the Latin America region at Nissan. Kimball manages a team of 15 lawyers and reports to...

Daniel Chavez

Assistant general counsel | First Solar

Daniel Chavez joined US photovoltaic manufacturer First Solar as assistant general counsel in February 2016. He was previously a partner at Texas-based law firm McDermott Will & Emery where he...

David Camhi

General counsel, chief compliance officer and secretary | Playa Hotels & Resorts

Hotels

David Camhi was appointed as Playa Hotels & Resorts first ever general counsel in 2011, just five years after the company was established. Playa specialises in the acquisition and development...

David Flavell

Senior vice president and deputy general counsel | PepsiCo

Food, beverages and tobacco

Since 2015, David Flavell has led the legal function responsible for PepsiCo’s Latin American beverage and foods business, including PepsiCo Mexico Foods and PepsiCo South America, Central America and Caribbean...

Diana Abril

Corporate general counsel | Ilumno

Information technology

Fuelled by its growing middle class, Latin America has seen an increased demand for high-quality education recently, along with a surge of companies looking to provide it. Among the leading...

Diana Becerra

Head of legal Latin America | 4finance

Information technology

Diana Becerra joined 4finance, Europe’s largest and fastest growing online and mobile consumer lending group, as Miami-based Latin America head of legal in December 2015. Her appointment as the company’s...

Donal Luna

Director, senior counsel | Natixis North America

Financials

Donal Luna is director and senior counsel at the New York offices of Natixis, the international corporate, investment, insurance and financial services arm of Groupe BPCE, the second-largest banking group...

Emir Calluf Filho

Legal director Latin America & corporate | International Flavors & Fragrances

Consumer products

In the world of fine fragrances getting things right in Latin America is hugely important. Brazil is the largest market for fine fragrances in the world and the third largest...

Fatima Wolff

Senior director, legal and compliance - Latin America | Boston Scientific Corporation

Healthcare

Fatima Wolff is senior director for legal and compliance across Latin America at Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC), where she leads a team of five lawyers covering Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela,...

Fernando Avila-Bavaresco

Senior legal counsel for Latin America | ConocoPhillips

Fernando Avila-Bavaresco joined ConocoPhillips in Venezuela in 2003 and moved to its Houston, Texas office in 2007. He now serves as senior legal counsel, providing advice to the Latin America...

Francisco Acuña

Assistant general counsel – head of legal (CALA) | Ciena

Telecommunication services

Francisco Acuña is one of a small number of lawyers employed by Ciena, a global supplier of telecommunications networking equipment, software and services. Although Ciena posted revenues of $2.6bn last...

Gary Zaugg

Associate general counsel and regional compliance director – Americas | Ingersoll Rand

Industrials and real estate

Davidson, North Carolina-based Gary Zaugg has been associate general counsel and regional compliance director for the Americas at global industrials company Ingersoll Rand (IR) since 2015. Described as ‘an incredibly...

Gonzalo Garcia Lussardi

VP and Regional General Counsel Latin America and Caribbean | Johnson Controls

Industrials and real estate

Gonzalo Garcia Lussardi is described by one nominator as ‘without a doubt one of the most experienced and respected LatAm counsel working in the US today. His knowledge of the...

Gretchen Nagy

Managing director and general counsel | Jamestown

Industrials and real estate

Gretchen Nagy has served as general counsel at US-based real estate-focused investment and management company Jamestown since 2007 and as managing director since 2012. Jamestown entered Latin America in 2013,...

Guilherme (Bill) Carvalho

Chief legal and compliance officer | Concacaf

Administrative bodies

Bill Carvalho was appointed as chief legal and compliance officer at The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) – one of the six continental governing bodies...

Ines Bahachille

Executive director – associate general counsel, Latin America | Ingram Micro

Information technology

Ines Bahachille joined Ingram Micro, the world’s largest wholesaler of technology products and services, in March 2017 following nearly 10 years spent as senior counsel at Diageo. She was widely...

Isaac Osaki

General Counsel, Latin America and Managing Director, | Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Financials

Isaac Osaki is general counsel for the Latin America region at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he also serves as head of legal for the global rates and currencies...

Iván Sandoval

Vice president, chief of legal affairs – Latin America Division | Colgate-Palmolive

Consumer products

Iván Sandoval is chief of legal affairs for Latin America (including the Caribbean) at Colgate-Palmolive. He has, says one nominator, ‘been a leader in Colgate’s different government and stakeholder initiatives...

Ivania Oberti Naranjo

Director of business, compliance and legal affairs for Latin America | PVG Insurance Group

Financials

Ivania Oberti Naranjo is a member of the senior management team and director of business, compliance and legal affairs for Latin America at boutique insurer PVG, part of a multinational...

Jaime Borja Lascurain

Legal director Latin America | Genesys

Information technology

Since 2012, Jaime Borja Lascurain has been legal director for Latin America at customer experience and call centre technology provider Genesys, overseeing everything from intellectual property to litigation and compliance...

Jay Martin

Vice president, chief compliance officer and senior deputy general counsel | Baker Hughes Incorporated

Jay Martin is the vice president, chief compliance officer and senior deputy general counsel for industrials and oilfield services company Baker Hughes Incorporated (BHI), now a part of General Electric....

Jennifer J. Perez

Senior Counsel, Bupa Global Latin America | Bupa Global Latin America, Bupa Global Market Unit

Healthcare

Jennifer Perez is senior counsel for Bupa Global Latin America (Bupa), a division of UK-headquartered private healthcare insurer Bupa International. One of the largest medical insurers in the world, Bupa...

Jennifer Munoz

Director, Assistant General Counsel | Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Financials

Jennifer Munoz is director and assistant general counsel providing legal support to Bank of America Merrill (BAML) Lynch’s M&A financial advisory and Latin America bank finance groups. She has, says...

Joe Hill

Managing director, head of legal and compliance of Latin America and Iberia | BlackRock

Financials

Joe Hill is currently a managing director and the head of legal and compliance for Latin America and Iberia at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. He is, says one...

John Guzman

Legal counsel – Latin America and the Caribbean | Motorola Solutions, Inc.

Telecommunication services

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (MSI) was created in 2011, following the spinoff of its mobile phone division (Motorola Mobility). Now headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and with a revenue of over $6bn,...

John Scott

General counsel | Inter-American Development Bank

Administrative bodies

John Scott has served as general counsel and general manager of the legal department to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) since August 2015. IDB is one of the largest sources...

Jorge Fernández González

General counsel Latin America and global channel services | 3M Company

Industrials and real estate

Based at 3M’s Minneapolis headquarters, Jorge Fernández González is responsible for the company’s legal operations in Latin America and holds parallel responsibility for all non-US regions as legal head of...

Jorge Zemborain

Corporate counsel international | The Brink’s Company

Commercial and professional services

Jorge Zemborain is described as ‘an outstanding lawyer . . . smart, committed, extremely efficient [and] a great team leader’ by one nominator. Since 2010 he has overseen legal operations...

Juan Pablo Malfavon

Legal director – Latin America | Zoetis

Healthcare

Formerly the animal health division of Pfizer, Zoetis, the largest producer of medicine and vaccinations for pets and livestock in the world, became an independent company in 2012. Zoetis’ current...

Juan Pablo Perez

General counsel – Latin America | Cisco Systems

Information technology

Juan Pablo Perez is Cisco System’s general counsel for Latin America. Based in Miami, Perez oversees a team of seven lawyers located in Cisco’s core regional markets providing advice on...

Juan Rincon-Cortes

Director and associate general counsel – Latin America and the Caribbean | Citibank

Financials

Citibank director and associate general counsel Juan Rincon-Cortes supports the Latin America and Caribbean operations at their regional headquarters in Miami. The bank has operations in almost every country across...

Jurg Zundel

Assistant general counsel | Caterpillar Inc.

Industrials and real estate

Miami-based Jurg Zundel oversees all legal services across Latin America and the Caribbean for Caterpillar, one of the largest manufacturers of construction and mining equipment in the world and a...

Karen Salas-Morales

Vice president legal, Latin America | Millicom International Cellular (Tigo)

Telecommunication services

Karen Salas-Morales heads legal affairs for Latin America at publicly-traded international telecommunications and media company Millicom International. Millicom offers a range of telecom and digital services to over 56 million...

Kimberly Chainey

Associate general counsel for M&A, strategy, innovation and Latin America | Avis Budget Group

Commercial and professional services

Kimberly Chainey’s wide-ranging role sees her leading on the legal aspects of Avis Budget Group (ABG)’s global M&A matters, protecting its global IP and supporting its strategic initiatives around new...

Larissa Zagustin

Senior vice president, general counsel | Viacom International Media Networks (The Americas)

Sports and media

Larissa Zagustin is general counsel for the Americas cluster at Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), owner of some of the world’s best-known entertainment brands including Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon....

Larra Call Waldmann

Associate general counsel and compliance officer for Latin America and Canada | Cardinal Health

Healthcare

Larra Call Waldmann is associate general counsel and compliance officer for Latin America and Canada at Cardinal Health, a Fortune 500 manufacturer and distributor of pharmaceuticals and medical products that...

LaTanya Langley

Vice president and general counsel, Group Stationery, Latin America, Middle East & Africa | BIC International

Consumer products

LaTanya Langley serves as vice president and general counsel at BIC International, the world’s number one manufacturer of ballpoint pens and a leading producer of other writing instruments. To get...

Lin Cherry

Senior vice president – business and legal affairs and general counsel | HBO Latin America

Sports and media

Lin Cherry is senior vice president – business and legal affairs and general counsel for HBO Latin America Group, distributor of the premium pay television services HBO, Max and Cinemax...

Luis Francisco Aparicio

Vice president and general counsel | Ricoh Latin America

Consumer products

Weston, Florida-based Ricoh Latin America serves the South and Central America, Mexico, and Caribbean regions with a range of office devices, including print and graphic systems, scanning technologies, digital and...

Maria Fernandez Font

Vice president and head of legal | DHL Express Latin America and DHL eCommerce – Americas

Transport and infrastructure

Since 2003, Maria Fernanda Font has played a big part in facilitating the growth in the Americas division of logistics, air, land and sea freight, e-commerce, and global mail carrier...

Mariel Creo

Managing director, investment banking and capital markets origination legal | Citigroup

Financials

Since joining Citigroup in 2010, Mariel Creo has supported a number of economically significant capital markets transactions, including offerings by institutions in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Panama and Mexico. She...

Marisol Mateos

Senior director legal, Caribbean and Latin America | Marriott International

Hotels

Marisol Mateos in an in-house lawyer with unrivalled experience in the hotel and hospitality industry. Across the course of her career she has worked for three of the best-known brands...

Mark Prybylski

General counsel – US | Argos USA

Industrials and real estate

Mark Prybylski is chief legal counsel of Argos USA, the US arm of cement producer Argos and a subsidiary of Colombian conglomerate Grupo Argos. Prybylski is described as ‘an exceptionally...

Marta Carreira-Slabe

Chief counsel | Aon Latin America

Financials

Cuba-born Marta Carreira-Slabe took an unusual route to law. She began her career as a broadcast journalist and news anchor in Illinois before retraining as a lawyer and becoming clerk...

Mary Barrazotto

Senior vice president, general counsel – North America and Latin America Regions | Brown-Forman Corporation

Food, beverages and tobacco

Mary Barrazotto is senior vice president, general counsel – North America and Latin America for Brown-Forman, one of the largest spirits and wine companies in the US and owner of...

Matías Hercovich

LatAm general counsel | Phoenix Tower International

Telecommunication services

As in-house counsel at Phoenix Tower International (PTI), Matías Hercovich is responsible for all legal and corporate aspects of the company’s Latin-American M&A, real estate and telecommunications transactions. He also...

Matthew Knopf

Senior vice president and deputy general counsel | Delta Air Lines

Transport and infrastructure

Described as ‘an exceptional attorney’, Delta Air Lines’ deputy general counsel Matthew Knopf impressed nominators with his ‘great attention to detail and the consistent excellence of his work’. Knopf joined...

Melanie Montenegro

Vice president, business and legal affairs | NBCUniversal Hispanic Group

Sports and media

Melanie Montenegro heads the legal function at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal aimed at Hispanic and Latino Americans in the US broadcast through the American Spanish-language platforms Telemundo...

Michael Hartman

General counsel, Latin America, and senior vice president and deputy general counsel | DIRECTV Latin America

Sports and media

AT&T subsidiary DIRECTV is one of the leading global digital television entertainment services provider in the US and Latin America (including Mexico and the Caribbean). In the latter market it...

Michael Sopchick

Office of the general counsel | Inter-American Development Bank

Administrative bodies

Michael Sopchick works in the office of the general counsel at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), reporting to general counsel John Scott. The ‘exceptionally talented’ Sopchick is described as a...

Michael Sukenik

Chief legal officer, Latin America/Caribbean and global senior counsel | Yum! Brands

Consumer products

Over the course of his career Michael Sukenik has built up an impressive array of experience in the legal sector, from working in private practice, in-house and at the US...

Michelle Beckers

Vice president and associate general counsel | InnerWorkings

Information technology

In June 2017 Michelle Beckers joined marketing execution company InnerWorkings in a pan-geographic counsel role, providing legal support to the company’s non-US operations with a special focus on Latin America....

Mitchell Lowe

President | Sizzling Platter

Hotels

Something of an outlier in this list, Mitchell Lowe is, strictly speaking, not a legal counsel. Since 2015 he has served as president at Sizzling Platter, the US franchise operator...

Morela Zubillaga de Paris

Director and senior counsel | BNP Paribas

Financials

For nearly 20 years, Morela Zubillaga de Paris has advised BNP Paribas on its corporate banking activities in Latin America. A period of rapid growth and subsequent restructuring into pan-Americas...

Patrick Fraizer

General counsel | Pan-American Life Insurance Group

Financials

Pan-American Life Insurance Group is US-based group of international insurance and reinsurance companies with branches and affiliates Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and 13 Caribbean...

Piero Bussani

Managing director and chief legal officer | Digital Bridge Holdings

Financials

US-based communications infrastructure investment firm Digital Bridge was formed in 2013 to acquire, fund and manage a range of assets in the communications infrastructure sector, from cellular and broadcast towers...

Ramon Rivera

Latin America area legal counsel | AbbVie

Healthcare

Ramon Rivera leads the Latin America legal function at research-based pharmaceutical company AbbVie, overseeing a team of senior legal counsel located in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, and Guatemala. Under...

Robert Ivanschitz

Assistant general counsel, corporate external and legal affairs, Latin America | Microsoft

Information technology

Though headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Latin America division of Microsoft has a strong presence in each of its subsidiaries across the region. Supporting these operations is assistant general...

Rodolfo Rivera

Chief international counsel and legal hold officer | Fidelity National Financial

Financials

Rodolfo Rivera is a well-known figure in the US in-house legal market. In his current position he is chief international counsel for Fidelity National Financial – a Fortune 500 company...

Rodrigo Bustamante

Chief counsel – Latin America Operations | Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Consumer products

Kimberly-Clark (K-C) Corporation’s brands, which include household names Huggies nappies and Kleenex tissues, are used by a quarter of the world’s population every day. Its regional operation in Latin America,...

Rodrigo Medina

Senior legal director and compliance officer – Latin America | Medtronic

Healthcare

Miami-based Rodrigo Medina is responsible for providing legal and compliance support across Latin America for Medtronic, the largest standalone medical technology company in the world and a global leader in...

Rosa Estrella

Associate general counsel – LatAm | Astellas US

Healthcare

Dominican-born Rosa Estrella has carved out a somewhat unique career representing Japanese-headquartered biopharma companies as Latin America counsel. Since November 2016 she has led the Latin America legal function at...

Rune Riegels Christensen

Group vice president, regional legal officer Americas | ISS

Commercial and professional services

One of the most impressive things about multinational service provider ISS is that in spite of its size – revenues in 2016 were 79bn Danish Kroner, or around $12bn –...

Samuel Libnic

Managing director, general counsel for Latin America and Mexico | Citigroup

Financials

‘Senior managers have told me I need to keep a diary’, says Samuel Libnic, Citigroup’s general counsel for Latin America and Mexico. ‘With all the experiences I’ve had at Citi,...

Santiago Rabassa

Executive director and international counsel, Latin America | Alexion Pharmaceuticals

Healthcare

Santiago Rabassa is described by one nominator as ‘a seasoned business adviser who can always find ways to solve even the most difficult problems’. Since 2015 he has supported the...

Sean Treglia

Senior vice president and general counsel, Latin America, government and public policy | CBRE

Industrials and real estate

Sean Treglia is senior vice president and general counsel, Latin America, government and public policy at CBRE, the largest commercial real estate services company in the world. Since joining CBRE...

Seijas McGeeney

Vice president and associate regional counsel | Turner Broadcasting System Latin America

Sports and media

Atlanta-based Astrid Seijas McGeeney is vice president and associate general counsel for Turner Latin America. She oversees all legal matters across Latin America, including the acquisition of new content for...

Shafiq Perry

Vice president and senior legal counsel | HSBC Securities

Financials

Shafiq Perry is vice president and senior legal counsel at HSBC in New York, where he is frequently involved in analysing cross-border loans to Latin America-based corporates and helping to...

Shana Cochrane Smith

Vice president, general counsel and secretary | NII Holdings

Telecommunication services

US-based, NASDAQ-listed NII Holdings provides mobile communication services in Argentina and, through its subsidiary Nextel Telecomunicações, Brazil. Shana Smith joined NII in 2009 and has served as the company’s general...

Susanne Kandel

General Counsel, Latin America | American Tower Corporation

Susanne Kandel is Latin America general counsel at American Tower, a major owner, operator and developer of wireless and broadcast communication real estate. Present in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa...

Terry Hammons

Vice president, deputy general counsel | Albemarle Corporation

Materials and mining

Terry Hammons is vice president, deputy general counsel, corporate, chief regional counsel and assistant secretary at Albemarle Corporation, a Charlotte, North Carolina based company that develops, manufactures, and markets engineered...

Thomas Kenyon

General counsel – Americas and EMEA | Air Products and Chemicals

Industrials and real estate

For any regional counsel, coping with a large number of different markets, each with their distinctive commercial, regulatory and legal drivers, is often the biggest challenge of the job. For...

Valeria Cometto

Employment and Latin America counsel | YKK Corporation of America

Consumer products

Metro Atlanta-based YKK Corporation of America oversees the operations of Japanese manufacturing group YKK – best known as the world’s largest manufacturer of zips – in Canada, the US and...

Victoria Sánchez

Senior counsel Geo Central-LAC | Mastercard

Financials

Victoria Sánchez leads all aspects of the legal support function for MasterCard’s Geo Central division, covering Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and all the Caribbean region. She is a sophisticated,...

Violeta Longino

Vice president and deputy general counsel – North America and Central America | AccorHotels Group

Hotels

Violeta Longino is vice president, deputy general counsel and regional compliance officer for North America and Central America at French multinational group AccorHotels, the world’s leading hotel operator with a...

For 30 years, The Legal 500 has been analysing the capabilities of law firms across the world, often relying on client feedback to produce an authoritative guide to the best private practice firms and partners. The GC Powerlist series reverses this process, collecting testimony and nominations from hundreds of private practice lawyers to shine a light on the best in-house counsel working in a particular market.

With the launch of the GC Powerlist US: Latin America Specialists, we draw attention to the best Latin America and Caribbean-focused regional counsel working in the US today.

The role of Latin America regional counsel has evolved considerably over the past ten years. Increasingly, cultural familiarity and local knowledge is recognised as an invaluable asset. At the same time, a large number of such roles have migrated from Latin American jurisdictions to the US. Overseeing 33 Latin America and the Caribbean markets, each with their own idiosyncrasies, from thousands of miles away can create a somewhat unique set of challenges for Latin America regional counsel. Those featured in the GC Powerlist US: Latin America Specialists have all, in their own way, found ways to deal with geographical remoteness, recurrent political and economic crises, cultural and commercial diversity and a host of other challenges that the role presents.

To produce our list of specialists, we canvassed opinions from law firm partners and in-house counsel, both in the US and across Latin America. We sought to identify those corporate counsel that have been instrumental in changing or forming opinions within their company or industry; developing technical solutions to complex issues; creating innovative structures to ensure that the in-house function is driving the business forward; or providing a business working model that other corporate counsel should follow.

I would like to express my personal thanks to our sponsors for supporting this publication, Lex Mundi. A special mention must also be made for in-house lawyers that took time to speak to us throughout the process. The fascinating insights they have given us underscores just how important the role of Latin America regional counsel has become.

David Burgess
Publishing Director

Lex Mundi

Lex Mundi logo

Lex Mundi, the world’s leading network of independent law firms, is proud to be the exclusive partner and co-organiser of this first GC Powerlist US: Latin America Specialists.

Together with our member firms in Latin America, we applaud The Legal 500 for highlighting and recognising those members of the US in-house legal community who shown themselves to be experts in the Latin American market.

Lex Mundi member firms in the region have experience working with some of the best in-house lawyers within companies operating across a variety of sectors. This is why a world ready network such as ours is happy to support a publication which identifies and recognises corporate counsel who are constantly looking to develop innovative technical solutions for complex situations, adapt and be creative in challenging socio-political environments, and create innovative structures to help accomplish their organisation’s goals.

In order to help outstanding in-house lawyers focused on Latin America, Lex Mundi member firms in the region work seamlessly together to offer coordinated, cross-border legal advice. Through Lex Mundi, top-tier firms build deep relationships among specialist lawyers to make shared investments in three key areas: training for partners and associates in up-to-date transaction and project management skills; sharing know-how in connection with legal issues, deal trends and global markets, and strengthening capabilities for the seamless execution of cross-border work.

With more than 1,700 lawyers located in 34 jurisdictions in Latin America, our member firms offer on-the-ground legal expertise that spans a wide range of industries. No matter where your business is located today, or where you are expanding to tomorrow, our legal services platform is positioned to provide industry and market-specific advice and solutions that are tailored to your needs.

We at Lex Mundi hope this GC Powerlist US: Latin America Specialists initiative will be the first of many that recognise in-house lawyers’ working outside the jurisdiction in which they and their companies are based. We would like to congratulate the corporate counsel nominees for their innovative and valuable contributions to the legal profession.

A special thanks to the following Lex Mundi member firms that made this first GC Powerlist US: Latin America Specialists possible:

    • Alvarado y Asociados, Nicaragua
    • Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega, Panamá
    • Basham, Ringe y Correa, S.C., Mexico
    • Brigard & Urrutia Abogados, Colombia
    • C.R. & F. Rojas – Abogados, Bolivia
    • Demarest Advogados, Brazil
    • Estudio Olaechea, Peru
    • Facio & Cañas, Costa Rica
    • GUFA LAW, Honduras
    • Guyer & Regules, Uruguay
    • Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal, Argentina
    • Pellerano & Herrera, Dominican Republic
    • Pérez Bustamante & Ponce, Ecuador
    • Peroni Sosa Tellechea Burt & Narvaja, Paraguay
  • Romero Pineda & Asociados, El Salvador

GC Summit Austria 2024

In Vienna’s historic cultural centre within shouting distance of the famed opera house, The Legal 500 gathered 150 of the country’s top in-house lawyers for the second GC Summit Austria. Alongside them was an experienced cohort of private practice experts from our event partners – petsche pollak, Baker McKenzie, CERHA HEMPEL, Taylor Wessing and Wolf Theiss – who were on hand to dispense their wisdom via our six sessions covering a multitude of relevant topic areas.

Expertly kicking the summit off was a speaker who always gives an excellent showing, Stefan Wochinz of Vaillant. In his hugely well-received keynote speech, Wochinz spoke about building a rewarding and successful career as a general counsel, and outlined some key themes to be explored in later sessions.

Our first panel discussion followed. In this expansive discussion, Alina Alavi Kia and Roman Heidinger of CERHA HEMPEL provided the audience with a thorough overview of brand protection requirements in Austria and gave a roadmap for successfully shepherding a brand through new technological developments. Among other issues, best practice benchmarks for trademarks, anti-counterfeiting, and licensing in an increasingly digitalised world were discussed in detail.

Next on stage were Simone Petsche-Demmel and Andreas Pollak of petsche pollak Amanda Neil ofHead Group, Nicole Bäck-Knapp of Ecker & Partner and Alice Fremuth-of Nivalion. Featuring a speaker lineup boasting extremely diverse experience and a topic that opened up multiple avenues of conversation, this panel teased out a number of issues that were at the forefront of those in the audience. As new supply chain due diligence requirements began to take hold in Austria across Europe, strategies for ensuring business-as-usual were outlined.

The next session was a particularly enlightening one organised in partnership with Taylor Wessing. Their partners, Andreas Schütz and Axel von dem Bussche were joined by Alexander Sammer of The National Anti-Doping Agency, Dr. Peter Lohberger of Wiener Wohnen Hausbetreuung and Prof. Dr. Clemens Heitzinger, co-director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (CAIML) at TU Wien. With Schütz and von dem Bussche opening by outlining the legal framework, Sammer and Lohberger then provided the perspectives of government and corporate entities respectively. As one of the foremost experts on large language models and machine learning in the country, Heitzinger’s contributions to the discussion were particularly well-received by the audience. As well as giving a background into how GPT and other models work, he gave practical advice on how to utilise them responsibly and to their best effect in an in-house legal department.

Baker McKenzie then brought their expertise to bear on a topic that is growing in importance worldwide: carve-out transactions. Given that carve-outs tendto be more challenging than an acquisition of stand-alone businesses, the panel discussed the key structuring considerations as well as practical and legal issues that must be overcome. Those on stage (Philipp Stanek and Sophie Schubert of Baker McKenzie, Dr Franz Fazekas, of ams OSRAM of Hoerbiger Group of Companies and Klemens Keferboeck of Magna International) also focused on the planning, due diligence, and documentation of carve-out transactions and touched upon selected issues regarding effective integration.

Andrea Gritsch and Florian Kusznier of Wolf Theiss were joined on stage by Victoria Corley of Enery and Dr. Alexander Schall of Unicredit Bank for our final panel session, which took a broad look at M&A issues, focusing on the key challenges which clients and their advisers faced executing deals in the current climate. Both Corley and Dr. Schall provided insights into transactions they have been a part of in their prior careers, giving the audience an exclusive insight into how deals are handled by the in-house side at the strategic level.

Our final session was a wide-ranging presentation on white-collar crime by two of the best in the business: Simone Petsche-Demmel and Andreas Pollak. Based on their extensive experience, they rounded out the summit by outlining some of the cases they have been a part of, and brought attention to some potential pitfalls that in-house counsel should be mindful of.