About

A standout figure among the younger generation of Latin American in-house counsel, Marcos de Campos Ludwig, general counsel at Brazilian iron-ore company Manabi, has overseen the company’s growth from a start-up in 2011, to a significant player in its sector, with an impressive roster of investors including Ontario Teachers’ (OTPP), Korea Investment Corporation, and EIG Energy. Heralded as ‘bright, focused, and business-oriented’, he led on the company’s transformational $550m international equity offering in 2011, as well as a subsequent $300m private equity placement and concurrent (pre-emptive) rights offering. Formerly at leading firm Veirano Advogados, and with US experience at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, insiders point to Ludwig’s excellence as a communicator, who ‘clearly and effectively helps external counsel understand the client’s needs and objectives, and elegantly fine-tunes outside legal input so it becomes as precise, practical and useful as possible’. He currently manages a seven-strong team which he has built and schooled in ‘a mix of in-depth legal knowledge along with a certain entrepreneurial element’: the ability to weigh risks and decide rapidly in a dynamic market. ‘I try to instil this autonomy and business-mindedness in our young lawyers. If legal decisions come too late it can be very damaging,’ he notes. ‘Deeply experienced and knowledgeable in the areas of capital markets, private equity, M&A, mining regulatory issues, real estate and corporate governance’, Ludwig is ‘as comfortable and effective negotiating a high-complexity international financing as he is advising his company on local regulatory issues’ and ‘navigates the day-to-day legal needs of a growing company in a highly regulated environment masterfully’, according to external counsel who appreciate working with a lawyer who ‘offers a rare combination of legal expertise, business acumen and personal rapport’. Moreover, he ‘understands the life and challenges of both outside counsel and executives and travels seamlessly between both worlds’; and with his ‘ability to translate legal risk into commercial assessments’, he embodies the entrepreneurially oriented general counsel that is increasingly sought after in the Brazilian market. ‘A great leader’, with a ‘rare combination of breadth and depth’, and a degree of ‘personal rapport, empathy and likeability’ that makes him ‘a great person to work with’ Ludwig ‘adds enormous value to the company’, according to insiders who regard him as ‘without doubt, one of the best professionals in Latin America’.