Director, head of legal, Latin America and Brazil | Takeda
Isolda Llorente
Director, head of legal, Latin America and Brazil | Takeda
Isolda Llorente’s legal career began in 2003 at top Mexican law firm Ritch Mueller, subsequently moving in-house to work at Nokia, Schering-Plough and Reckitt Benckiser between 2005 and 2010.
After stints at each of the companies, Llorente then moved into the pharmaceutical sector by joining Nycomed in 2010 as regional legal manager for Latin America. In 2011 Llorente led on the fast-track merger of Nycomed with Takeda, another leading pharmaceutical company, for $10bn. She maintained her role following the change, but her responsibilities were swiftly extended and since 2015 has served as a director and head of legal for Latin America for Takeda. During her time in the pharmaceutical sector, Llorente worked on the acquisitions of companies important to the strategic goals of her employers such as Columbian pharmaceutical company Farmacol. She also managed the legal elements of the company’s expansion into Peru and Ecuador. Internally she created the legal department, employing all legal staff, devising contract templates, clinical trials, antitrust and privacy policies. She has assisted Takeda trough challenging market changes such as poor exchange rates in Venezuela and the bankruptcy of major Mexican wholesalers. In identifying planning and prevention as key to the success Llorente says, ‘a “plan B” is always present, and risk assessments always made’.