About

Diego Valdovinos moved in-house to join Ford de México in 2010 after working for one of Latin America’s largest law firms Basham, Ringe y Correa. Since joining the global automotive company, Valdovinos has excelled in his roles and progressed internally at a fast pace. At the age of 26 he led the legal department for seven months as part of a handover following the departure of his then manager. He says this period enabled him to acquire seniority and develop his knowledge of the business. In 2015 Valdovinos was appointed legal affairs director in addition to his role as head of compliance for Mexico and South America, which he took on a year earlier. When taking the role, he became Ford’s youngest ever director. In this position Valdovinos has enhanced the position of Ford in Mexico through a number of initiatives, including internal anti-bribery training. The company now has five facilities in Mexico, with 15,000 employees that produce 700,000 vehicles per year. One key feature of his tenure is adapting the legal department to ensure it networks with other departments, improving communications and interaction with the business; this has been especially important considering the rapid expansion of the company. His other career highlights include saving the company $50m in one year through rulings obtained on bonds and insurance and executing a deal for the purchase of one of Ford’s plants.