What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and the parent company of one of the leading integrated energy groups in the American continent, with operations in over eight countries.

Since 2016, I have strived to collaborate in securing the best corporate governance by leading two crucial projects for the group. The first initiative took place in 2018. It entailed an update of the corporate governance model for Ecopetrol. This project included the design and implementation of the best legal and governance standards for boards of directors of Ecopetrol and its subsidiaries, an update of the individual and collective delegation of authority within the group, and a redefinition of the management relationship between Ecopetrol and its companies as the group. The model needed to comply with Colombian and US legislation, going beyond the law as we implemented the best corporate standards for public energy companies. The model was successfully implemented and is the framework we use within the Ecopetrol Group.

In 2021, I was also part of the team that worked in the transaction involving the acquisition of a 51.4% stake (for US$3.6bn) in Interconexión Eléctrica (ISA) – a regional leader in electricity transmission, with operations in Colombia, Brazil, Chile and Peru. This transaction represents the meeting point of two successful paths travelled by ISA and Ecopetrol to strengthen both companies, to grow and consolidate as central characters in the energy market; not only in Colombia but in the region, solidifying the path towards electrification with low emission activities and with significant contributions to the decarbonisation route. The teams involved concluded Ecopetrol Group’s most relevant inorganic acquisition in its 70-year history.

Following the acquisition, we created a transitional management office in which we worked to integrate ISA into the Ecopetrol Group, making sure that we could effectively take control while we maintained the company’s culture and business. This acquisition marked a milestone in the execution of our company’s strategy to 2040 (2040 Strategy). This new strategy is founded on four pillars: growth with the energy transition, competitive returns, cutting-edge knowledge, and generating value through Technology and ESG.

This 2040 Strategy and the acquisition of ISA, which grew the group from 50 subsidiaries to more than 90, triggered the need to update the management and governance model we had for the group. This second major project, led by my team and me, involved redefining how Ecopetrol, as the strategic leader and parent company of the Ecopetrol Group, should direct the group’s entities and its diversified types of businesses to deliver the results set out in the 2040 Strategy successfully. It entailed ample legal analysis of how corporate groups function, corporate analysis concerning competition and antitrust law, corporate liability laws, and cross-boundary legal implications of the model.