About

A telecoms and media lawyer by training, Ivan Rojas joined multinational engineering group 3M in 2010. He was appointed general counsel (GC) for Venezuela in 2012 and became GC of Central America and the Caribbean in 2014. Throughout his time at 3M, Rojas has been praised for empowering different areas of the legal function. As a result, he says, they ‘do not need the GC for every small thing, which leaves [me to focus on] more strategic matters’. Rojas occupies a broad role in which he provides legal support across the region, dealing with everything from compliance to supply chain and manufacturing. During his time at 3M, he has implemented a number of internal processes and takes pride in having built the team from scratch: ‘Mostly my role has been the creation of the legal department in Central America and the Caribbean, and the conformation of a legal organisation supporting the operations in the region, understanding the different operations and its challenges and promoting alignment towards 3M Vision and Strategies. So change is of the essence of my role by bringing into the region the legal and compliance footprint and compromise’. He considers one of his biggest achievements to be the introduction of a legal support system that covers different operations in the Central American region and brings them into full alignment with 3M’s business vision. At the same time, he has also had to find ways to support the on-the-ground realities of operations in the region, where adverse political, economic, and legal circumstances can frequently serve as a barrier to business. He comments: ‘The situation in Venezuela brought into the company many challenges for survival and success. The understanding of the reality on the one hand and the full understanding of the company’s strategies, needs and goals on the other, was key to evolve and to be of help bringing innovative legal solutions, being flexible enough to understand operational ideas passing them through the legal perspectives, and gathering the right and trusted external legal advice was also essential’.