LATAM countries your role covers: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Perú, Ecuador, México, and Venezuela

What are the most significant cases and transactions in the LATAM region that you or your legal team have recently been involved in?

Telefónica is committed to advancing the digitalisation of Latin America, endeavouring to cover two greatest future needs: fibre development and coverage, through strategic alliances. Our legal department has been playing a pivotal role in the development and implementation of such commitment, having supported the Latin America teams in the creation of the first open access fibre optic companies in Chile (OnNet), Colombia and Perú, all with the top investor Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR).

I have also been closely involved in supporting Telefónica´s Open Innovation Hub Wayra in Brazil, the pioneer, together with Vivo, in establishing Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) in Brazil by the creation of Vivo Ventures, the first Telefónica’s CVC fund and one of the largest CVCs in Brazil.

What are your organisations plans in the LATAM region over the next 12 months and how will your legal expertise help to achieve these plans?

Telefónica remains dedicated to advancing digitalisation and connectivity in LATAM, while Wayra Brazil will continue investing in early-stage startups, and Vivo Ventures has ambitious plans to invest $60m in startups over the next five years. Drawing from my 21 years of legal experience and institutional knowledge as an in-house counsel within the Telefónica group, I am well-equipped to offer efficient and innovative legal advice, with a strong emphasis on agility and a business-oriented approach.

How do you adapt your legal counselling to align with the diverse business practices and customs of various LATAM countries?

The diversity of culture across Latin American countries is enormous. It is reflected in the different ways of working and different business strategies. I have been lucky enough to live and work in Spain, Chile, Brazil, and the UK; this has fostered my sense of adaptability, which I frequently put in practice when dealing with my multi-cultural group of stakeholders. I have a hands-on approach and am adaptable to different environments and projects. I like to understand both the business and its goals beforehand, so I am able to propose different ideas to support the team to achieve their goals by adjusting the path.