About

With 16 years as the corporate head of legal at Ecopetrol, one of the four main petroleum producers in Latin America, Rodolfo Mario Garcia Paredes’ legal advice has seen the company through some of the most important events in its history. Notably, he was tremendously active in the legal support of the company strategy to internationalise Ecopetrol. He participated in the acquisition of blocks in Peru, Brazil and the United States, in the establishment of foreign subsidiaries of the company, and the acquisition of oil companies in Colombia and abroad. Highlights of his work include the 2003 restructuring (designed to allow Ecopetrol to compete in the global hydrocarbons industry), and his stellar work capitalising on the subsequent 2006 decree that allowed the company much needed access to private investments. In 2011, he helped Ecopetrol overcome a transactional challenge associated with the $1.75bn acquisition of BP Exploration Company Colombia, which required a legal team of 25 people on due diligence matters alone. An international lawyer who also worked on the deal commented that ‘he’s very careful, very thoughtful. Throughout all the pressures he is very reasoned and calm. He’s a good listener, careful in his thinking and someone who works through problems collaboratively. Frankly, he’s a pleasure to work with’. Garcia Paredes’ extensive knowledge of the oil and gas industry has led to lecturing positions at the law schools of both the University of Rosario and Externado University of Colombia, where he primarily taught the legal realities of oil procurement. Commenting on Ecopetrol, Garcia Paredes said, ‘with our number of lawyers it’s not unlike a law firm, and as the biggest company in the country, and with our expansion overseas, the work one undertakes is very interesting from a juridical point of view. Personally, I also have the sense that I am working for the good of the country’.