About

Throughout his 16-year tenure at the helm of MAXAM’s legal department, Carlos Manuel Gastañaduy Tilve has always strived to change the mentality of some business people about the importance of the legal function, which was seen as an obstacle rather than a supportive function, while at the same time encouraging in-house lawyers to adopt a business-oriented approach. When Gastañaduy Tilve joined in 1999, MAXAM was a local company with three foreign subsidiaries. Nowadays, it is a large multinational group, specialising in the development, manufacture and sale of civil explosives, products and services for the defence industry, key raw materials for the nitro chemical industry and solutions in the field of safety and environment, with more than 140 companies in 45 countries. Gastañaduy Tilve had a prominent role throughout the internationalisation phase, leading the company through the complexity of the deals. He admits that working on a multi-jurisdictional level is a big challenge, but the support of his committed team of 10 people has been central to the legal department’s success. In 2014 he was appointed secretary to the board of directors, which has given him the unique opportunity to interact and influence at the highest level and be part of the decision making process.