How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

In crisis situations, I manage the legal aspects in a more direct and close manner, working together with our legal team, encouraging closer and continuous communication with them and my peers than in a regular situation.

The legal strategy is an important component in the execution of the business strategy, so when we design it, we take into consideration the company’s short, medium, and long-term goals. It must be understood that the legal strategy must facilitate and contribute to the achievement of the organisation’s broader objectives. In crisis situations, we analyse and understand the legal position of the company in such situations and work with the business and strategy teams to create a framework within which we can execute our plans within the business strategy. Fluent communication with other departments is crucial for this.

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company?

I was fortunate enough to have been responsible for the sustainability area for approximately three years and to have contributed to the design of our strategy and governance structure.

The company has managed to integrate sustainability into its processes, ranging from the design of buildings to their operation, thus making it an inherent part of the business. This was made possible because sustainability has been established as a crucial component of the overall business strategy. Consequently, sustainability initiatives are now part of the business.

To execute the sustainability strategy, there is a specific committee as well as task force groups comprising individuals from different departments who are responsible for the execution of each plan. These task force groups report to the Sustainability Committee, which in turn reports to the Executive Committee. Furthermore, the sustainability leader provides updates to the board of directors, ensuring a robust governance structure is in place to follow up the progress.

The role of the legal manager has two sides. The first one, as mentioned before, involves promoting diversity and inclusion within its own teamwork. The second one involves supervising and ensuring that the company complies with regulations (environmental, labour, among others), as well as its own standards and commitments. The latter is possible due to the comprehensive visibility that legal managers have of the company, due to their constant interaction with all areas of it.

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?

I am acutely aware of the importance of diversity in our team due to the opportunities we must offer to people of different genders and profiles, the variety of knowledge that diversity brings to the team, and how it complements us as individuals and professionals. Therefore, I am dedicated to building a legal team with diverse profiles and a range of skills and backgrounds to cultivate a variety of experiences, opinions, and ideas that enrich our discussions and knowledge.

In addition to having people of different genders, we also aim to incorporate interns to whom we provide a robust development plan, hoping they can join our team if an opportunity arises. Interns offer us different points of view, and we also have the chance to learn from them about how new generations think.

The current composition of our legal team reflects our focus on diversity. Specifically, 60% of the team (comprising 12 individuals) are women, 33% are interns, and 25% of our current staff were previously interns.