About

Described by sources as an ‘effective communicator’ and a leader with a ‘resilient personality’, Karla Gross is currently the legal director for the greater Caribbean region at Colgate-Palmolive, a global leading manufacturer of oral care and personal care products. In her dual role, Gross also leads the compliance function of the wider Latin American team. During her relatively short tenure in the company, Gross has made a positive impression with her management style and has influenced Colgate-Palmolive’s strategy with her advice regarding legal processes, as well as with her interpretation and enforcement of regional laws and corporate policies with a profound impact on the company’s operation in the region. A lawyer known for her strong commercial focus, Gross previously worked at Marsh & McLennan and Barrick Pueblo Viejo Dominicana as legal and compliance counsel and senior counsel respectively. In these roles, Gross demonstrated the flexibility to successfully manage a wide range of responsibilities related to the implementation of regulatory, risk and compliance initiatives and has impressed with her ‘second-to-none’ negotiating skills. Between 2004 and 2011, Gross worked as a legal coordinator at Unilever in the Caribbean region, where she directly advised the board of directors and each of the company departments on legal issues across intellectual property, contracts, corporate, litigation and M&A related work. Gross’ time there is characterised by the training initiatives she created and the effort she put in to increase awareness of legal issues throughout the Caribbean, as well as anticipating and influencing new regulations and legislation in the region. Gross started her legal career as a paralegal at Dominican firm Headrick Rizik Alvarez Fernandez, where she subsequently spent two years as an associate attorney before moving in-house.