About

Mauricio Bezerra is General Counsel of Odebrecht Ambiental, the water and wastewater business of the historic Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht. Joining Odebrecht in 2007, Bezerra initially led the tax and finance team of Braskem and became their deputy counsel in 2010. Bezerra’s ability was recognised through his contribution to positive results and subsequent promotion to the General Counsel position. Bezerra leads a team containing 17 lawyers and non-lawyers, and has overseen significant restructuring efforts during his time in charge. Recognising the need to improve the breadth of experience within the legal function, Bezerra sought to divide the department into three main areas; corporate, litigation and business development. A valued business partner within Odebrecht Ambiental’s company structure, Bezerra reports directly to the CEO and is a member of the company’s executive committee, spending time ‘advising the CEO on his strategic agenda, focussed mainly on governance, M&A and the relationship with the shareholders’. During his earlier in-house career, including stints at Arthur Andersen, Standard Bank and Merrill Lynch Accruing, Bezerra gained a wealth of experience in capital markets, M&A deals, strategic litigations and institutional relationships.