About

Able to ‘command respect and inspire confidence’ by offering ‘creative legal solutions’ across three different jurisdictions, Nelcina Tropardi is Diageo’s general counsel and corporate relations director for Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil. Tropardi is responsible for two functions at the international beverages company: corporate relations, in which she oversees a team of 10 responsible for public policy, government relations, external communication and sustainability; and the legal department comprised of 11 employees, which deals with lawyers, trainees and administrative assistants. The legal function was restructured by Tropardi to better suit business needs and principles, there was a new focus that sought to apply creative approaches to legal problems, proactively anticipating new changes in law that were applicable to the business. This process was helped by her excellent interpersonal skills when communicating with business partners. Flourishing in the management side of her role, Tropardi particularly enjoys building teams and wider company strategy. An excellent example of a lawyer who is commercially-minded as well being a source of legal support, Tropardi highlights her ability to ‘evolve along with various changes the business has faced in Latin America’. Citing an ‘excellent relationship with the CEO and colleagues from the senior management’, Tropardi is a member of the company executive board. Using this platform, she is able to communicate her belief that ‘the main goal of a company should be a fusion of high performance with high integrity’. Tropardi goes on to outline the most important qualities of a general counsel in Brazil: ‘This environment requires a general counsel that takes three legal roles; an accurate lawyer, a wise counsellor and a company leader’.