Brazil Teams 2019
| Vale
Vale
Responsable Propriété intellectuelle et DPO | SNCF
Country head legal Singapore and regional coordinator legal | ABN AMRO Bank
Gerente de asuntos legales | GNL Quintero
Gerente de asuntos corporativos | Alicorp
General counsel and secretary | Transformco
Global chief legal, ethics, and compliance officer | Jollibee Foods Corporation
Legal director and company secretary | Mapfre
Regional Legal Manager | Kimberly-Clark de México
Corporate legal counsel | Deacero
Head of legal and compliance | Banque Heritage
Legal director | Fibra SOMA
General Counsel | IDB Holding
Group General Counsel | Epta
Director of legal services contracting | Accenture
Legal director | L'Oréal
Jefe de la unidad de asesoria legal | Universidad Católica Boliviana - Sede Santa Cruz
Gerente ejecutiva de asuntos corporativos | Alicorp Bolivia
Cynthia Valencia Canedo is the executive manager of corporate affairs at Alicorp Bolivia, where she is responsible for the public affairs, legal, sustainable development, and communications departments. Previously, she served...
Head of legal | Sociedad Médica Lobos Tallard
General counsel | Porsche Chile
General counsel | GNL Quintero
Head of legal | Sociedade Central de Cervejas e Bebidas and Novadis
Vice president and head of legal | TCC Assets Thailand
Regional general counsel for Latin America | Zurich Latin America Serviços Brasil
General counsel | Celepsa
Gerente legal | Arca Continental Lindley
General counsel, head of sustainability | Gurit
Legal director | SOMA
Head of fund legal and corporate services | Degroof Petercam
Legal director Central America, Panama and The Caribbean and Andean Region (ACAC) | Uber
Executive vice president and general counsel | Cirion Technologies
Legal and administrative manager | Amromco Energy
Alexandru-Valentin Dinuţă is the legal and administrative manager for Amromco Energy, possessing over 20 years of professional experience and expertise in the legal field for various industries, with an emphasis...
General counsel and chief compliance officer | Plastic Omnium
Head of legal | ALD Automotive
General counsel and secretary | Transformco
Legal director | Mapfre
Legal counsel | CIN – Corporação Industrial do Norte
Legal manager | Whirlpool Mexico
Chief legal officer | Trust Fiduciaria Administradora de Fondos y Fideicomisos
Head of legal and compliance | Banque Heritage (Uruguay)
Director of legal services contracting | Accenture
Legal director | SOMA
Head of legal | SmartFit & O2
General counsel | Porsche Chile
Gerente ejecutiva de asuntos corporativos | Alicorp Bolivia
Head of legal and corporate affairs | Terpel Peru
Manager of legal affairs and corporate relations | Arca Continental Lindley
Global general counsel | Jollibee Foods Corporation
Associate general counsel, supply chain | Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines
Head of legal | Central de Cervejas e Bebidas
| TCC Assets Thailand
Regional general counsel for Latin America | Zurich Latin America Serviços Brasil
Legal director Central America, Panama and The Caribbean and Andean Region (ACAC) | Uber
In-house counsel | Hastings Technology Metals
General counsel - vice president legal and compliance | Sunfire
Dr. Valesca Molinari is general counsel — vice president of legal and compliance — at the hydrogen company Sunfire, a growth company on its way to becoming a major industrial...
Legal director | Mapre Asistencia
Secretary of the Board / General Counsel | Santander
Senior vice president and general counsel | Cirion Technologies
Head of legal and compliance | Banque Heritage
Senior corporate and real estate lawyer | Gibraltar Group
Head of legal and corporate affairs | Terpel Peru
Senior counsel Latam and third party risk, export controls team manager | Zoom Video Communications
Head of legal and administrative unit | Cargomind
Legal director | Mapfre Asistencia Compañía Internacional de Seguros y Reaseguros
Legal director ACAC (Central America, Panama and The Caribbean and Andean region) | Uber
Head of legal | New Ireland Assurance Company
Director of legal services contracting | Accenture
General cousel, senior VP | Scandinavian Tobaccp
Senior vice-president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Alimentation Couche-Tard
Partner and member of global energy group | Mayer Brown
Number of years practice: 32 Principal practice areas: Energy projects Bar admissions: Louisiana, Texas, Peru (inactive) Languages spoken: English, French, Spanish Corporate and energy specialist Jose Valera was a member...
General counsel and legal affairs director | Arconic RUSSIA
What are the most important transactions and litigations that you have been involved in during the last two years? Arconic Russia had no major corporate or commercial transactions during the...
General counsel, director legal | EuroChem
| Valeo
| Vale Tax
Can you briefly explain how the legal team is structured, highlighting key individuals and their role within the department? The Brazil tax planning team has, besides its manager, four tax...
Head of legal | New Ireland Assurance Company
Having worked as a senior solicitor in New Ireland Assurance since 2010, Valerie Barlow assumed the role of head of legal of in March 2015 and was appointed in September...
Legal affairs manager | GNL Quintero
Since it began operations in 2009 as the first land-based terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the southern hemisphere, GNL Quintero has been supplying the demand for natural gas...
Senior vice president law and human resources, general counsel and secretary | Versum Materials
Michael W. Valente is the senior vice president, law and human resources, general counsel and secretary for Versum Materials, overseeing the company’s law, human resources, intellectual property, corporate secretary, communications...
Partner and member of global energy group | Mayer Brown
Number of years practice: 31 Principal practice areas: Energy projects Bar admissions: Louisiana, Texas, Peru (inactive) Languages spoken: English, French and Spanish Corporate and energy specialist José Valera was a...
Division General Counsel Europe & Africa | Gate Gourmet Switzerland Ltd.
‘Being an in-house lawyer is one of the most exciting legal careers one can imagine’, according to Yana Valetta. Including promotions, Yana Valetta has held four different legal roles in...
Country legal head | ABN AMRO Bank Singapore
An experienced lawyer of more than 20 years, Tan assumed her current position in 2010. Joining ABN AMRO Bank post-financial crisis, after its acquisition, break-up and nationalisation, Tan regrouped the...
| Valeant Pharmaceuticals International
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is a multinational pharmaceutical and medical device company that is headquartered in Canada and develops, manufactures and markets a wide assortment of generic pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter products....
Legal Director | Petrol Plus Region (subsidiary of Fleetcor Technologies Inc)
Becoming FleetCor’s first in-house lawyer more than six years ago, Valeriya now manages six legal professionals. Her significant organisational improvements during the intervening period include the creation of templates for...
Vice president and general counsel, Latin America | Honeywell International
Valeria Chapa is noted for being an ‘outstanding lawyer’ and a ‘true leader with impressive accomplishments’. Following her graduation, Chapa joined international law firm Baker & McKenzie, becoming a partner...
director of legal services contracting | Accenture
Based in Rome, Valerio Bruno oversees a team of 15 people in his role of director of legal services contracting at Accenture. During the five years he has spent in...
| Valentia Technologies
Based at the company headquarters in Dublin, Valentia Technologies’ legal team provide legal support to the worldwide enterprise, who develop and implement health-related software solutions and services across a number...
Legal director | MAPFRE Asistencia
MAPFRE Asistencia is a global insurance, reinsurance and services company, and a subsidiary of the IBEX-35 listed insurance company MAPFRE. As the legal director, Juan Manuel Vales Cortés has had...
| Valeo
With 2016 sales of €16.5bn, Valeo is a multinational supplier of automotive products that is a constituent of the CAC 40 Index. The company is split into four divisions that...
Head of intellectual property – industrial partnerships SNCF Réseau | SNCF Réseau
Valentine Poylo previously worked with the French Navy in the Fleet Support Service, being responsible for the maintenance of ships for the Ministry of Defence. She is acknowledged for her...
Legal Director | Schneider Electric
Praised by her peers for her high level of professionalism, Paola Andrea Valero Carrero is a formidable legal expert with substantial expertise in corporate law, dispute resolution and transactional matters....
Legal vice president | Cargill
Since assuming a role in the legal department at Cargill in 2004, Valentina Moreno has continuously assumed additional responsibilities. Last year she was given the responsibility of managing key suppliers...
General counsel | Dream Unlimited Corp
A lawyer with 26 years’ worth of experience in private practice, George Valentini made his move in-house in July 2013 to oversee the legal function at Dream Unlimited, a leading...
| Valeo
Valeo is a global automotive parts company with a major presence in Brazil centred on its multiple major plants in the country. It has a €16.5bn-revenue and a particularly notable...
Country legal head | ABN AMRO Bank NV
‘Generally, what is great about in-house work is that it is so much more tangible than private practice work,’ Valerie Tan says. She joined ABN AMRO in 2010 just after...
Vice president, general counsel Latin America | CenturyLink
Valeria Plastino has been in her current role as vice president, general counsel Latin America since June 2007, originally with Level 3 Communications before it was taken over by CenturyLink...
Legal director | DHL Argentina
Valeria Leroux has served as the director of legal of the leading logistics company, DHL Argentina for 14 years. Her areas of expertise include foreign trade, international transportation and drafting...
Regional general counsel Latin America | Zurich Insurance
Valéria Camacho Martins Schmitke has 18 years of experience as a local general counsel starting in 2000 at Real Previdência e Seguros (ABN Amro Bank in Brazil). Afterwards, she moved...
Legal director Central America and Panama | Uber
Valentina Moreno Aristeguieta joined Uber as the legal director for Central America and Panama when the role was first created in the region. ‘It implied a big change for the...
Italy country counsel (head of legal affairs for Italy) | HP Italy
Valérie Ruotolo has served as country counsel in Italy for multinational information technology company HP since 2015, and although it is her first in-house role, she became head of legal...
| Valeo
A truly global company, Valeo’s 113,600 employees are located across 33 countries and 186 production units, fulfilling its vast, multibillion-Euro revenue automotive supply operations that are the culmination of over...
Employment and Latin America counsel | YKK Corporation of America
Metro Atlanta-based YKK Corporation of America oversees the operations of Japanese manufacturing group YKK – best known as the world’s largest manufacturer of zips – in Canada, the US and...
Deputy chairman of the board | Bank Saint Petersburg
Legal director (South America) | Schneider Electric
Paola Andrea Valero Carrero continues to impress peers in the capacity of legal director for Latin America at Schnieder Electric. She brings her solid experience in corporate law, contractual law,...
Legal vice-president | Banco Davivienda
Colombia’s fourth biggest company, Banco Davivienda, is a powerful commercial banking institution in Colombia and is part of Grupo Empresarial Bolívar, which for more than 70 years has operated across...
General counsel, director legal | EuroChem
An expert corporate lawyer with almost two decades of experience across private practice and in-house legal roles, Valery Sidnev leads legal support to nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer company EuroChem from...
Head of legal | Arconic
Having practiced in full-service law firms and held a number of positions as an in-house lawyer, Lev Kovalev has an excellent reputation for providing legal support in a variety of...
Legal director | Petrol Plus Region (subsidiary of Fleetcor Technologies)
As legal director of Fleetcor’s subsidiary Petrol Plus Region, over the last two years, Valeriya Grigoryeva has worked on the successful launch and implementation of an unprecedented Russian project that...
Head of legal | New Ireland Assurance Company
Head of legal at New Ireland Assurance Company, Valerie Barlow is recognised for her commercial focus and solution driven and practical approach to legal issues. She began her career in...
Chief officer for legal and corporate affairs | Telefónica
Valentina Daiber leads the legal team at Telefónica Germany, a telecoms company with over 25 million customers. Joining Telefónica Germany, then known Viag Interkom, in 1999, she started as an...
| Valeant Pharmaceuticals - Asia Pacific
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is a multinational specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company that develops and manufactures a broad range of prescription and non-prescription pharmaceutical products throughout more than 100 countries....
General counsel | Banco de Crédito del Perú
The current general counsel of Banco de Crédito del Perú, the largest bank in the country, Guillermo J. Morales-Valentín has had a highly successful career to reflect on. A financial...
Vice president and general counsel, Latin America | Honeywell International
Described by colleagues as a ‘fantastic lawyer and professional’ Valeria Chapa has overseen the legal function of the international conglomerate Honeywell across the Latin American region for the last decade....
General secretary and board secretary | Banco Santander
The individual with overall oversight of legal affairs for Santander worldwide, Jaime Pérez Renovales takes on myriad responsibilities on behalf of the Bank’s interests. He has held a number of...
Legal director for international business | MAPFRE Asistencia
With over two decades of service to the MAPFRE group, Juan Manuel Vales Cortés has grown with his years in the company after first joining as a junior lawyer, moving...
Head of intellectual property department for industrial partnerships | SNCF Réseau
In 2007, Valentine Poylo joined the infrastructure legal department of SNCF Réseau, in charge of all research, innovation and development projects, industrial partnerships and trademark portfolio of France’s national state...
Partner | Mayer Brown
Number of years practice: 30 Law school attended: South Texas College of Law (JD), Catholic University of Peru (JD) Languages spoken: English and French Principal practice areas: Energy Projects Admissions:...
The legal team is composed by two lawyers in charge of Mining law, two in charge of environmental law and one in charge of land law – real estate. The legal team attends to the demands of the Brumadinho crisis which involves environmental, mining and real estate subjects. In addition, the demands of mining law for other sites.
Certainly, the most important cases in which the legal team has been involved are those related to the Brumadinho crisis and all compliance involving the decommissioning of upstream dams – a dam modality that was prohibited in Brazil. The legal team became a key player in the dialogue with public agencies according to the best practices and the legal requirements that must be met to ensure the safety of dams in general in Brazil. Also everything that involves the accident, as well as the safety of dams in general in Brazil, now has a more intense focus by the team. After the accident, the PPO filed more than twenty lawsuits questioning Vale’s dams and mines safety, which they succeeded in paralysing almost 50% of production in the state of Minas Gerais (80 million tons of iron ore).
I consider the most important skills for an in-house lawyer to have is a thorough understanding of the client’s business and necessities, as well as the ability to have a clear and objective communication with the in-house client, providing to the client with the legal certainty necessary to fulfil the company’s obligations. Also, nowadays, the professional who can dialogue at various levels of hierarchy, respecting cultural diversity, exercising creativity in conflict resolution and empathy will certainly bring success, in its broad conception, to the team. Knowing the technical stuff is as important as having social and emotional intelligence inside the company.
Providing the legal means and instruments to achieve business objectives, as well as active action for the company to comply with the legal and contractual rules to which it is subject. It also demonstrates its value by preserving and broadening the company’s positive image before the judiciary, the Public Prosecution Service and the legal community in general, in the countries where it operates. Also, when the legal team establishes an effective consensus measures, it adds value to the company.
Therefore, some high level managers at the company still thinks that value is demonstrated when you win a case. But, in fact, normally is more important to protect the company for the future, so it can grow and thrive with legal security, it’s what we call preventive law.
Yes. The team uses technological instruments that allow a detailed follow-up of its litigation, both administrative and judicial, as well as matters of strategic content, so that the company’s board of directors is periodically updated regarding the relevant and strategic matters for the company.
Yes. Diversity and inclusion is a matter of internal policy on my company’s agenda, and all teams can and should positively influence such an agenda within our organisation. The legal team plays an important role in strengthening policies that respect diversity and inclusion, which reinforces the social commitment to provide benefits from mining.
The episode involving the dam rupture in Brumadinho promoted a drastic normative change with the prohibition of upstream dams and so on the obligation of decommissioning these structures. Thus, mining and environmental legislation has been changed in order to provide an efficient response to society, bringing greater security to mining activity.
The topic I would like to discuss concerns how legal department professionals communicate with each other and with internal clients.
The key word is, in fact, communication. To the extent that we can communicate appropriately and harmoniously within the legal departments. This harmony will naturally be reflected in the approach and response that is offered to the company’s internal clients, thus facilitating a good understanding of the client’s business as well as the better understanding of the client regarding the suggestions and guidelines proposed by the legal department, in order to achieve a good result.
Partner; co-head of the Latin America corporate and M&A group
Mayer Brown
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Partner; co-head of the Latin America corporate and M&A group
Mayer Brown
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