Legal manager, Costa Rica and El Salvador | Walmart (Corporación de Supermercados Unidos, SRL)
Legal and corporate manager North Latin America operations | Kimberly-Clark
General counsel, Central America, Panama and Dominican Republic | EY
Senior legal counsel LADMAR - Panama | Procter & Gamble
Legal manager | Distribuidora de Electricidad del Sur (DELSUR)
Regional general counsel Mexico and Central America | Enel Green Power
Chief legal officer, general counsel and corporate secretary | BAC Credomatic
Vice president legal and corporate affairs | Corporación Minera Dominicana
Regional strategic business partner for general medicines business unit COPAC and territorial legal head for Central America and The Caribbean | Sanofi
Chief legal officer | Aeris Holding Costa Rica
Legal director Central America, Carribbean, Argentina and Uruguay | JCDecaux
Chief Legal Officer | Claro CR Telecomunicaciones
Latin America regional legal affairs manager | Sitel Group
Director legal y gobierno corporativo, representante legal laboral y administrativo | Banco Davivienda Salvadoreño
Legal and external affairs director and general counsel | Dole fresh fruit international
Director health care and global antitrust | Procter & Gamble
Director regional servicios legales y secretario corporativo | Scotiabank
Legal counsel Central America and The Carribbean | The Coca Cola Company
Legal vice-president and corporate secretary | Banistmo
Business partner legal, CMI | Corporación Multi Inversiones
Legal and corporate affairs manager CAM SUR (Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panamá) | Coca-Cola FEMSA
Compliance officer and legal officer | Centro Distribuidor (CENDIS)
Managing assistant general counsel Latin America Central America Region, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador | Cargill
Corporate legal counsel | Premium Restaurants of America (Mexico and Central America)
Abogado del departamento legal | Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo
Executive vice president legal, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary | Integra Capital Group
Head of legal department, BSC & Latin America export markets | GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare
Director de asesoria legal | Bolsa Nacional de Valores de Costa Rica
 Legal lead for North Latina America (Central America, Mexico, Caribbean and Venezuela) | Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Senior legal counsel Central America, Legal counsel Unilever Intl. Latam and North America | Unilever Central America
Legal BP corporate law and country platform PACA( Paises Andinos y Centroamérica y Caribe) | Bayer
Vice president and head of legal DHL global forwarding Latin America | DHL
Legal director ACAC (Central America, Panama and The Caribbean and Andean region) | Uber
The Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Central America 2022 captures the theme of team spirit, adaptation, and growth among the leading legal counsel across all industries in Central America. It was an utter delight to speak with the remarkable and resilient general counsel in Central America. Among the general counsel who were interviewed for this edition, there was a consensus that the legal profession in Central America had grown to encompass more than just a siloed legal department; but had successfully transitioned into business strategists too.
Many of the esteemed counsel shared significant milestones they had experienced in their careers and substantial obstacles they led their companies through; some of which were a persistent global supply chain crisis which has skyrocketed the prices of commodities; the global pandemic which expedited a move towards digitalisation and achieving a healthy work/life balance for themselves and their teams. One general counsel described the state of play all over Central America as an environment of ‘commodity price increases, capacity and materials supply shortages, port congestion, inflation freight rates, among others, represent challenging factors to the operation of the business in a new normal era.’
Nonetheless, counsel in Central America are determined to be innovators, partnering with their respective organisations to foster an environment which breeds longevity and vigour. In the midst of this transforming ecosystem, businesses based all over Central America can be rest assured that their legal departments are led by outstanding general counsel who are focused on, ‘developing a risk map that allows the company to mitigate significant risks while pursuing innovation and embracing new business models.’
Central America is characterised by a distinct history of rapid sustained growth, tourism and an expansive export portfolio. To match, private companies are also committed to the economic growth of their companies and looking to connect this growth to make impact on a larger scale. Countries in Central America have also experienced much political change recently, as well as consistent shifts to its regulatory landscape. However, general counsel in this edition gladly report on their dedication to driving the success of their companies through this transformative time. There is much focus now on digitalisation of process, due to the introduction of remote working as well as a revisit to contractual documentation and internal policies, due to the pandemic.
I would like to congratulate once again the brilliant, innovative leading in-house counsel of Central America who were a pleasure to speak with for the Legal 500: Central America 2022!
Melissa Yebisi
Research analyst:
GC Powerlist Series
We feel honoured and rejoiced supporting this event. Congratulations on being listed in the most prestigious list of general counsels (GCs) in the region and being among the key players globally leading into new trails in the legal marketplace, especially during the last couple of years, in the middle of a pandemic, with no precedence, it is a testament to your leadership. We praise your extraordinary work and invaluable responsibility to propel the legal profession and we, likewise, want to praise your accomplishments. It is a delight for Arias to have the privilege to sponsor this activity and to be able to do it again, after two years of uncertainty.
Because of your diligent and outstanding work, our economies have been able to thrive. It has not been an easy job, the role of general counsel (GC) over the crisis, complex and new regulation, technological advancements, and new challenges, make you the motor of our industry. We acknowledge that all of you now bring more to the table than just your legal expertise and act as strategic legal and business advisers to the chief executive and executive leadership teams. All of you represent the greatness that arises from individuals operating together for a grander purpose.
We feel grateful to say, as many times as necessary that we are the Central American law firm that makes things happen, with presence in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. We are celebrating 80 years this 2022 since we started operations in El Salvador, and since the 90’s growing throughout the region in a constant and non-stoppable way.
We feel passionate of our profession, we relate and feel close to the vision and aspirations of your companies and goals. As you do, we also seek for better and more efficient and innovative solutions for your legal matters.
Cheers to all of you! We encourage to push us to be better, every day, to make our environments safer, to address and reinforce awareness on employment equality and gender diversity and inclusion in the workplace, support the role of women in leadership positions, and environmental matters into the priority list short-term, to survive long-term in an ever changing business environment.
After a three-year break, The Legal 500 was back in San Jose to host the inaugural GC Powerlist: Central America, sponsored by Arias. The celebration took place at the Hilton in San Jose, overlooking the beautiful Costa Rica National Stadium.
As well as the celebrations taking place, we delved into a topical panel discussion on ESG involving  Roberto Cordero (Leader of Arias’ ESG practice, Alejandra Bogates from Walmart and Emmanuel Barrabtes from CMI)
A huge thank you to Arias, for their long term support of The GC Powerlist: Central America.
Congratulations to all the leading GCs recognised, we are looking forward to next year in Panama!
