About

Throughout its 80 year history, Empresas Copec has been involved in large-scale investment programs. The company now operates in two main industries, covering more than 80 countries and generating over $20bn in annual revenues: natural resources, where it has a thriving forestry and fisheries business; and energy, where it operates a successful fuels business. After a successful private practice career, José Tomás Guzmán Rencoret joined Empresas Copec and today, in the capacity of corporate counsel and secretary of the board of directors, has significant influence within the company’s hierarchy. In 2016 he oversaw a number of deals that were crucial to the company’s growth strategy. Firstly in May he concluded a deal that saw Empresas Copec’s subsidiary, Abastible, acquire Repsol’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) operations in Peru and Ecuador – this transaction resulted in Abastible becoming the third largest LPG player in South America. Later in 2016, Empresas Copec further extended its presence when it signed an agreement with ExxonMobil to produce and distribute lubricants and fuels in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. In August 2016, Guzmán Rencoret helped execute an agreement between the company’s Chilean fuel business and US company Delek US Holdings. The $535m deal results in Copec gaining a greater presence in the US market. Guzmán Rencoret graduated from Universidad de Chile in 1982 and, in 1987, he obtained a Master’s Degree in Comparative Jurisprudence from the New York University School of Law.