What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

I joined ABB in January 2020, and just a few weeks later, the world was living through a pandemic due to Covid-19. Legal departments needed to act as fast as possible to readjust the way of working and minimise the effects on their companies. This was the biggest challenge as a corporate lawyer. I felt that we could not stop.

Despite the pandemic, I managed several negotiations with a significant number of contracts concerning the oil and gas sectors and the electric and distribution industries.

Integrity has attracted lots of effort from me. I have actively participated in corporate governance by implementing local policies, and training on compliance, GDPR and anti-corruption practices in the country.

Finally, ABB has been very active on the M&A front. During the past two years, we have successfully worked through a change in the group’s structure.

What will be the main focus for the company in the next 12 months and how do you intend to assist with this?

The main focus in the next 12 months is to keep growing, consolidating our leadership position in the electric market in Colombia in different business areas — power automatisation, electrification and motion, where legal support has become increasingly important.

I consider myself a real partner of the business, and commercial forces have understood that legal support is valuable to do business safely.

If you had to give advice to an aspiring in-house lawyer or general counsel, what would it be and why?

My advice would be to focus on the business. In-house counsel play an important role as business partners. We help companies achieve successful outcomes through negotiation, anticipation and completion of agreements. Relationships with other departments should be based on trust, and integrity is the principal value to consider daily when making decisions.