Ingrid Pahl is currently the senior legal counsel at Mastercard, in Colombia, overseeing the Andean Region of Latin America, which includes Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Suriname and Guyana.

During the past 3 years, Pahl has been crucial in negotiations to grow Mastercard´s presence in the Andean Region of Latam, enhancing and contributing to a digital market transformation of payment ecosystem in Colombia. Furthermore, Pahl is a member of the board of directors at Mastercard Colombia Administradora— a Colombian-based entity, reinforced into the market, presently responsible for authorisation, clearing and settlement of domestic transactions.

Prior to that, as legal vice president and board member at Itaú BBA — the largest bank in Latam and seventh largest in the world by assets— Pahl expedited the company´s entry into Colombia by obtaining an operating license, following lengthy procedural requirements set by the Colombian Financial Regulatory Authority while liaising closely with Itaú´s then CEO and teams.

She has also been a senior lawyer at HSBC, having commenced her career at Citibank Colombia back in 2001.

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

Our focus is to continue working on the innovation of payment systems, promoting financial inclusion, while implementing real-time payments. Crypto is another priority of ours where we have been working towards setting up an environment providing technology, services and solutions. The bigger picture here is to develop a Mastercard Network to enable digital economy for everyone, everywhere, ensuring that people and organisations have access to networks, tools and solutions safely, smartly and reliably, thus also increasing the acceptance of card payments in Andean Region of Latin America.

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

They would have to be quick to understand business goals, needs and culture. My advice would be for them to turn into an ally of all departments of their workplaces and show everyone that they are there for them. It is important to know that legal practitioners are there to safeguard them and the company´s interests.