Legal director and general counsel | Ocensa - Oleoducto Central
Legal and GR senior manager | Mercado Libre Colombia
In-house legal counsel SR | Comunicacion Celular Claro Colombia
Legal lead Colombia – contracting counsel senior manager | Accenture
Legal vice president Colombia | Steward Health Care International Colombia
Legal and compliance director, Colombia, Central America and the Caribbean | SGS Colombia
General counsel, compliance officer and head of corporate affairs | Tecnoglass
General legal counsel of palm oil business | Aceites Manuelita
Advisor legal vicepresidency | Grupo Energía Bogotá
Legal vice president – Colombia and Perú | Cemex Colombia
Legal manager for Andean countries | Mercado Libre Colombia
Corporate and legal counsel for Andean, CCA and Mexico. Compliance officer for the Andean Region | Avaya Communication de Colombia
Legal and corporate governance vice president | Grupo Colpatria
Coporate counsel - legal, compliance and sustainability | Organización Espinosa
Legal and compliance manager | Riopaila Castilla
Legal director, general counsel - Colombia | Compass Group Services Colombia
Chief legal officer | Teleperformance Middle Americas
Head of legal and corporate affairs | Gases de Occidente - GdO
General secretary and legal director | Caracol Primera Cadena Radial Colombiana
Legal business partner Latam and acting lead compliance manager Latam | Betsson Group
Managing counsel for Latin America | McKinsey & Company
Associate legal director Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela | Abbott Laboratories
Legal vice president, general counsel | Hoteles Decameron
Subdirector jurídico | Grupo Alsea Colombia
Head of law, patents and compliance for Bayer Andean, Central America and Caribbean Countries (PACA) | Bayer
Gerente corporativa de asuntos legales | Darnel Group
Gerente de estrategia y asesoría legal | Ocensa - Oleoducto Central
Head of legal Colombia and Ecuador | Hitachi Energy Colombia
Vice president of corporate affairs, legal affairs and sustainability | Amarilo
Legal manager of Investment Banking | Investment Banking at Bancolombia (BIB)
General legal counsel and corporate secretary | BBVA Valores Colombia
Legal affairs manager - Colombia and Dominican Republic | Air Liquide
Legal director Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela | Abbott Laboratories
Senior regulatory counsel, Mexico; antitrust POC Latam; women of CLO global co-chair | Uber
Legal director Colombia and Venezuela | PepsiCo Colombia
Legal and compliance vice president | Grupo Energía Bogotá
Corporate legal manager LATAM | Manuelita Corporativa
Chief business and legal affairs officer - CBO | Dynamo Producciones
General counsel and compliance officer | Nestlé Colombia
Chief counsel of non-sovereign operations, legal affairs | Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF)
Rosalía Roman-Urcuyo is chief counsel of non-sovereign operations, legal affairs at the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), leading the division within the legal department that supports...
Corporate legal manager | Sociedad Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones y Cesantías Porvenir
Chief legal officer | Sociedad Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones y Cesantías Porvenir
General counsel beauty and wellbeing Latam, head of legal Andean region and data privacy and governance leader Latam | Unilever
Senior Counsel illicit trade prevention for Latam, Canada and the US | Philip Morris International
I am a dual-authorised lawyer in Colombia and Venezuela, with over thirty years of international experience as a business lawyer. My expertise lies in leading legal projects and navigating complex...
General legal counsel sugar business | Manuelita
The Legal 500 is thrilled to announce the release of the latest edition of the GC Powerlist: Colombia. This eagerly awaited publication celebrates the outstanding achievements of the country’s leading in-house lawyers.
In this edition, we highlight the pivotal contributions of in-house counsel to Colombian businesses, showcasing their expertise, leadership, and unwavering commitment to excellence. The 2024 edition shines a spotlight on the extraordinary accomplishments and innovative approaches of these legal professionals as they navigate the intricate landscape of Colombian law. From managing crises and adapting to regulatory changes to implementing artificial intelligence and advancing sustainability and diversity initiatives, these leaders exhibit remarkable resilience and adaptability in a rapidly evolving legal environment.
This publication includes detailed profiles and exclusive interviews with the most influential and esteemed in-house lawyers across various sectors in Colombia. These professionals excel in formulating legal strategies, managing risks, and offering strategic advice to their organisations. Their achievements not only serve as inspiration to the legal community but also demonstrate the significant impact in-house lawyers have on shaping their organisations’ business strategies and success.
Our research underscores the growing importance of aligning legal departments with senior management, highlighting the evolving role of general counsel as crucial business partners. As Ana María Navarrete Frías, Legal Lead Colombia – Contracting Counsel Senior Manager at Accenture, observes, “Maintaining a positive attitude is essential. Work with the business and leadership to develop strategies for navigating periods of instability or crisis, and align the legal function with that strategy. Encourage closer communication between business and legal departments, and support your legal team in staying calm and resilient during challenging times.”
In-house lawyers are also at the forefront of integrating sustainability measures within their organisations. Adriana Londoño Ángel, Legal Director and General Counsel at Ocensa – Oleoducto Central, highlights, “My legal team is instrumental in embedding sustainability into Ocensa’s governance framework. In addition to providing expert advice on sustainability reporting and regulatory compliance, we focus on creating robust contractual frameworks to support ESG strategic objectives. This includes developing clauses related to the circular economy, water management, social responsibility, and stringent HSE and human rights protections in our supplier contracts.”
This publication provides exclusive insights into the challenges and opportunities facing in-house legal teams. Delve into the GC Powerlist: Colombia 2024 to uncover the remarkable stories of these distinguished individuals. Through their experiences, we aim to offer a comprehensive overview of Colombia’s legal landscape, underscoring the vital role of in-house legal teams.
We extend our sincere gratitude to all the featured in-house lawyers for their invaluable contributions and for sharing their professional journeys with us. We are proud to present this distinguished list, celebrating Colombia’s most exceptional, dedicated, and esteemed in-house lawyers.
Sara Maggi| Lead editor – The Legal 500 GC Powerlist Colombia 2024
On Thursday 20th March, Legal 500 returned to Frankfurt for the 2025 edition of the GC Summit: Germany. The event brought together some of the leading legal minds in the country for an afternoon of engaging panel discussions and interactive sessions. The agenda spanned a range of topics, current in today’s dynamic market and tailored to in-house counsel.
Vanessa Westphal, Head of legal services group at Merck, opened the programme with a keynote speech, in which she touched upon the importance of embracing uncertainty. In a market where the ways in which in-house counsel operate is rapidly changing, from the resources available to transactions themselves, Westphal advised how the legal industry can strengthen both its legal and non-legal ‘backbone’: in-house teams should focus not only on legal prowess, but also improve cultural and management expertise to ensure smooth operations across the organisation.
The first panel of the day, sponsored by Seitz, discussed the crucial role that labour law can play in times of crisis. Dr. Kathrin Bürger and Dr. Stephan Pötters of Seitz were joined on stage by Prof. Dr. Marlene Schmidt, partner at Apitzsch Schmidt Klebe Rechtsanwälte, Ralph Wangemann, managing director of human resources and labour director at Opel Automobile, Dr. Tom Gellrich, partner and managing director at AlixPartners, and Olaf Möllenkamp, chairman, Conciliation boards. In light of the election process in Germany, the panel discussed the ever-relevant topic of labour law and examined how the current environment does not make for a classic crisis: various different factors, from digitalisation to ESG aspects, come together to create a complex type of crisis that requires a more nuanced approach to labour regulations.
Ashurst took to the stage for the second panel, considering the influence that environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures and artificial intelligence (AI) can have on joint ventures. Dr. Alexander Duisberg, Marina Arntzen and Dr. Stephan Hennrich, partners at the firm, discussed the hot topic with Maler James, head of the centre of competence for strategic business units and finance at compliance at Volkswagen, Philip Nicolai, general counsel commercial and technology at Schaeffler Group, and Thilo M. Tern, managing partner at Silvester Group. The experts analysed how these elements can be utilised to make joint ventures successful and more sustainable – and ultimately act as dealbreakers or dealmakers.
Following a short break for coffee and networking, experts returned to the stage to discuss how to navigate today’s challenging M&A market. Dr. Christian Traichel and Dr Marco Hartmann-Rüppel, partners at Taylor Wessing, were joined on stage for the firm’s panel by
Carsten Burger, managing director at DC Advisory, Viktor Strauch, partner at Borromin, and Alexander Deicke of Körber. The panel considered how to manage transactions, taking into account risk, uncertainty and regulation.
The final panel of the day brought fresh perspectives on the age-old question: to litigate or to arbitrate? Nicole Boehler, Director of legal operations Europe at Autoliv, engaged in lively debate with Horst Daniel and Dr. Eveli Lume of Squire Patton Boggs, weighing up the pros and cons of litigation and arbitration. The panellists discussed factors such as bias, confidentiality, costs and recoverability. The interactive panel saw plenty of involvement from the audience, with questions from attendees touching on international mediation and third-party funding.
In a true show of the relevance and significance of the panel topics, delegates continued their animated conversations and debates over final networking drinks.
On behalf of Legal 500, we extend our gratitude to our expert panellists, sponsors, and all attendees for coming together for such a productive, engaging and successful event.
