Team size: five   

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?  

I think that perhaps the core characteristics of a lawyer should be calmness and pragmatism; but this is achieved through work, preparation and keen eagerness to learn new things on different subjects, not just legal.  Regardless of the challenge, difficulty or issue at hand if you and your team are not calm within the storm, the projection of nervousness can be easily propagated and escalated. Hence, you as an in-house lawyer, working jointly with your team, have to build a culture throughout the organisation in which all of you become a trusted advisor and asked to get engaged in the early stages of the decision process, becoming a true legal partner. 

What are the main cases or transactions you have been involved in recently?  

Our legal team has been subject to a couple of restructuring decisions in our organisation. First, the compliance role was span off to a new department and the work of social responsibility that we had performed with the leadership and mentoring of Ligia Vega, our VP of F&A, was transferred to a newly created sustainability team. This has enabled us to focus on more strategic legal projects. First, the company decided to start using SAP as our main ERP, and Edna Salguero, one of our most experienced lawyers in the company was dedicated over 50% of her time to the migration and implementation process. Also, a year ago, Ana María Soto, joined us to lead the customer relations process jointly with Carlos Zambrano; their different backgrounds, experiences and ways of thinking are making this process to operate like a clockwork, considering that queries from customers has nearly tripled since the first year of operation of the company. Finally, we are seizing the opportunity to update all our processes to adjust them to new technologies and the evolution of customers and internal clients; therefore, the joining of an experienced lawyer, Diana Cardoso, to the team, would add incredible value.  

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?  

I think that it is key during the recruitment process to identify soft skills, and background that would enrich the team. Our HR team feedback is material on how the candidate would fit into the company and make it stronger. When we envision teams, we want people with different experiences, knowledge and ways of thinking that enhance the discussion and apply those into the company´s processes. This enables us to be in a very welcoming environment where differences are embraced and encouraged and cordiality and respect for others is the cornerstone of our organisation. 

In your opinion, what are the main trends that are salient in your country currently (these can be legal, political, economy or business-based)?  

Currently, our main concern is uncertainty in our government leadership that does not have an optimal impact on our economy. Business in Colombia are used to bloom in adversity. Conflict and social challenges have been part of our way of living for as long as I can remember, but what we see now is completely different. It is nearly impossible for the private sector to find a communication channel with the national government. We lack technical members in the cabinet, relevant ambassadors in countries that are key to our development and so on. We have two years now without an ambassador in Japan. Consumption of goods has completely idled and in the automobile industry landscape is quite dramatic. Sales of new cars have plummeted, one of the two vehicle factories in Colombia was shot down. But as always, the Colombian private sector will find the way to thrive and hopefully we will find the leadership we need, that bridge the gaps in our differences.