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? 

Navigating the legal complexities during periods of instability and crises in the world and specially in Colombia requires a proactive and strategic approach. Our legal department is vigilant in monitoring new regulatory changes and proposed law projects that could impact on our companies. Government pronouncements are particularly critical during these times, since they have a significant effect on the political and economic factors of our country.  

Our legal strategy is designed to fortify the organisation’s resilience. We prioritise safeguarding our investments by exploring efficient international structures that benefit from investment protection treaties. This approach not only ensures compliance with evolving legal frameworks but also supports our commitment to maintaining a robust and save business operation. 

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

Sanford Group is a diversified investment conglomerate with a USD 500 MM portfolio in the oil and gas, technology, plastics, chemicals and building product industries operating mainly in United States, Latin America (México, Colombia, Brazil, and Venezuela) and Europe (Germany and Spain). In our legal department, we handle a multitude of issues across various areas, and every day brings new challenges depending on the evolution of our companies’ businesses. However, these are the main achievements recently:  

1) On 2023, participated on the sale of Sanford companies Ekomercio and Buzón E, technology solution companies, to U.S. Private Equity Firm Accel-KKR.  

2) Supervise more than 20 holding investments companies on the execution of their investment strategies and their compliance with local laws (Spain, Uruguay, Panama, BVI, Bermuda and Cayman Islands).  

3) Supervise Sanford Madrid office by monitoring more than 10 ETVE holding investments companies on the execution of their investment strategies and their compliance with local laws.  

4) Executed a restructuring in Sanford by seeking an efficient formula for Sanford Group saving up to 30% of administrative cost of holding companies by strategically entering to investment efficient and protective jurisdictions. 

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company? 

At Sanford, we are actively engaged in developing essential sustainability standards from an ESG perspective, aiming to lead our companies in their sustainability strategies. As a member of the Sanford legal team, I have been involved in the formulation of sustainability audits and practices. Our legal role is setting values and standards throughout the conglomerate. Consequently, we are crafting a clear and actionable plan closely tied to business objectives, enabling our companies to understand what is crucial for our shareholders.  

For example, one of our goals is for our companies’ suppliers to comply with specific standards, which we hope will be integrated as climate clauses in our agreements, reflecting our dedication to sustainable business practices, between other initiatives we are working in. 

What emerging technologies do you see as having the most significant impact on the legal profession in the near future, and how do you stay updated on these developments?  

From my personal view, without a doubt, artificial intelligence is one of the emerging technologies that will most positively impact our practice as lawyers. While many view it as a threat due to its potential to automate many processes, I see it as a significant benefit that will save us considerable time in tasks such as research, drafting, and reviewing, among other advantages.  

At Sanford, we undergo monthly training on artificial intelligence tools and therefore, we have been able to implement these tools as part of our routine work. Personally, artificial intelligence tools allow me to focus more on the strategy behind an idea rather than on the way it delivered itself.