About

Branded as Movistar, Telefónica operates the local mobile network in Colombia, having purchased the entire operations of now-defunct American telecoms company in BellSouth in 2004 in a $5.8bn deal. Since then, the company has further merged with state-owned telecoms company Coltel, evidence of a constantly expanding and diversifying business operation, and now oversees mobile, internet and broadband networks across Colombia. The support of this growth requires immense organisational skill and business knowledge from the company’s legal team, particularly in the coordination and rationalisation of business functions between the respective legal operations of the merging companies. The team is overseen by Martha Elena Ruiz Diaz-Granados, a very highly regarded corporate legal professional who has top level business experience to go along with her legal credentials. Indeed, Ruiz is secretary of the board of directors for Telefónica Colombia, and provides the benefit of legal expertise to top level management decisions. The Movistar Colombia legal team has been involved in a number of high-profile deals, which shows the company’s commitment to developing their services in the country. An example of this is the June 2017 announcement that the company will be investing $175m in new fibre-optic broadband services over the coming months, providing their customers with even greater access to high-speed internet.