Legal and government affairs manager | Productos Avon Ecuador
Legal director | Las Lomas Ciudad Industrial y Comercial
Corporate counsel | SBA Communications Corporation - Ecuador
Gerente legal and apoderado especial | Directv Ecuador
Director legal ecuador and legal counselor | Huawei Technologies
Director jurídico | Concentración Deportiva de Pichincha
Corporate manager of management control and risks and legal | Corporación GPF - Grupo Fybeca
Legal counsel GM Ecuador legal department | Fresenius Medical Care
Vice President of Legal and Corporate Affairs | Reybanpac
Legal chief and corporate affairs | Corporación El Rosado
General counsel and chief compliance officer | Holcim
Legal assistant manager | Latam Airlines Ecuador
Legal and corporate affairs director | Cervecería Nacional
Director jurídico | Grupo Empresarial Espinoza - GES
Legal counsel GM Ecuador legal department | Motors del Ecuador
Head of legal and compliance andean cluster (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) | Alcon
Senior corporate counsel, LATAM | Lumen Technologies
Gerente legal y relaciones publicas | UNACEM Ecuador
General counsel and chief compliance officer | DK Management Services
Gerente legal and compliance Ecuador, Puerto Rico, República Dominicana, Aruba and Curazao | Linde
Corporate legal manager | Asesoría y control
Ecuador has a rich natural endowment which if combined with climate-friendly policies has the potential to be a source of the country’s sustainable economic development. With the government initiatives on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) such as the Green Bonus scheme, Ecuador’s in-house lawyers have been proactive in navigating their organisations by encouraging eco-friendly policies and socially responsible governance. Despite the challenges the country has faced through the unprecedented pandemic crisis, the legal teams serving the companies in Ecuador demonstrably helped businesses to drive success while mitigating risks and reducing potential legal issues.
This year’s GC Powerlist: Ecuador highlights the role of in-house counsel playing a vital part in promoting global initiatives including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Taking the lead in implementing corporate agendas with social accountability, in-house counsel in Ecuador promoted diversity and inclusion as well as community engagement into their corporate governance internal model. Recognised as business partner, the in-house legal role in Ecuador continues to evolve as strategic advisor, leading the latest opportunities and challenges.
Remaining abreast of the latest legal technology, legal functions demonstrated their increasing efficiency and productivity over the pandemic. Technology will continue the push for in-house lawyers to work faster and smarter. Driving further efficiencies in processes, the counsel contained within these pages have utilised their legal knowledge strategically alongside business insight to make a positive impact towards their organisation’s success.
It was my pleasure to speak and extensively interview the most agile, innovative, and exceptional in-house lawyers in Ecuador spanning international and domestic business titans and organisations at the cutting edge of technology and the future of work, each with their own priorities and challenges. I would like to extend the sincerest gratitude to all the general counsel and in-house lawyers who participated in this edition of the GC Powerlist: Ecuador. This edition identifies the most impressive counsel who have tackled new challenges caused by the pandemic as well as the development of eco-friendly regulations and policies.
Against the impressive backdrop of the Vienna Marriott Hotel, Legal 500 GC Summit: Austria 2025 brought together esteemed in-house counsel, practitioners and leaders from across the legal industry.
Armin Schwabl, partner at CERHA HEMPEL, kicked off the day with a dynamic presentation discussing the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D). Providing a high-level overview of the requirements, the presentation analysed the implications of the directive on in-house counsel. Schwabl examined the steps set out in the due diligence part of the CS3D and looked at what sustainability means in the context of the directive. The presentation provided practical solutions and strategies that in-house counsel can put into effect in response to the CS3D, and finished with the reminder that these measures are a team effort: in-house counsel can utilise the teams around them when approaching such legislation.
The second panel of the day, moderated by Edmund Schuster, counsel, and Claudia Fochtmann-Tischler, partner, at Baker McKenzie, considered the role of price mechanisms in M&A. The firm presented its global deal points study, examining the prevalence of different mechanisms across the DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) region, the UK and the US. Ernest Jędrzejewski, regional head of legal and compliance East Europe at DS Smith, weighed in on the conversation to discuss various aspects affecting the prevalence of different mechanisms. Nicole Christ, head of legal at RHI Magnesita, pointed out the different – and broad – perspective that in-house counsel can provide when navigating pricing mechanisms. Giovanna Bevilacqua, legal and compliance counsel at Doka, discussed the importance of translating these different perspectives across departments, from legal to strategy to finance.
Deminor’s sponsored panel picked up on this ever-prevalent theme, providing a platform for experienced in-house counsel to discuss their interaction with the world of third-party funding (TPF). Moderator Stephan Klebes, senior legal counsel at Deminor, emphasised the importance of bridging the gap between the funder and finance team and the legal team. He was joined on stage by Ulrich Kopetzki, acting director for Europe at the ICC, Bernard Reviczky, general counsel South-Eastern Europe region at Siemens Energy, Anna Katharina Radschek, senior legal counsel at Lincoln Electric, and Anne-Karin Grill, founder and principal of AKG ADVISORY. Looking at the increasingly sophisticated litigation funding market, the panel considered the benefits of having TPF as a tool in the company toolbox. The panellists concluded with the resounding agreement that it is essential to overcome
the hesitation around TPF: the best course of action for in-house counsel is to pick up the phone and call the funder.
Picking up the programme after coffee, Taylor Wessing partners Andreas Schütz and Philipp Zumbo took to the stage for the firm’s panel on navigating the threats, liabilities and potential risks within the cybersecurity space. Peter Lohberger, head of the legal department at Wiener Wohnen Hausbetreuung, discussed the importance of awareness of cybersecurity issues, and Carina Kloibhofer, head of AT data privacy security management at Erste Group Bank AG, provided expert opinions on ways in which companies can increase awareness – both within the organisation itself and beyond. Georg Jeitler, head of advisory at Grant Thornton Austria, looked at managing cyber incidents and preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Phillip Dubsky, partner at Herbst Kinsky, moderated the final session of the day, which considered mechanisms to bridge valuation gaps when pricing transactions. Christian Horvath, senior legal counsel at OMV Aktiengesellschaft, and Stefan Führer, acting general counsel at Eunomia, joined Dubsky on stage for what he dubbed the ‘artists panel’, with the panellists discussing creative ways to overcome these pricing discrepancies and practical strategies in-house counsel can use to save transactions.
Providing a forum for expert discussion and high-level debate, Legal 500 GC Summit: Austria 2025 equipped in-house counsel with key takeaways and practical strategies to implement in their practices in what continues to be a fast-paced and rapidly changing market.
