Legal counsel | Seguros del Pichincha
Sebastián del Salto
Legal counsel | Seguros del Pichincha
What are the projects that you are most proud of working on over the past 12 months?
Without a doubt, holding the position of legal head within a leading insurance company in the market presents constant challenges of diverse nature, subject matter, and generally high complexity. However, to satisfactorily address each of the challenges that arise along the way, I consider it essential to have a deep understanding of the business, its strategy, the identified risks, the operation, and other particularities of the company. Only in this way can legal advice add value to the business, prevent risks, and anticipate strategies for the benefit of the company.
I would like to highlight the project of automating external regulatory compliance. During my tenure, through a clear process of identifying regulatory requirements, responsible parties, dependencies, and new regulations, we obtained a legal tool that, in addition to controlling each user’s compliance, automatically obtains and records compliance evidence, generating real-time reports. This tool, combined with the implementation of clear change culture strategies, has allowed the company to maintain the highest levels of compliance with control and supervision entities.
Similarly, I highlight the project of selecting a new core business system, where the legal area contributed to risk identification, strengthening the methodology, and participating in complex negotiations with various global suppliers. This ensured that the final contractual product anticipated and established actions to be taken in the various risk scenarios involved in this core business system change processes.
How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?
The role of the legal head during periods of instability or crisis in organisations is crucial. In my experience, in these situations, the role of the legal department goes beyond knowledge of regulatory or contractual provisions and becomes an additional business manager, contributing with a combination of relevant elements. These include a rapid, effective, and thorough evaluation of the risks and adverse scenarios affecting the company; the definition of a clear, objective legal strategy always aligned with the company’s overall strategy; ensuring effective communication among all governance bodies of the company, enabling informed decision-making; and maintaining openness to innovation and adaptability.
Thus, my experience allows me to conclude that the role of legal advisors, even in times of crisis, is linked to ensuring proactive intervention, risk prevention, and proposing concrete actions for the benefit of internal clients, always taking into account the principles of corporate governance, risk appetite, and compliance that govern the organisation.
What do you think sets you apart from other in-house counsel?
A deep understanding of the business has been key. I believe my role in the company truly evolved once I was able to delve into and understand the operation, identifying each of the company’s pains, strengths, and opportunities. This has allowed me to extend the traditional role of the legal advisor, becoming a true ally who contributes to the construction and execution of the company’s strategy.
In recent months, I have worked tirelessly on fostering a cultural change within the company. The goal is to shift the traditional perception that internal areas have of the legal department, moving away from the notion that the legal team is there merely to solve problems and act reactively, to a more modern view of the department as a strategic ally. This shift involves being part of the strategy development, anticipating and preventing risks, and presenting innovative solutions in adverse scenarios.
What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?
Without a doubt, I believe the most important attribute is the ability to listen to the internal clients’ concerns and understand the risks of the industry and those specific to each company. Only through this kind of empathy can the legal department provide efficient solutions and identify where the opportunities for internal development lie. Without a deep understanding of the business, any digital legal management tool or artificial intelligence could fail to serve the organisation’s broader interests.