Team size: Six

What are the projects that you are most proud of working on over the past 12 months?

We have two projects which start specifically from the legal area that make us extremely proud because of the impact they have on the entire organization.

The first one is the implementation of a tool that allows us to automate contracts through a traceability system. The automation system allowed us to provide transparency in the status of the contracts, to establish a clear and user-friendly flowchart for all parties involved in the process (commercial, operations, technology, technical and financial). This gave us management efficiency and better response times.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

Legal departments must be prepared to always handle situations of instability and crisis at all times, and the team must respond to this alignment, focusing not only on being reactive but also on being preventive. I am excited to approach problems related to legal aspects from an educational perspective. In a moment of crisis, the best thing is to solve and teach, because moments of crisis should be an opportunity to improve, grow, and learn. In my organization, we have had many events that have required us to show our best problem-solving skills and, of course, to demonstrate absolute resilience. However, the problems that have led the legal department that I lead to resolve conflict, not only aim to put out the fire, but to learn and get ahead in preventing the risks inherent to the company’s operation from materializing in the future.

What do you think sets you apart from other in-house counsel?

Being part of the Board of Directors of one of the largest insurance companies worldwide has allowed me over the last few years to learn about the business, the strategic vision, and to comprehensively learn how to manage all the areas that make up the corporation. I believe that the legal knowledge I possess is an added value to my opinions on the commercial or strategic decisions that are made. Today, what characterizes me and makes me stand out from other in-house counsels is precisely that I not only advise from a legal point of view, but I also do it from my comprehensive knowledge of the business.

What is a cause, business or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

I am passionate about sports, since I was little, I have actively participated in swimming and athletics. I am currently an open-water swimmer, and I compete in circuits within Ecuador and in international competitions. I train from five in the morning every day before going to work to be able to complete the demanding swimming in open waters. Even today, when I am five months postpartum, I have resumed my training and have successfully returned to the competitive circuit.

Sports have given me great lessons throughout my life, and I apply them today in all areas of my life. In my growth as a professional, although talent has been important, the key factor is the discipline that sports has given me. It has taught me resilience. It has taught me that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose; that losing is not bad, but just that you simply must work harder to achieve your goals; and when you win, you also must work harder to remain on top.