Team Size: Five

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

As the leader of the legal and sustainability area, my main responsibility is to ensure the legal compliance of the company, seeking to reduce risks and avoid contingencies, for which it is important to act in a preventive manner and anticipate the scenarios and impacts in each of them in order to make informed and measured decisions. One of the most relevant projects that we have executed with my team has been the implementation of the personal data protection law, a challenge in Ecuador considering that there are still no administrative or judicial precedents nor pronouncements from the authority.

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

During periods of instability or crisis, the most important thing is to know the business, the processes and needs of the organisation well. To advise appropriately in a situation of this sort, it is important to deeply understand the organisation’s stance amid the crisis, its threats and opportunities, considering the risks but providing options for their correct management or administration, as well as the implementation of the necessary measures that are transversal to the business and strengthening teamwork.

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

I think that one of the most important qualities that I have as leader of the legal team is having training and knowledge not only in the legal area but also in business, finance, accounting, leadership, economic and political environment, which allows me to have an integral vision that goes beyond the legal. Additionally, I interact, and I am interested in understanding the organization and its needs and addressing them promptly, as well as those of our internal and external clients. The empathy but also the trust that is generated in the area is an aspect that is highly valued.

How can general counsel foster a corporate culture that supports ESG principles and compliance across all levels of the organisation?

From my role as leader of the legal and sustainability area, I have had the opportunity to strengthen my knowledge of ESG principles. I believe that the most important thing is that their application must come down from the top management, that the strategy that is designed and implemented must be transversal to the entire organization. To foster a corporate culture, we have worked on training, internal and external communication, involving stakeholders and establishing indicators that allow us to measure and improve management.