Legal and compliance director (general counsel, secretary of the board and compliance officer) | Holcim México Operaciones
Legal and corporate affairs | Walmart de México y Centroamérica
Head of legal and corporate affairs | FRISA
General counsel, compliance officer and secretary of the board | Westrock México
Vice president of governmental affairs and sustainability | ENGIE México
Ana Laura Ludlow has more than 24 years of experience in the energy sector in Mexico and the United States. She has held various management positions in the natural gas,...
Legal vice president and general counsel | PepsiCo International
Sustainability, B corp, advocacy and diversity and inclusion manager | Danone
Chief general counsel | Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo en América Latina (IDEAL)
Legal director of corporate affairs | Alsea
General counsel and compliance officer | Grupo Rotoplas
Chief compliance and sustainability officer | IENTC Telecom
Director corporativo de compliance y sostenibilidad | Fundación Teletón México
Founder and president | Mexican Hydrogen, Storage & Sustainable Mobility Association (AMH2)
Corporate chief legal and compliance officer | El Puerto de Liverpool
Environmental initiatives program manager, Latin America | Apple
General counsel, head of government affairs Mexico, global compliance coordinator and data privacy officer Latam | DHL Supply Chain
Director of public affairs, communications and sustainability | Arca Continental
General counsel, ethics and compliance and data protection officer North Latin America | Capgemini
Vice president legal and compliance, assistant general counsel | Element Fleet Management México
Legal manager of electricity and hydrocarbon | Peñoles Industries
General counsel, regulatory and compliance director North LATAM | Danone
Responsible sourcing senior manager and business integration | Target
Chief compliance and risk officer | Aleatica
Corporate sustainability manager | Hoteles City
Maria has over 15 years of experience in sustainability programmes, environmental management, and launching initiatives in the tourism sector and hospitality industry. In 2012, she joined Hoteles City as a...
Chief sustainability officer | Banco Santander – México
A lawyer and internationalist with a master’s degree in Latin America, Mariuz Calvet has had a lifelong career in the sustainability field. From academia to NGOs, she then moved into...
Head of public affairs, communications and sustainability, Caribbean | The Coca-Cola Company
General counsel LATAM (nutrition BU) Mexico and CARICAM | Unilever
General counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate affairs | Grupo Proeza
Regional communications director and head of sustainability, LATAM | IPG Mediabrands
Chief legal and regulatory officer. general counsel. director relaciones gubernamentales | Ford México
Vice president legal and corporate affairs | Grupo Modelo
Director de Finanzas y Administración_x000D_ | Hoteles City
With more than 10 years of experience within Hoteles City, Santiago Parra has held different positions and has been in charge of the relationship with financial and banking institutions, with...
Head of legal and compliance officer | ATENTO México
With businesses facing mounting pressure to meet ESG targets, general counsel are increasingly tasked with identifying and mitigating risks across supply chains, aligning compliance approaches with global standards, and establishing new corporate governance frameworks.
As the GC Powerlist series expands, we aim to spotlight individuals excelling in previously unexplored areas. With the looming threat of climate change and recent interviews emphasising the pivotal role of in-house lawyers in driving organisational change, the creation of a Green GC Powerlist presented a natural progression. The Legal 500’s Green Powerlist highlights prominent general counsel, heads of legal, and sustainability officers in Mexico, showcasing those leading sustainability efforts and guiding their organisations towards a greener future.
Our interviews were enlightening, not only because our research team had the opportunity to interview not just lawyers, but also sustainability officers collaborating closely with legal and business departments to enact change. Our findings reveal a shared sentiment beyond meeting environmental standards, emphasising the importance of instilling a commitment to green initiatives amongst employees. Abraham Sosa-Robles, general counsel at Grupo Herdez, raises an intriguing question about employee commitment to green activities beyond the workplace: ‘In other words, how do we determine whether the values and culture of a company are influencing the lives of its employees and their families? Beyond theoretical knowledge, companies should make their best efforts to provide training to their employees on how to conserve energy in their households, implement recycling programs, reduce water usage, and provide them with information on sustainable transportation options. A true green culture should extend beyond the four walls of a corporation’.
There is a growing trend in responses suggesting companies need to consider the broader spectrum of their sustainability efforts rather than just surface-level or widely publicised activities. Rodrigo Méndez SolÃs, senior legal manager at Mercado Libre, states: ‘At Mercado Libre, we actively engage in social initiatives to benefit our community, concurrently recognising the interconnectedness of our business impact on both society and the environment. Our green initiatives extend beyond legal obligations, using sustainable materials to minimise our ecological footprint. We believe these efforts not only fulfil regulatory requirements but also align with our commitment to environmental stewardship. Specifically, our initiatives foster community engagement, promoting environmental awareness, and inspiring a sense of responsibility’.
Furthermore, there is a trend suggesting in-house lawyers are best positioned to drive ESG goals within their organisations, balancing environmental regulations with innovation for business success and sustainability. Karina Ojeda Valle, legal director at Capital Indigo, suggests: ‘We can also lead efforts that can go beyond what is legally or regulatory mandated to our organisations and push forward to create innovative and one-step-ahead processes and self-regulation that may be differentiators among other organisations like ours’.
We encourage readers to explore this publication to learn more about these individuals driving sustainable change. Many thanks to the inspiring general counsel, in-house lawyers, and sustainability officers who shared their insights with us, and congratulations on being selected to join this elite group working towards a greener world for all.
Sara Maggi — Deputy Editor GC Powerlist Series
Jugroop Singh — Research Analyst
Galicia is no stranger to setting the standard for legal excellence in Mexico, and it is our honor to sponsor The Legal 500´s Green GC Powerlist this year, recognizing the most influential and gifted green counsels of Mexico.
Our participation is a testament of Galicia´s ability to offer a unique legal service that strategically considers ESG criteria. As the Mexican-leading firm and pioneer in establishing new frameworks for conducting legal business, Galicia takes the title for being the first to create a practice of ESG experts that resolve matters through a sustainable lens, modeling this for other firms since its inception in 2021.
As trailblazers ourselves, we understand the curiosity, perseverance and courage it takes to innovate, to disrupt, to be the first. Galicia applauds every person on this list and consciously recognizes the individual effort it takes to mitigate risk and adhere to global regulations when leading an organization´s transition into sustainability.
Galicia prides itself in its talent, creating the space and providing the tools for the over 200 lawyers across our 25 practice areas to take the multidisciplinary approach necessary to achieve comprehensive solutions. Those on this Green Powerlist exemplify exactly that – the action of taking a multidisciplinary approach, which includes an ESG perspective, to yield panoptic solutions.
A special thank you goes to The Legal 500 for allowing us to host this event and properly honor Mexico´s ESG leaders. We express immense gratitude to those driving sustainable business in our nation and give our support to those making a positive change in Mexico´s legal panorama.
Contact our ESG Team: [email protected]
Tuesday 23rd of May saw The Legal 500 launch the first Green GC Powerlist, Mexico; a listing designed to identify not only leading, environmentally conscious GCs but also other, key, C-suite figures who have demonstrated commitment to tackling the global warming crisis.
Held on the rooftop terrace of the Habita Hotel in Polanco, México City, The Legal 500 and sponsor firm Galicia Abogados were delighted to host over 70 invitees to what constituted the inaugural GC listing of this type in the Americas. After brief introductory words of welcome from Legal 500’s Latin America editor, Tim Girven (standing in for Legal 500 Green Guide editor, Anna Baubock), who drew particular attention to the country’s water crisis and its potential impact upon the country’s economic activity; the audience then heard from the head of Galicia Abogados’ energy practice, Carlos MarÃa de Campos, who raised some of the practical challenges and tensions facing in-house counsel as regards environmental issues. Lastly -but by no means least! – we were delighted to invite Diego Gómez Palacio Borboa, Director for Growth, M&A and Legal at BUPA México, to address his colleagues and provide the in-house perspective on the emergence of environmental preoccupations – pretty much regardless of industry or sector – as a key issue for the in-house community. The assembled guests received the speakers with admirable enthusiasm which made for a most convivial evening of discussion and debate.
Our sincere thanks both to our invitees (who we congratulate once more for earning their places on this inaugural Green GC Powerlist), and to our sponsors, Galicia Abogados, who not only turned out in force with more than a dozen partners, including firm chairman, Manuel Galicia, but also provided invaluable logistical support – our thanks to Beatrice, MarÃa and the entire team.