About

Ana Isabel Montero prides herself on establishing a successful, fully integrated in-house legal department for the Iberian branch of JTI. She admits that setting up a legal department in an established company, changing the mentality of the business towards legal and dealing with regulations in five different jurisdictions have been the biggest challenges she has faced during her in-house career. Montero played an important role in the acquisition of Gryson, a leading European manufacturer of rolling tobacco; it was a deal valued at several million Euros that was strategically important for JTI. Montero has been praised for her approach on risk management, which is fully aligned with the business strategy and goals considering the nature of the tobacco sector; operating in a rapidly changing and highly regulated industry, JTI is particularly susceptible to legal changes. In 2013 the universal smoking ban came into force in Spain, and Montero has been at the forefront of the negotiations with national authorities to overcome the challenges posed by the regulatory changes.