A. Ruth Rodríguez Pérez joined the Valencian chemical company Suavizantes y Plastificantes Bituminosos (SPB) in 2016 following a decade-long career in private practice. She states: ‘I have been practicing as...

In February 2018 Aitor Unanue left his position at construction group ULMA in order to embark on a new challenge at Orona, designers and manufacturers of elevators, escalators, moving ramps...

Having practiced as a lawyer for over a quarter of a century, Alberto Ferrández Barturen brings an outstanding level of expertise to the in-house legal function of Elecnor Group company...

Alberto Mata Rodríguez joined Deutsche Pfandbriefbank (pbb) in 2015 following a successful private practice career as a senior associate of the banking and finance department of Gómez-Acebo & Pombo. ‘My...

Identified by nominators in this year’s research as ‘a team leader and excellent lawyer who is very committed to the business’, Alejandro García Granda has been the vice-president for legal...

Described as a ‘true specialist in the construction sector’, Alfonso Aguirre Díaz-Guardamino serves as the business legal director for Sacyr Vallehermoso, a diversified group which engages in the construction, real...

A specialist in shopping centre properties across Europe, French company Klépierre owns seven shopping centres in Portugal managing over 240,000 squared metres of gross leasable area. The company’s legal director...

Global e-commerce and cloud computing giant Amazon hired Ana Buitrago in 2012, shortly after it launched its Spanish store Amazon.es and its first logistic site in Spain. As legal director...

A leading global highway concession company with a significant portfolio in Brazil, India, Mexico, and Spain, ROADIS recently recruited the highly respected Ana Lorente to the position of general counsel....

Since first joining holding company Gestmin, which operates in 27 different companies in the energy, industry, cereal logistics and real estate sectors, legal director Ana Maria Ramos’ support has been...

As one of the world’s largest nutrition, health and wellness companies, operating in more than 80 countries and with more than 400 factories, Nestlé has been involved in M&As and...

Operating in eleven countries, Cimpor is Portugal’s largest cement group. Ana Paula Reis joined the company in 2004 and has been responsible for legal affairs ever since. Explaining her role,...

Ana Prado Blanco joined Mercedes-Benz España in 2012 as the general counsel and corporate secretary of the German automobile company’s Spanish subsidiary, which encompasses 12 different entities. Prado Blanco serves...

Following her appointment as a legal director at the A Coruña based conglomerate Inveravante, Ana Soriano Mayor has contributed to a dramatic growth in the company’s legal department, which has...

Ana Valdivieso Rovira has achieved a vast amount at Hewlett-Packard since joining its Spanish arm in 2003 as a contract negotiator. After undertaking a support role at number of different...

Ana Valor’s 11-year long career with Avon Cosmetics – she previously worked in-house for Coca-Cola Spain and Autocontrol – has seen her take on a number of senior and multi-national...

Altice Portugal is Portugal’s largest telecommunications service provider. The company had operated as Portugal Telecom or PT until Dutch-based Altice Group purchased it in 2015. André Steiger Garção had been...

Legal advice to Chinese multinational technology company Huawei Technologies in Portugal is led by Andreia Collard, a professional who has worked in various sectors such as retail, banking, health, transport...

Beginning his career path in the litigation area of Iberian law firm Cuatrecasas, Andrés Campaña Avila – the current finance and resources global legal director of Iberdrola – has since...

Antonio Garcia Martinez has been involved in the telecommunications sector since the onset of his legal career. He started in private practice at Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo, where over a two-year...

Identified by nominators in this year’s research for ‘actively [contributing] to the company’s current success’, António Neto Alves has gained an invaluable experience since 2010 as general counsel of The...

Joining RB over a decade ago in December 2007, Ariadna Grañena was originally in charge of the company’s tax legal and company law matters, but within two years had assumed...

Part of the tourism group owned by the investment fund Springwater Capital, Nautalia Viajes is a leading Spanish company dedicated to the marketing of tourism products and services. With over...

A renowned expert on technology and privacy law, who joined Microsoft Ibérica in 2010 and is now legal director responsible for Spain and Portugal, Asier Crespo has been at the...

2017 has brought significant change to Belén Quintas Fernández’s career, who joined the multinational technology and consulting business Indra Sistemas immediately following its acquisition of her former employer Tecnocom. After...

Reflecting on her time at the Portuguese arm of Samsung, legal counsel manager Carla de Abreu Lopes says, ‘these last 6 years have allowed me to grow and develop my...

Despite being only 36 years old, Carlos Eduardo Gil ‘has comprehensive knowledge of all areas of the law and all practice areas relevant to [his] company’s activities’ according to a...

First joining MAXAM almost 20 years ago, general counsel, director and secretary to the board of directors Carlos Gastañaduy is a long-tenured counsel for the Spanish global technology company, having...

Based in Portugal but also present in Poland and Colombia, Jerónimo Martins operates in the food distribution and specialised retail sectors and is among the largest retailers in the world....

Part of Portugal’s national postal service CTT, Banco CTT evolved out the parent company’s financial services business. The bank’s recently appointed head of legal Catarina Gonçalves Oliveira has already impressed...

‘After ten years working as an associate lawyer in the M&A department of Cuatrecasas in Madrid, I decided to make a turn in my professional career and in November 2016...

Formerly an in-house lawyer at large companies in Spain such as Seat and Sara Lee, Cristina Crespo now serves as the head of legal for Europe of Jacobs Douwe Egberts,...

Daniel Ventín Morales has actively participated in most of Abertis Infraestructuras’ large scale deals since joining in 2005. Since then, Abertis has transformed itself from a Spain-based toll-road concessionaire to...

Part of the overall multinational telecommunications group, Telefónica Business Solutions is a leading provider of a wide range of integrated communication solutions for the business-to-business market. Head of legal at...

Having been legal and tax director of Grupo Lactalis Iberia since 2012, David López Medína knows the operations of leading dairy company from top to bottom, and takes on secretarial...

After ten years in private practice, Diego Enjuto Jareño decided to join what he calls the ‘exciting’ project of leading the in-house legal office of ISS Facility Services. With 36,000...

Diego Llavero Rivera serves as the general counsel and corporate compliance manager for SGS, a Swiss multinational company that is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification firm with...

Elena Ciordia Corcuera joined Viscofan in 1995, progressing to gain responsibility for the entire legal department in January 2001 after the previous legal manager was appointed as CEO. She has...

Emilio Meyer-Pellegrini joined PayPal shortly after its split from eBay and a few months after it became a listed company. ‘One of the reasons why I joined PayPal was to...

As the leading player in the Spanish food sector, Grupo Alimentario Citrus (GAC) currently has six production plants, ten farms covering 1,800 hectares, owns a ten-hectare seedbed, and employs over...

Filipa Salazar Leite has been leading the legal function of SUMOL+COMPAL, the leader in the Portuguese non-alcoholic beverages market, for more than 14 years – first as a secondee for...

Haitong Bank is a Chinese financial institution that is one of the leading investment banks and securities firms in China, and has a wide range of investment banking services for...

A member of Danone Iberia’s in-house legal team since 2002, Francesc Casajuana Cuscó has been its general counsel directing legal, regulatory, security and compliance matters for the company since early...

Lead counsel for EMEA and secretary of the board of directors for Iberia since 2006, Francisco Javier Castillo Palacios explains that he has somewhat of a ‘double role’ at the...

Based in Barcelona, MANGO is an international designer, manufacturer and marketer of clothing employing over 15,000 people. The company has grown exponentially in recent years, and head of the legal...

Ignacio Bilbao is a highly experienced legal manager with an excellent track record of overseeing real estate legal matters of some of the largest multinational retail groups in Spain. Having...

Irene Rodríguez Alonso joined global financial group BBVA in 2011, providing services in more than 30 countries to its 72 million customers. Rodríguez serves as the legal manager of the...

Isabel Charraz has been part of Citibank’s Portuguese operation since 2003, and during her progression to her current role as country legal counsel (senior vice president) she has taken on...

A financial legal specialist, Jaime de Miguel Muñoz has been part of CESCE’s legal setup since 1996. From 2012 onwards he has been the insurance company’s legal department director in...

The individual with overall oversight of legal affairs for Santander worldwide, Jaime Pérez Renovales takes on myriad responsibilities on behalf of the Bank’s interests. He has held a number of...

‘During my ten years at Hispasat I have implemented a network of law firms in all the countries in which we operate (mainly Latin America, the US and Europe). We...

In September 2003 Javier López Zafra was hired by L’Oréal Spain as general counsel. Nominators spoke highly of his capabilities as an expert in-house lawyer for the Spanish arm of...

Javier Vives assumed his current position as the legal affairs director of Ford Spain in November 2015, becoming responsible for all legal matters of the business in Portugal. In charge...

João Ferreira Rebelo has spent over 12 years as the head of legal and compliance for Luz Saúde, one of Portugal’s largest healthcare companies that runs a total of 20...

An M&A specialist during a private practice career honed at Spanish firm Garrigues, Joaquin Valcarcel Martinez has deployed his significant expertise in this area for Endesa, when he moved to...

John Rigau joined PepsiCo in 1992 after initially spending two years at the Barcelona office of Baker McKenzie. After gaining experience in Mexico and the US, Rigau was invited to...

Jorge Muñoz’s 13-year legal career at multinational pharmaceutical giant GSK can be divided into three periods. He started out as a legal counsel partnering with different business units of the...

Jose Carlos Tejada first joined the Spanish branch office of Natixis, the second largest banking group in France with 35 million clients spread over two retail banking networks, in August...

José Manuel García-Alfonso Martitegui has amassed an extensive career at Air Miles España – Travel Club, starting his career at the loyalty programs group in 1996, as head of the...

Joseba Olamendi joined Solarpack Corporación Tecnológica in December 2011, after a successful eight year career that saw him practice both at EY Law and Spanish law firm Garrigues. Solarpack Corporación...

In April 2017, Siemens Wind Power and Gamesa merged to become a world-leading wind power provider with an enormous global presence. Taking a ‘leading role’ in the €6.2bn valued deal,...

Euskaltel Group is a telecoms company which comprises the three main operators in northern Spain: Euskaltel in the Basque country, R in Galicia and Telecable in Asturias. In December 2015,...

With over two decades of service to the MAPFRE group, Juan Manuel Vales Cortés has grown with his years in the company after first joining as a junior lawyer, moving...

French multinational retail giant Carrefour is served in Spain by experienced general counsel Juan Riego Vila, who calls his move to the in-house realm and having to build a legal...

Juan Verdú Lázaro is a highly qualified Spanish legal counsel with over 22 years of experience gained primarily in listed Spanish and Swiss multinational companies. Known for his ability to...

General counsel and secretary to the board of Spanish electricity giant Iberdrola, Julián Martínez-Simancas Sánchez not only has a prestigious legal role, but also serves as a key component of...

First joining the company over a decade ago, Leandro Meneses is the deputy legal director of Técnicas Reunidas Group, and assists the Spanish-based general contractor in its various services of...

After spending more than a decade in private practice Leonor Pissarra made her move in-house in September 2011 to join Novartis as legal officer and country compliance head. In the...

One of the most significant metal mining operations in Europe – it operates the largest open pit copper mine on the continent – Cobre las Cruces relies upon a highly...

Luis Elías started his career at law firm Garrigues in Madrid, first moving in-house in 1994 as head legal counsel for Europe at Sogo Corporation, subsequently progressing through positions at...

‘Prior to my arrival in Indra, all legal work regarding the Portuguese subsidiary was outsourced, this means that the biggest change in the legal department was its creation from scratch....

Assuming the role of head of legal at Privalia Group in November 2017, following a near seven-year tenure at Stock Spirits Group, Margarita Minguez took charge of a team of...

US multinational pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) has been present in Portugal for 45 years and today is the country’s market leader. Maria Cristina Ribeiro has worked in...

María González Ordóñez joined Google in 2008 and, as legal director since 2014, heads and manages legal teams in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Israel and Sub-Saharan Africa. She gives...

In June 2017, Maria João Maia assumed her current position as legal manager at the Portuguese arm of multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, where she is accountable for a complete range...

As legal director of LaLiga, the first tier of professional association football in Spain, María José López Lorenzo holds a high-profile role given the global appeal of Spanish football and...

Mariano Lor Fernández-Torija started his career in private practice, rendering legal services over six years for a French law office in Madrid and Paris. He then moved on to work...

Marta Casas became general counsel of Abertis in 2001 following a decade-long career in private practice at PwC. Upon joining the Spanish infrastructure giant, Casas instantly had to transition from...

Marta Cruz de Almeida has headed the litigation department of the Portuguese utilities giant Galp Energia for almost five years, a period in which she has impressed peers with her...

Prior to joining Campofrío Food Group, Marta García Alba worked in-house for Allied Domecq and Diageo, ultimately operating as regional counsel for Western Europe (Iberia, Greece, Italy and Switzerland) at...

Prior to moving in-house in 2001, Mercedes Lara was employed in private practice, working at the trademarks and international patent agency, J. Isern, where she spent a decade advising leading...

Eurodivisas, a financial entity monitored by the Bank of Spain, is the head of the Global Exchange Group, a global leader in foreign exchange services in airports, with more than...

Since 2008, Miquel Griño Tomás has served as the general counsel of the HERA Group, a Spanish business dedicated to the waste management and implementation of environmental technologies, with broad...

Managing both claims and legal affairs for the Spanish branch of global insurance provider Hiscox, Mónica Calonje Conde is a versatile professional with substantial experience and industry recognition – having...

A professional with an industry-wide reputation for managing legal operations in healthcare, Mónica Paramés has spent a significant fraction of her legal career at the helm of the legal department...

Having completed her legal education in Germany at Frankfurt’s Goethe University, Natalia Bódalo Lozano initially began her legal career within law firms in the country. This portion of her career...

Taking an ‘active role’ in the company’s new strategic plans, Nuno Conde is not only a highly-qualified and experienced counsel but a business advisor in the truest sense of the...

Banco Santander’s Nuno Moraes Bastos is an exceptional lawyer, highly valued by colleagues for his technical skills and leadership capabilities. Described by peers as a ‘trend setter’ and praised by...

As the head of legal innovation for Telefónica Digital, Oscar Casado reports to the global director of legal affairs and digital legal transformation and leads support from a legal and...

Hired in 2007 after a seven-year period with a La Coruña-based multidisciplinary law firm, Oscar Galán Ferro is legal department director at French multinational Eiffage covering its businesses in Spain...

Oscar Garcia Maceiras has been operating in the upper echelons of the legal profession for many years. State lawyer for A Coruña between 2001 and 2006, he has been a...

Pablo de Carvajal was appointed secretary general and director of public affairs and regulation of Telefónica Group in 2018. De Carvajal first joined Telefónica in June 2001 and since then...

On the back of an extremely successful private practice career, including being part of the team in charge of opening Gómez-Acebo & Pombo’s brand-new New York office in 2012 (described...

Patrícia Fonseca leads a team of 14 lawyers and three support staff at Novo Banco, a financial institution created in 2014 by the Bank of Portugal to rescue assets and...

Patrícia Mendes was contracted by Volkswagen Financial Services Group to work on the project of establishing a branch of Volkswagen branch in Portugal. This Portuguese branch of the multinational financial...

Repsol is an integrated global energy company based in Spain and carries upstream and downstream activities on a global scale. It has more than 24,000 employees worldwide that serve its...

Paula Viegas joined Accenture as a contract manager in 2008 and subsequently went on to lead the entire contract management legal team in Portugal and Angola between 2012 and 2015,...

An insurance specialist for his entire career, Paulo Marinho joined Ascendi Portugal in 2001 and was made legal manager in 2003. Since then, he has been ‘involved in international projects’,...

As head of legal for hospital group Grupo Trofa Saúde (GTS), Pedro Ferraz is one of Portugal’s most prominent in-house lawyers in the health sector, having achieved a reputation of...

João Ferreira Rebelo has spent over 12 years as the head of legal and compliance for Luz Saúde, one of Portugal’s largest healthcare companies that runs a total of 20...

Pedro Machado currently serves as the chief legal counsel at Banco de Portugal, the central bank of the Portuguese Republic. With a career that spans more than 15 years in...

Pedro Magalhães brings a wealth of experience to the in-house legal function of Corticeira Amorim, having been part of the company since 1992; he assumed his current role as general...

Ramón Varela Aldazabal was first hired by engineering and technology group SENER Grupo de Ingeniería in 2005. The group accomplishes specific activities related to engineering and construction, with industrial holdings...

Presiding over the legal team at the core of the large Portuguese IT solutions provider Novabase since the start of 2017, Rita Branquinho Lobo has been faced with the challenging...

After a career working in a variety of private practice and in-house roles, Rita Rendeiro has a track record of serving as a legal adviser within many multinational banks and...

Rui Andrade has worked at Portuguese construction company Andrade Gutierrez for more than twenty years, a period over which he has established a highly commended legal function which oversees the...

Comprising over 100 businesses with annual revenues in excess of €15bn, the Galp Group is one of Portugal’s largest corporations. Head of legal operations at the prominent energy multinational is...

After ten years as a lawyer in two leading Portuguese law firms, Rui Manuel da Costa Ramalhal was invited to be head of the legal department at José de Mello...

Ruth Breitenfeld has operated amongst the upper echelons of the energy sector since the early 1990s. Her first in-house role after leaving a successful period as a private practice lawyer...

Head of legal and secretary to the board of Bergé y Cía – effectively head of all legal and tax services across the entire company and its subsidiaries – since...

Based in Bilbao, multinational electric utility Iberdrola earns over €30bn in annual revenues and is an international leader committed to low-emission energies. As the company’s director of legal services, Santiago...

Having worked in-house for over 30 years, Santiago Sainz de Baranda y Casado is widely praised by peers as demonstrated by the quantity and quality of positive testimonials provided by...

Susana Guerrero joined Diageo in 2010, originally as regional counsel for Iberia, and has since expanded her responsibilities to include the company’s Global Customers division – in which she leads...

Tamara Wegmann boasts 16 years’ experience as an international lawyer in both private practice and in-house corporate roles. She joined Spanish based hotel chain, NH Hotel Group, a business that...

Formerly head of legal at Barclays Portugal, Teresa Mota joined Bankinter following a landmark €175m transaction. ‘Mota was part of Barclays and was crucial to the sale process of its...

Teresa Pereira currently serves as head of legal of EDP – Energias de Portugal, which has historically been the major player in the Portuguese markets of electricity distribution, supply and...

Described as a ‘rising star’ by nominating sources, Tiago da Mota is responsible for providing legal support for the operations of Fox Networks Group in Portugal and Portuguese African countries,...

Tomás López Fernebrand’s career at the Spanish travel technology provider Amadeus IT Group dates back to 1988 when he joined the company as senior corporate counsel. Following a subsequent promotion...

Portugal-based Vanessa Santos has been the head of legal for MetLife Portugal since 2012, advising the multinational insurance company with the provision of what she calls effective legal advice ‘in...

A Spanish listed group with operations in the education and media sectors, Grupo PRISA has been in the midst of several recent transactions and litigations that have enabled it to...