About

‘Intelligent and a great team player’, Carlos Henao is general counsel of Grupo Éxito, Colombia’s largest retail group. Also responsible for corporate matters, since his arrival he has overhauled the entire legal department, restructuring it in tripartite fashion into: legal (with 18 staff); risk, insurance & compliance (a further 13); and corporate social responsibility (another 12). Not only has this facilitated greater control and efficiency, and improved follow-up times, but it was achieved without additional expense for the company. He has also established a small in-house IP capability, which, employing patent software, has facilitated the maintenance of protection at a regional level in conjunction with cost control. Externally he has led on significant matters such as the legal coordination of a $1.4bn share offer and the subsequent $750m acquisition of Uruguay’s leading retail chain in what constitutes the company’s first step towards regional expansion. He ‘enjoys the dynamism and diversity of the matters that present themselves in the business of mass consumption and in particular, retail’. ‘Every day, problems present themselves that one has never confronted before’ he notes, ‘and one has to take decisions with the information available’. One private practice partner notes ‘it’s a pleasure to work with Carlos. He’s a very “executive” person and he maintains very good relations with external counsel: he gives us the freedom to work but is always up-to-speed with what really matters, and is always on hand to give an answer – even if it’s between flights since he has to travel extensively’.