About

Before joining Japan Tobacco International (JTI), a Fortune 500 company and the world’s third largest tobacco company, Edgar Martinez served as an associate at Goodrich, Riquelme y Asociados for seven years, specialising in corporate law and alternative dispute resolutions. During his time in private practice he handled the account of JTI México, in fact signing its incorporation certificate in 2006. When JTI finally began operating in Mexico with the launch its Winton brand in 2012, Martinez was asked to the lead the legal department. By January 2014 he was appointed head of the legal department and corporate affairs, since then his role has been extended to the legal matters of Central America and the Caribbean. Martinez began structuring the legal and corporate affairs department from scratch with the assistance of the company’s regional and global legal department and is deeply immersed in all the areas of the company with strong communication channels with the regional and global headquarters. Working in a heavily regulated sector, Martinez’s role also allows him close interaction with the senior management where he assists on major litigations, deal negotiations and key strategies for the development of the company in the region. Demonstrating this, Martinez says ‘I obtained and defended the company’s sanitary license, which is the core authorisation to operate in Mexico’. He was also directly involved with the creation and structuring of JTI’s distribution network, essential for tobacco suppliers.