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‘The need for involvement in all aspects of the company has allowed me to get a broader and better understanding of the industry, the company and the needs of both internal and external clients’, says Edgar Trueba Paz y Puente, executive director of Morgan Stanley México. In his capacity as head of the legal department since 2012 and secretary of the board of directors of Morgan Stanley México, he is responsible of legal and regulatory coverage for all business units and support functions, with emphasis on the legal aspects of investment banking and sales and trading. He names two important changes he has made to the workings of his legal department during this time, stating the ‘client focus approach’ and the ‘streamlining of the corporate governance structure’ have helped in achieving the business’ goals. Moulding the team according to values that are ‘acting with the utmost integrity and professionalism, approaching to our daily duties as owners and play a fundamental role in the successful design and completion of the company’s strategy in order to create long term value rather than following a more traditional limited advisory role’. Against the background of the dynamic financial services industry, which he states has been ‘subject to major legal and regulatory changes’ in recent years that have affected Morgan Stanley’s operations in the country and the role of the legal team which has experienced an ‘additional layer of complexity to the role [where it has been] a constant challenge to keep up to speed’. Having a key impact on the business’ bottom line and showing a predilection for innovation, Trueba was crucial in a number of securities offering transactions, some of which he explains were ‘the first ever in the local market’ including Fibra E asset class, a Mexican type of MLP and the company’s first IPO after a regulatory reform in 2017.