Team size: 12

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

I am the kind of in-house attorney that likes to look for continuous improvements to legal staff performance. We recently implemented a litigation dashboard in Mexico that allows us to monitor the different judicial processes. The dashboard also provide us key information that is important to make decisions based on the type of contingency, level of risk, and probability of success. This has allowed us to fully reduce the high-risk litigation that the company had.

Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years?

The increasing use of information technology and artificial intelligence tools will radically change the business. Of course, there is a long way to go in terms of regulation, but it will be important to stay up to date on this issue and look for ways to comply with regulations and protect customers.

What are some of the main trends impacting the industry sector you work in in Mexico?

I consider the following: First, the transition to electric and autonomous vehicles. This will impact the commercial, cargo and heavy-duty vehicles segments. Second, the nearshoring. After Covid, it became clear that any OEM’s production process may be disrupted and affected significantly by the lack of critical components on the other side. With the nearshoring, this risk is reduced substantially. This is an excellent opportunity for Mexico to continue strengthening ties with the United States and develop the internal market in different regions. Third are logistics opportunities to ship goods by sea, rail, and highway. All the aforementioned will require a significant effort from both the public and private sectors to provide adequate infrastructure in Mexico, for which we are working together to achieve these objectives.

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive and equitable work environment?

I firmly believe in the importance of recognising that diversity of thoughts and perspectives enrich us as human beings, which strengthens our work environment and favors the success of GM. In this sense, and as part of GM’s culture, in each staff meeting, a member of the legal team shares a moment of inclusion (it can be a video, article or an anecdote) to increase the awareness of diversity and inclusion in each of the team members. In addition, as part of the department’s objectives, several members of the team are part of GM’s D&I Committees in Mexico. As for me, I am the leader of the Generations Committee in Mexico, and in which we seek to eliminate the biases that can occur between the different generations that work at GM to increase participation and awareness of the diversity of thoughts and perspectives.