How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?  

I believe that the most important thing to do during a crisis as a support area is to stay as close as possible to the business and the activities that add value to the company. We believe in the concept of GEMBA which is a Japanese word that means that you should pay attention to the place or space in which your company generates value to the customer.  

During challenging times, I think it is even more important to evaluate and focus on the processes and actions that generate value and pause or park other activities or processes that might also be important but not necessarily add value or that can wait after the crisis ends. 

What are the main cases or transactions you have been involved in recently?  

We have focused on our commercial side trying to have a better performance this year as last year was the worst for the industry in almost three decades. Additionally, I have been involved in our response to Agave surplus and the challenges that this bring into the Tequila business.  

What strategies do you employ to ensure the successful digital transformation of a legal department while maintaining compliance with Mexico’s data protection laws?  

Data protection is getting to be a more relevant issue in the past few years not only in Mexico but in other parts of the world.  For us, this has meant to implement a three-stage process to evaluate our opportunities and to start implementing any remediations we might need to be fully compliant with data protection in Mexico, this means we do constant reviews of all our processes and how we handle information. 

How do you manage and motivate your legal team to ensure high performance and professional growth?  

I try to listen and be open to honest conversations whenever the team ask for them. I believe that communication is a key element to any relationship, including professional relationships. Once you listen to the needs and questions of your team, it is easier to lead the way and find ways to motivate them and ensure that they can keep performing as better as possible.