Javier Talamás Weigend – GC Powerlist
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Mexico Rising Stars 2023

Healthcare

Javier Talamás Weigend

Head of legal and corporate affairs | FEMSA Salud

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Mexico Rising Stars 2023

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Javier Talamás Weigend

Head of legal and corporate affairs | FEMSA Salud

Can you tell us about your journey to becoming an in-house counsel? What inspired you to pursue a career in this field? 

I started my corporate career at a big-law firm, but my first experience as a lawyer was practicing Parliamentary Law, where I saw, firsthand, through political and legislative advisory to political parties, how law transforms and shapes our society. I think these two factors -exercising corporate law with a parliamentary background- have shaped my vision of lawyers: we are a fundamental part of how the society perceives and receives justice, and how companies must comply with it to achieve a common and greater good.   

This sensation of wanting to contribute to society pushed me further to pursue an in-house counsel career: I believe that through organisations we can greatly -I would even say directly- shape our understanding of the law, for they have contact and interactions with the society on a material level and on a day-to-day basis. This gives me the opportunity of not only practicing the law from a strictly legal point of view, but with a wider scope: one that integrates a financial, economic, political and social aspect of it.  

   

In your role as an in-house counsel, what are the main responsibilities and tasks you handle on a day-to-day basis?   

I manage and supervise the legal operation of over 1,600 pharmacies in México (under the trademark Farmacias YZA). This implies a wide array of matters, from drafting and implementing all the real estate agreements that our pharmacies require, to managing all corporate, transactional, IP, regulatory and commercial aspects of the business, as well as managing the company’s litigation strategy. Furthermore, I act as the Chief Compliance Officer of the company, so my day-to-day involves a deep understanding of the different relations we build with our suppliers while guaranteeing that our corporate governance practices are executed.  

 

What are some of the key challenges you have faced as a rising star in-house counsel, and how have you overcome them?   

I would say there are several key challenges. The first one being inherent to our core business: health and wellbeing. Our industry is subject to constant regulatory changes, which leads us to adapt or pivot our business strategy as such amends take place. As a result, our legal input is essential to our stakeholders. The other one is maintaining the legal department cost-efficient. And finally, I would add other challenge: acting not only as legal advisors, but as co-pilot of business decisions, which demands expanding our input beyond our legal expertise.  

 

What steps have you taken to enhance your professional development and expand your legal skill set?   

I recently finished a Health Law specialisation course imparted by the Escuela Libre de Derecho, while I also obtained my master’s degree in Advance Literary Studies from the University of Barcelona, since, as Dworkin has poised, law is a lot like literature. Furthermore, this has provided me with communication skills that I employ in my every day as head of corporate affairs through the political relations we must establish for the business. In addition, because law is everchanging, I recently started teaching corporate law at a renowned private university in Monterrey, Nuevo León. 

 

 

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