Senior manager corporate legal | American Tower México
Vanessa Morales Ponce
Senior manager corporate legal | American Tower México
Focus on… My legal team
As a legal team, we have faced significant changes due to the corporate restructuring at American Tower in response to the competitive landscape in the regional market. We have been responsible for regionalising compliance processes across Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Paraguay) with the aim of standardising best practices and achieving operational and human capital efficiencies. Our efforts have concentrated on adopting standards for corporate and regulatory governance processes in collaboration with the procurement teams of various Latin American countries. The Mexican legal team has taken a leadership role among international multidisciplinary teams in regional and corporate working groups.
Over the past year, we have also unified the process for contracting with suppliers across Latin America, creating unique regional contracts applicable to all these countries. This approach has led to process improvements and efficiencies in time, human resources, and economic costs. As Mexico leads the negotiation of regional contracts, the operational and administrative burden has been streamlined, preventing unnecessary legal contingencies and ensuring suppliers adhere to their scopes and compliance metrics.
In this transformational approach at American Tower, we have proactively innovated how we train employees and suppliers on FCPA and compliance policies. We have facilitated both digital courses and in-person workshops through American Tower’s training and development platform. Additionally, we compiled a comprehensive book summarising the contracts of major customers for our commercial, operational, and financial teams, highlighting the key conditions to ensure effective contract management and avoid potential contingencies.
Looking ahead, the future is here, and companies committed to ESG principles are set to transform the relationship between corporations, society, and the planet. It is my goal to advance American Tower’s alignment with industry standards in this area. While American Tower already exceeds its sustainability objectives and is a socially responsible company, I aim to enhance our leadership in ESG matters from a legal and corporate governance perspective. This proactive stance will help mitigate economic and legal risks while increasing the company’s social responsibility.