Legal team size: 15

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?

In terms of communication, I find that transparency is the best strategy in uncertain times, and that engaging in open and candid discussions inspires trust and respect, while fostering a collaborative approach to problem solving.

In terms of leadership and problem solving, periods of instability and crisis often involve rapid changes and require quick decisions. In those moments, I leverage past experiences, trust my gut, and choose the best path forward based on the (imperfect) information at hand. As crisis situations typically disrupt the status quo and necessitate an innovative approach to solving evolving problems, one must adapting quickly to fluid situations, be comfortable operating in an environment of uncertainty, and work swiftly yet deliberately to make the best decision. We work hand in hand with our investors and portfolio companies to consider alternative funding sources and negotiate bespoke deal terms that enable the companies to thrive while mitigating investment risk to the shareholders.

Winston Churchill famously said that every catastrophe creates an opportunity, and I find that crisis situations similarly lend themselves to continuous growth and improvement. Once the dust settles, I conduct a “post-mortem” analysis to identify successes and areas for improvement to enhance our deal precedents, internal systems, and overall negotiation strategy. When possible, we conduct a similar debrief with the portfolio company to shed light on their pain points and key takeaways.

In your opinion, what are the main trends affecting your work now?

The rapid emergence and ubiquitous adoption of AI in the past year has upended the traditional work model. Legal advisers, investors, and functional support teams alike are finding innovative ways to leverage AI in a manner that is effective yet responsible. The SoftBank team stands at the forefront of this, allocating substantial resources to testing AI tools, developing an AI ethics policy, and implementing training programs to enable its teams to use latest technology efficiently and effectively.

Shifting political tides in Latam, including Milei’s proposed reforms to tackle hyperinflation in Argentina and Sheinbaum’s proposed regulatory reforms in Mexico, which resulted in a months-long judicial workers strike, have created additional layers of complexity. These economic and regulatory changes can impact the availability of alternative funding sources in the region, change the dynamics of deal negotiations, and spark more bespoke legal and commercial terms that price in the heightened investment risk.

What strategic priorities are guiding your legal team into 2025?

From an external-facing perspective, we will continue to advise our investment teams on legal, regulatory, and other implications of sourcing, transaction structuring, and deal negotiations to maximise shareholder value, safeguard the fiduciary duties of the fund, and mitigate risks.

As capital markets stabilise and market consolidation continues, we will collaborate with our deal teams to monetise our positions through creative exit strategies.

Internally, we will continue to test and adopt the AI tools that empower our legal team to work more effectively and responsibly, as well as enhance our due diligence framework and body of precedents to reflect the evolving implications AI adoption, both by the fund and by our portfolio companies.