Team size: 23

What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

Uncertainty and dealing with the political crisis, both in Peru and abroad. Last year, I held the position of legal affairs manager at Corporación Aceros Arequipa S.A. (“CAASA”), which is Peru’s largest steel and iron producer, with local and international operations. CAASA experienced a series of challenges in complying with its commercial obligations, mainly with customers based outside Lima, due to road closures and violence against trucks transporting products. Trucks with products destined for delivery to Bolivia remained on the border line for several days without being able to cross. In addition, the legal framework was constantly being modified, and most of these modifications were not necessarily beneficial to the company. The legal team had to provide sound and timely legal advice to address the new situation, including lobbying the authorities to obtain assistance and protection for the fleet; negotiations with foreign immigration authorities; review and preparation of documentation to minimise the imposition of fines, and even termination of contracts, among other similar actions.

Looking forward, what technological advancements do you feel will impact the role of in-house legal teams in the future the most?

Any system that allows in-house legal teams to systematise information will be of great assistance, for example, in litigation and contract management. In-house legal teams need to have easy access to such information so that, in the event of a deal-specific event, it is important for the team to have all the information relating to a particular deal immediately. This system is also important to reduce the number of hours team members spend searching for information related to that agreement, creating greater efficiency.

In addition, the implementation of new methodologies focused on legal operations, such as having a legal operations manager in charge of all internal processes, technology development, management of legal KPIs, with the aim of contributing to innovation and making the business move as smoothly as possible, will be of great help.

What is a cause, business related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?

In my role as legal counsel, I am very interested in strengthening the implementation of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) indicators in my country, especially in the “G” component. Much remains to be done with the Boards of Directors, a significant percentage of members are not sufficiently knowledgeable about ESG matters. It is important that they understand that ESG is not only relevant from a regulatory standpoint, but also implies responsibility to the different stakeholders a company deals with, such as consumers, regulators, and employees among others, as corporate governance has always been an important issue for investors. In addition, I am particularly interested in diversity and the empowerment of women, as gender gaps have a negative impact on the achievement of ESG standards and global sustainability. The presence of women at the highest levels of management improves the performance and profitability of companies, thanks to a more diverse and complementary vision that favours innovation, adaptation and a more inclusive, participatory, and collaborative leadership style, as well as producing trust and credibility in customers and investors, which benefits the reputation and value of organisations.