Team size: Four

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

My main challenge has been to be able to fulfil the temporary role of chief country officer (CCO) for Peru for a period of four months and, in parallel, also manage the legal department of more than one country. It has been an important challenge and one which lawyers are not generally prepared for. However, it was an enriching and positive experience which empowered the members of the legal team and reinforced the importance of their roles and responsibilities as a team. Likewise, returning to work in the office and changing into a hybrid work model has also been a significant challenge, since we had to learn to work as a team again in person and be able to adjust our way of working once again to the face-to-face way of working (taking into account that 50% of the current legal team in Peru was hired during the pandemic).

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

Undoubtedly the most important thing, especially in the financial sector, is digitisation. In an industry where physical documentation has been so prevalent, changing the model towards being 100% digital is, and will continue to be, a challenge from a legal perspective. Breaking the old paradigms is complicated and in-house lawyers play a fundamental role in accompanying the different areas of the bank and generate the necessary solid legal tools to increase efficiencies and modernising the services we provide to our clients.

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

Both the financial industry and Citi have the goal of implementing and putting ESG principles into practice in their businesses. The legal department is an important player to achieve this objective and I feel committed to being part of it. The need to apply ESG principles in the activities of the financial sector is becoming more relevant every day and implies that all those involved in the bank’s business, including the legal area, are part of it. This means knowing and understanding the operation of these principles, particularly the way in which they can be reflected in the products and services we provide.