About

Described as ‘instrumental to Unilever’s success’ by nominating sources due to her ‘elevation of the role of general counsel from a legal advisor to a trusted and valued business strategy partner’, Cristina Reyes has clearly been a hit with the consumer products titan’s senior management since joining in August 2018. This continues a trend that is apparent throughout her career, which has included in-house roles with RFM Corporation, Coca-Cola Bottlers and a legal director position with Bloomberg Resorts, of establishing an excellent reputation within the companies she operates in. Reyes explains that her role with Unilever has given her the opportunity to feed more into the commercial aspect of the business which has been a long-term goal of hers: ‘In my current role as general counsel with Unilever Philippines, I am also one of the directors of the company which greatly expands my roles and responsibilities to include the financial health of the business, navigating both complex business environment and new legislation changing the way we do business. This includes Data Privacy and Competition Law, risk mitigation, protection of the reputation of the company, development of talents, good governance and legal compliance’. It also gives her the scope to put into practice her own beliefs on what an in-house team should prioritise. ‘It is my philosophy that the in-house team of today should stop being reactive lawyers’, she explains, ‘sitting in a corner office and waiting for their clients to come to them to address their issues or problems. The effective and efficient in-house team of today is one that is recognised as a valuable business partner, constantly working with their stakeholders identifying opportunities, challenges and solutions to ensure that the business is at all times legally compliant. The legal team of today has a holistic role to play in the organisation including risk management, protection of assets and reputation, corporate governance and business integrity’.