Bio

With 25 years of experience in the legal field, Ana Isabel has built her career as a strategic advisor in highly regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals and tobacco, specialising in corporate law, regulatory affairs, compliance, and risk management. She currently holds the position of Legal Director at Japan Tobacco International (JTI) in Iberia, where, since 2010, she has been at the helm of the legal department overseeing the markets of Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and Gibraltar, operating within a dynamic landscape of continual regulatory evolution. 

Ana Isabel is a member of the JTI Iberia Executive Committee, reporting directly to the General Manager, which allows her to contribute to the company’s strategic direction by integrating legal expertise with business strategy and actively participating in decision-making at the highest level. She ensures that risk management frameworks and compliance protocols are intricately aligned with JTI’s corporate objectives, particularly within the complex, heavily regulated tobacco sector. 

Her professional journey began at the law firm Clifford Chance, where she specialised in intellectual property law, but she soon transitioned to the corporate world as an in-house counsel. For nearly two decades, she has provided legal advice on key issues such as regulation, litigation related to regulatory issues, negotiation of strategic agreements, interactions with regulatory authorities, investigation proceedings, and the development and implementation of ethics and compliance programs. This extensive experience has given her a unique perspective on navigating regulatory challenges within the tobacco industry. She has played a pivotal role in steering the company through adaptations to new regulations governing the marketing, consumption, advertising, and promotion of tobacco products, as well as addressing emerging categories such as heated tobacco and alternative nicotine products. Moreover, she supports initiatives to embed Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles within the organisational framework. 

Recently, Ana Isabel has provided strategic counsel on high-impact projects, including the successful launch of the Ploom X Device, a new product in the Heated Tobacco segment, across Spain and Portugal. This initiative demanded delivery of commercially focused, high-caliber legal solutions tailored to intricate regulatory and business challenges. Furthermore, she has integrated technological solutions into legal processes, thereby enhancing operational efficiency, precision, and expediting decision-making. 

She holds a Law degree from the University of Salamanca and an LLM master’s degree in European law from Leiden University (The Netherlands). Her academic credentials are further bolstered by executive education programs at renowned institutions such as Instituto de Empresa, IMD, Hult Ashridge, and the London Business School. 

Her professional activity has been recognised in prestigious legal directories such as Legal 500 in 2016 and 2017 and among the top 50 female Spanish lawyers in the InspiraLaw rankings of 2018, 2019, and 2021.

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?  

At JTI, we are accustomed to managing instability, given our highly regulated industry, which constantly undergoes changes in legislation introducing new restrictions, such as product packaging, advertising, or product composition regulations. These regulatory shifts create a new operating environment that requires the company to adapt. 

I manage these periods with a proactive, integrated approach, focusing on continuous monitoring of regulatory changes, identifying risks and mitigation actions, and developing crisis scenarios with corresponding legal responses to ensure preparedness. Cross-functional collaboration is crucial, and we establish a crisis management team that includes Legal, Corporate Affairs, Marketing, Sales, and Finance to ensure a coordinated response and compliance with regulations. During these times, business opportunities may also arise. I work closely with business units to identify new opportunities and support Corporate Affairs in its advocacy strategy to regulators.  

What are the main cases or transactions that you have been involved in recently?    

I have provided strategic counsel on high-impact projects, including the successful launch of the Ploom X device, a new product in the Heated Tobacco segment, across Spain and Portugal. My role involved addressing all legal aspects under tight deadlines, while devising strategies for distribution, marketing, communication, trade incentives, and the digital ecosystem. This required delivering commercially focused, high-caliber solutions tailored to complex challenges. 

In addition, I offered expert advice on regulatory developments in Spain in 2024, such as plain packaging requirements for tobacco products and restrictions on e-cigarettes and nicotine products. I prepared comprehensive legal submissions to local authorities, mitigating potential risks and equipping the business to navigate new regulations effectively. 

Furthermore, I successfully defended our business in court proceedings, strategically initiating litigation to protect the company’s interests. Notably, in 2024, we secured a landmark victory in a highly restricted sector, winning an appeal before the National Court that allowed us to implement innovative promotional mechanics previously prohibited by the tobacco regulator. 

How have you integrated technology into your legal processes, and what impact has this had on efficiency and compliance?    

By integrating technology into our legal processes, we have enhanced operational efficiency, accuracy, and compliance, enabling JTI’s legal team to focus on strategic tasks and better support our business units. We leverage AI for faster, more efficient decision-making, including iCheck, a document review tool that flags potentially problematic terms and provides alternative wording suggestions. The implementation of Copilot has streamlined access to company information, assisted in drafting and reviewing documents, and improved workflows. In 2024, we introduced the Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) tool, managing contracts from creation to digital signing, which has enhanced efficiency, minimised errors, and ensured compliance. For electronic signatures, we have long relied on DocuSign.

We’ve also automated administrative tasks such as invoice control and legal budget management using Legal Tracker. To ensure compliance with privacy and data protection regulations, we use OneTrust, and to strengthen corporate governance, we rely on tools that support board management. 

How can general counsels foster a corporate culture that supports ESG principles and compliance across all levels of the organisation?   

To foster a corporate environment that integrates ESG into its culture, a GC must develop deep expertise and lead the process of translating complex and sometimes conflicting regulations into practical corporate standards, policies, and guidelines that the organisation can understand and effectively implement. Additionally, the GC must identify, monitor, and interpret ESG regulations, establish a robust internal governance framework by defining roles and governance processes, and ensure effective oversight and coordination across the organisation. This effort requires enlisting the support of key stakeholders, including the Board of Directors, to align ESG initiatives with broader corporate objectives.