Countries in LatAm your company operates in/ your role covers: JGC  commercially operates with the main Latin American and Caribbean countries such as  Argentina, Brasil, México, Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Republica Dominicana.

What are the most significant cases and transactions in the LATAM region that you or your legal team has recently been involved in?

We have been involved in a variety of projects and matters such as trade and commercial agreements, intellectual property, and brand defence litigation, import and export, as well as transportation and tax cases. Our team is also involved in transfer pricing issues and raw material purchase operation.

The unusual business environment created by the pandemic has been swiftly followed by the Ukraine crisis, attendant supply chain costs rising and inflation. Are you now putting more emphasis on preparing for the unforeseen and, if so, what does this entail?  

Radical innovation and a challenge to the tradition has always been culture of JGC. The application of the technology to the traditional methods has permitted the company to reduce its operating and logistic cost during crisis and at the same time with a continuous quality improvement. The diversification on markets, purchasing territories and clients has been one of the pillars in which is based the future increase of the company in this unusual business environment. We have emphasized the pillars of the culture of the Company. The cornerstones of the business policy of García Carrion have been to reinforce global knowledge of the market and its opportunities, flexibility with clients’ new needs, anticipate raw materials scarcity and work closely with farmers and the cooperative organizations.

Also importantly agility, flexibility, creativity and innovation in the company to prevent or react to unforeseen situations and to reinforce long term relationships with clients, consumers and with the environment.

What are your organisations plans in the LATAM region over the next 12 months and how will your legal expertise help to achieve these plans?

JGC´s plans involve commercial growth in LATAM by selling and purchase operations, M&A operations, implementing commercial agreements with local partners and the defense of our IP and Know How expertise, developing new markets in relation with our clients and providers.

JGS´s lawyers are working together to build solutions for that mission to safeguard JGC as a company, successfully scale the business, and present legal as a value-add solving critical problems on our day-to-day commercial activity, developing   a dynamic in-house legal team, becoming effective business partners, ensuring that the in-house function is driving the business forward.

By giving added value to the company in our support we are reaching legal alignment within the business strategy. The legal team is also key actor in the company’s risk management model. Acting as primary responsible from Customer Operations for all compliance matters, helping implement and enforce the compliance policies within the group and within our clients and providers, providing guidance and training to teams, assessing reports of concerns, supporting the investigations, and carrying out risk assessments across the organisation.

JGC´S legal team is reinforcing a highly creative and commercial approach so that in house lawyers can thrive in a sales-oriented environment, reinforcing the ability to take ownership of own development, attending trainings and staying up to date in legal development working in cross-collaboration with other departments of the group around the world.