Features

Ana Cristina Flores Peña – Absormex CMPC Tissue

Always on the fast track

An in-house role, ideally a general counselship, had long been among Ana Cristina Flores Peña’s professional goals. Only she thought it could wait until later in her career, like perhaps when she was in her mid-30s.

She wouldn’t have to wait that long, for in 2017 the opportunity presented itself at the Mexican division of a Chilean-headquartered pulp and paper products conglomerate. Just 30 at the time, Flores would become the first in-house legal boss at Absormex CMPC Tissue, the Mexican operation of CMPC’s business division responsible for products oriented toward mass consumption.

Ana Cristina Flores Peña – Absormex CMPC Tissue Vanguard Law Magazine

Such opportunities would seem few and far between for someone so young, but Flores had already distinguished herself over the course of 11 years in the Monterrey office of one of Mexico’s leading law firms, Sanchez Devanny Eseverri, S.C., starting as a 19-year-old intern and rising to senior associate by the time of her departure.

At CMPC, Flores was entrusted with such responsibilities as assembling the Mexican wing’s legal department and weighing in on business and governance issues. Two years later, having brushed up on her skills with a couple courses in business and finance, Flores is feeling very much at home in-house and happy to be ahead of the curve on her career path.

A hand in everything

“What I like most is you are involved with the entire process of the company,” she tells Vanguard in late August. “At a firm, you may only see one or two practices, and may be involved in only a part of a project. Here, you are involved from the beginning to the end of everything.”

As the last quarter of 2019 neared, a couple of matters stood out on her to-do list, each of which should further streamline the operations of a company noted for Elite and Premier tissue paper, five types of baby diapers and Cotidian briefs for incontinent adults.

CMPC having operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, there’s a need to standardize the corporate documentation as much as is practically possible.

As Flores explains, the task is eased somewhat by Latin American countries generally abiding by the civil law tradition that emphasizes the systematic codification of their general law. While each of the aforementioned eight countries may have its own legal nuances, Flores says she’s contributed toward a first draft that CMPC expects to implement late this year.Ana Cristina Flores Peña – Absormex CMPC Tissue Vanguard Law Magazine

“It’s going to be in our intranet so other members of the company from, say, the buying department can have access to contracts and documents,” Flores says. “This will accelerate the entire process.”

She also appreciates CMPC’s socially progressive values. While most of her professional interaction is with the Chilean-based chief legal officer, she also collaborates extensively with the general counsels in the seven other countries, all of whom are women.

“This makes us sort of unique,” Flores says, adding that CMPC is a true meritocracy where women and men are held in equal regard. “You don’t find this kind of legal arrangement in many companies.”

An eye on efficiency

Flores and the other general counsels are also working together with CMPC’s compliance officer in updating their workplace policies for what will be a more centralized operation. There’s need for compliance with anti-corruption laws and other measures in each country but, again, there’s enough room for companywide standardization.

The Mexican operation should only become more prominent, it having 2,000 employees among its manufacturing plants in the municipalities of Garcia and Santa Catarina in the state of Nuevo Leon, Altamira in the state of Tamaulipas, and exporting its goods to Central America.

In time that should necessitate a bigger legal department that now consists of just Flores and an associate. Versatility is among the attributes she values, her goals including less reliance on outside counsel for matters that could be dealt with in-house.

“I like people who get things done,” she says. “I am beginning to travel a lot so I need action-oriented and resourceful people. Among other qualities I look for in an associate, such as having good interpersonal skills and being motivated, I look for people experienced in corporate law, and he or she should also be familiarized with litigation so he or she can understand and overlook all legal procedures of the company together with our outside lawyers.”

She also continues to hone her own mix of legal and business skills, Flores now enrolled in a Master of Business Law program at Facultad Libre de Derecho de Monterrey. Prior, she earned a Master of Laws degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2013 while living for a year in the Washington, D.C., area.

Flores will credit her original inspiration to her father, a Mexican notary public and attorney whom she’d often accompany to his office at a young age and observe how he’d interact with clients and people in general. “He’s always been my role model,” she says. “A very smart and hardworking man who’s helped me make every major professional decision and to whom I am very grateful.”

Born in Laredo, Texas, and having lived in the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo, Flores has always benefited from dual citizenship. Wanting to practice law in Mexico, she’d earn her degree at the Universidad de Monterrey in 2009 and enhance her worldliness with a semester in Dublin.

Reminded that she’s done a lot at a young age, Flores is grateful that she continues to pursue her goals , and credits the many who have aided her cause.

“It’s been a very rewarding career, and I’m working very hard to keep it that way and move forward,” she says. “I was comfortable and happy at the firm, and was a little bit scared about trying something new. But this was a challenge I just had to accept.”

Published on: October 9, 2019

regions:

categories:

Showcase your feature on your website with a custom “As Featured in Vanguard” badge that links directly to your article!

Copy and paste this script into your page coding (ideally right before the closing tag) where you want to display our review banner.

Testimonials

As promised in advance, my feature in Vanguard has increased my visibility within the profession and prompted more than a few people I have not communicated with recently to reconnect. One of the Italian law firms I have used in the past is now in the process of interviewing me for an article on their website and tweeting out the feature story. Activity and the number of people connecting with me on LinkedIn has soared, which is great. The Vanguard writers and editorial staff were great to work with—highly professional and made the effort to make the experience both fun and rewarding (they were also respectful of the time pressures and demands all lawyers face). I was very pleased with the experience and the final outcome. Needless to say, I have been very pleased. All in all working with Vanguard has been a very positive experience which generated good publicity for both Shawcor and myself. My sincere thanks.
– Tim Hutzul, General Counsel, ShawCor Ltd.
It was a great honor to be featured in Vanguard Law. Working with every member of the team, from the initial interview with Erin Clark, through production with Victor Martins, writing the article with Taryn Plumb and creating the final content with Dave Gushee, was a true pleasure. Everyone was very professional, enthusiastic and supportive, and their creative approach and positive attitude clearly came through in the final product.
– Kevin C. Rakowski, Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Compliance with Radian Group Inc.
The piece highlighting my company, Bob Baker Enterprises, Inc., came out fabulous. Our company is in the new and used car sales and service industry. Everyone was great to work with and extremely professional. They produced a high-quality product and have provided expert assistance and guidance post-production of the article.
– Wade Poulson, General Counsel, Bob Baker Enterprises Inc.
I was honored to be the subject of an article. I enjoy reading Vanguard articles and seeing how other attorneys got to their positions and see their jobs. It's also interesting to see how different law firms partner with the subjects of the articles.
– Henry Marquard, in-house counsel, Stanley Consultants Inc.

LATEST EDITION

Fall I 2023

READ NOW

GET VANGUARD IN YOUR INBOX.

  • * We’ll never share your email or info with anyone.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.