Christian Mella – Tenpo

Christian Mella doesn’t just love soccer—he lives it. With over 50 jerseys and an encyclopedic knowledge of the sport, Mella approaches his legal career the same way he approaches his passion: with discipline, strategy, and heart. As Chief Legal Officer at Tenpo, a Chilean fintech company determined to become the nation’s first fully licensed neobank, Mella’s work sits at the dynamic intersection of regulation, innovation, and inclusion.

Christian Mella | Tenpo | Chief Legal Officer

Founded to advance digital and financial inclusion in Chile, Tenpo offers prepaid and credit payment cards through a digital platform designed for maximum accessibility and security. Its long-term goal? To become a world-class, fully digital financial institution that operates without physical branches but with full regulatory oversight and public trust. Mella’s job is to make sure that vision becomes reality.

The legal midfield general

Mella sees his role as both protector and enabler in a company where innovation is rapid and disruption is constant.

“My answer can’t be no, but rather, how can we do it within the law?” he says.

With a team of nine that will soon grow to eleven, Mella is navigating complex regulatory challenges and shaping the next generation of legal professionals.

Leading the legal aspects of Tenpo’s application for a banking license is no small feat. The process involves three critical stages: selling the idea to regulators, establishing the legal entity and framework, and obtaining operational approval.

“We defined the operating model for the products, implemented contracts, negotiated negotiations, established clauses, and raised policies,” he explains. “In every stage, the legal team has been central.”

That centrality is crucial given the scale of the challenge. Tenpo must translate a traditional regulatory framework—built for brick-and-mortar banks—into one that works for a tech-native, AI-augmented platform. Remote onboarding, biometric authentication, cloud infrastructure, and real-time APIs were not contemplated when many of Chile’s financial regulations were drafted.

Yet Mella thrives in this space between structure and transformation.

“The tension between technological speed and legal certainty is where our work is most critical today,” he says.

Preparing for a digital banking future

The culmination of these efforts is the certification process currently underway with Chile’s Financial Market Commission. It’s the final hurdle transforming Tenpo from a fintech disruptor into a fully regulated neobank.

“This is not just a regulatory milestone—it’s the culmination of years of building,” Mella explains.

From cybersecurity protocols to consumer protection mechanisms, the legal team has partnered across departments to ensure that every component of Tenpo meets the rigorous standards expected of a licensed bank.

And the stakes go beyond corporate success. Tenpo’s success would represent a major step forward for Chile’s broader financial ecosystem, proving that a digital-native model can be innovative, efficient, compliant, secure, and equitable.

Mella focuses on aligning the legal framework with Tenpo’s social mission.

“We’re building a bank that, among others, will serve millions of Chileans who have historically been underserved,” he says. “That means our legal frameworks must protect the company, support innovation, and promote inclusion.

Mentoring future lawyers & building a legal legacy

Mella didn’t always know he wanted to be a lawyer. He started his academic journey in business administration, inspired by his father, but pivoted to law after two years, and never looked back. Today, he’s one of the youngest chief legal officers in Chile’s financial industry, and he’s paying that experience forward by developing a new kind of legal team.

“My goal is to build a team that serves as a school for lawyers,” he says. “I want to create professionals with a different perspective—people who can challenge assumptions, find creative alternatives, and think beyond the obvious.”

He’s deeply involved in recruiting, often designing technical challenges that test legal knowledge and thought processes.

“I’m less interested in the ‘right’ answer and more interested in how someone reasons their way through a problem,” he explains. Once new hires are on board, Mella encourages curiosity and debate. A common phrase in his department: “Read, study, question.”

Recruiting remains a challenge, though.

“The academic training of lawyers in Chile hasn’t caught up with the needs of our sector,” Mella says.

Key topics like data protection, digital payments, and open finance remain largely absent from undergraduate curricula. That’s why he’s also eager to teach courses on banking and fintech, hoping to bridge that educational gap.

Despite the challenges, he’s proud of what his team has accomplished.

“It hurts when other firms or companies poach my team members,” he admits with a smile, “but it also makes me proud. It means we’re creating lawyers with the tools to lead.”

In addition to his internal team, Mella relies on a strong and deep bench of external counsel integral to the legal team’s overall legal strategy. Among them, Diego Cabrera and Martín Nogueira, both partners at CNSY, stand out for their exceptional handling of civil litigation matters. Their consistent performance and skill in representing Tenpo in court have delivered outstanding results, earning Mella’s complete confidence.

“We are equally grateful for the support of Pablo Prieto, Silvestre Lyon, and Enrique Uribe E., partners at Uribe Legal, who provide strategic guidance and legal representation in labor-related matters. Their ability to navigate complex judicial and advisory issues with a high success rate has made them trusted collaborators whose insight we value deeply on every assignment,” he adds.

A legal strategy rooted in passion & perspective

Whether supporting AI-powered decision-making models, aligning internal governance policies, or guiding product teams through risk assessments, Mella brings a sense of clarity and calm.

“AI is a powerful tool, but our value as lawyers lies in judgment, not just output,” he says. “It’s not about replacing our thinking—it’s about enhancing it.”

Still, for all his technical prowess, Mella is most animated when he talks about his team, his family, and, of course, fútbol. He’s a lifelong Colo-Colo fan who often watches obscure matches worldwide.

“Sometimes I catch myself watching the German second division and wonder what I’m doing,” he jokes. “But that’s how deep the passion runs.”

Outside work, Mella plays padel several times a week and can recite every world flag from memory—a party trick that never fails to impress. He lives with his wife, Tania, and their beloved dog Palta, whom they adopted during the pandemic.

That balance between high-level legal strategy and deep personal commitment defines his approach.

“Everything I do, I do for them,” he says. “Professionally and personally, they are my center.”

And while his name might not be on a jersey, Christian Mella is undoubtedly playing a key role in a historic transformation, not just for Tenpo, but for the future of banking in Chile.