Natalie Ghiraldelli de Oliveira – Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi)

Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi), a leading name in Brazil’s dairy industry, is a subsidiary of the French Savencia Group, one of the world’s top dairy producers. Globally, Savencia Fromage & Dairy employs over 25,000 people, with our unit in Brazil alone managing a workforce of 1,600 across four factories, an administrative office in São Paulo, a sales team and a strategic logistics hub in Osasco, São Paulo. The company is driven by the mission—”Leading the way to better food”—with environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors at the heart of its operations. Safety is a fundamental value underpinning product quality and workplace standards.

Natalie Ghiraldelli de Oliveira | Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi) | Head of Legal, Tax & Compliance Officer

At  Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi), the legal department is critical in maintaining its high standards, enabling it to thrive in Brazil’s complex business environment. This is where Natalie Ghiraldelli de Oliveira,  Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi)’s head of legal, tax, and compliance, comes into play. Oliveira and her team ensure that every aspect of the business aligns with local and international laws while upholding the company’s core values. Her work involves crafting robust contracts, overseeing compliance, guiding the company’s tax strategy, and fostering a culture of ethics.

Building a stronger market position

Oliveira has spearheaded several significant projects that have strengthened  Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi) ‘s business strategy. One of her notable contributions is developing a  Legal management system, a system developed to manage contracts, legal suits, consultations, corporate acts, and real estate. This system goes beyond ensuring the quality of inputs; it also increases automation of daily activities, reduces email communication, improves storage consultations for all departments, process management, standardizes templates of contracts, terms and amendments, manages powers of attorney and licenses, manages corporate documents and expanding dashboards and reports.

Oliveira established a tax committee, which was a first for  Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi). The committee includes experts from legal, accounting, and tax divisions, all working together to navigate Brazil’s notoriously complex tax landscape. One of their primary goals is to address upcoming tax reforms that will span a decade, impacting  Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi) financial strategies. Oliveira’s leadership in this area aims to turn the legal department into a profit center rather than a cost center, finding opportunities for tax credits and recovering overpaid taxes. Her ability to blend legal acumen with financial insight has proven invaluable, ensuring  Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi)’s fiscal health amidst regulatory changes.

Ethics is another cornerstone of Oliveira’s work at Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi). She has partnered with the HR department to launch the Being Ethical with Responsibility project. This initiative fosters an ethical corporate culture, ensuring the company’s values are embedded in daily practices. Oliveira’s approach is hands-on; she makes site visits, conducts training sessions, and leads the revision of company policies. Recognizing the importance of strong leadership in ethics, she has appointed 17 ethics ambassadors within the company: employees who serve as ethical role models and advisors.

“This initiative is complemented by an external reporting channel, which provides a secure avenue for employees to voice concerns, reinforcing a culture of accountability,” Oliveira says.

Fostering team growth

Oliveira’s approach to talent management focuses on cultivating a team aligned with  Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi)’s mission and values. With a team of 4 in the Legal department and 7 in the Tax team, Oliveira emphasizes transparency, open communication, and career development. She recently oversaw an internal recruitment process, bringing in talent from another department with a legal background to strengthen her team. This internal mobility has fostered a sense of opportunity and loyalty, essential for retaining top talent in a competitive market.

Understanding the need for ongoing professional development, Oliveira implements individual development plans, emphasizing key soft skills such as emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and problem-solving. She believes that aligning team members’ personal and professional goals with the company’s mission is crucial for long-term success. Her strategy ensures that  Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi) is a place where employees can grow and thrive.

Oliveira is optimistic about the future. She sees ample room for development in legal, tax, and compliance matters at  Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi), focusing on creativity and innovation. She plans to continue strengthening the Compliance Program, advancing the work of the Tax Committee, and implementing new strategies to support Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil’s ambitious goals.

“The company’s culture, which values ethical conduct, sustainability and innovation, mirrors Oliveira’s professional ethos, creating a perfect environment for her to lead and innovate,” she says.

Inspired by justice

Oliveira’s interest in law began at 16 after a judge’s talk during a vocational week at school, sparking a passion for justice and a desire to protect the vulnerable. Initially, she aspired to be an investigative journalist but chose law, driven by a love of knowledge. While in college, Oliveira began her legal career at Ferrero, gaining experience in diverse legal areas, from contractual to regulatory and international law. This exposure to a wide range of issues was the foundation for her next role at Bauducco, where she spent 18 years.

At Bauducco, she built the company’s legal structure from the ground up, transforming a two-person team into a department of eight responsible for areas like labor, international law, and corporate affairs. She implemented a legal management system to enhance transparency and ensured the department was viewed as a strategic partner in the company’s growth. In August 2023, Oliveira joined Savencia Fromage & Dairy Brasil (Polenghi) as the head of legal, tax and compliance.

“After some time on this leadership journey, I’ve realized that a genuine and authentic leader is someone willing to listen to others’ concerns without letting their judgments overshadow their actions, gestures and words,” Oliveira says. “Moreover, as an enthusiast of quantum physics, I believe energy makes people gravitate toward you, as it defines how they feel in your presence. You become truly unforgettable only if you can genuinely touch people’s hearts with your presence and actions. This should be the real power that drives the world.”