Vanessa Podestá Castilho – Nidec Global Appliance

Nidec Global Appliance is a global leader in manufacturing high-efficiency motors for a range of industries. It specializes in compressor motors for appliances, focusing on sustainability and energy efficiency. In Brazil, the company operates three production plants dedicated to refrigerator motors, while motors for washing machines and dryers are manufactured internationally. A core part of Nidec’s strategy is its commitment to have carbon-neutral operations by 2030 while increasing diversity within its leadership. The company has over 9,700 employees and 14 business units across nine countries.

Vanessa Podestá Castilho | Nidec Global Appliance | Sr. Legal LAR & Global Compliance Manager

Vanessa Podestá Castilho, the company’s senior legal LAR and global compliance manager, has been a key partner for Nidec to achieve these ambitious goals. Her responsibilities encompass legal oversight, compliance management, and supporting the company’s mergers and acquisitions strategy, all while ensuring alignment with Nidec’s sustainability strategy and targets.

“At Nidec, we are committed to driving sustainability, innovation and diversity in everything we do. My role is to ensure our legal and compliance efforts support these goals, enabling us to lead responsibly and build a more inclusive future,” Castilho says.

Building a strong legal foundation

One of Castilho’s most significant achievements has been the implementation of a corporate secretary structure on a global scale. This initiative resulted in the creation of an internal legal website, which serves as a central hub for company-wide legal documents, policies, and training tools. This platform standardizes Nidec’s legal framework across its global operations, providing a single source of truth for compliance guidelines, policies, and best practices.

The corporate secretary structure is particularly crucial for Nidec’s focus on M&A. With clear and accessible legal resources, the company can integrate new acquisitions faster and more efficiently. This structure allows new entities to adapt to Nidec’s processes quickly, fostering smooth transitions and helping to maintain compliance across all regions. Castilho’s ongoing work includes the monthly updating of this repository to ensure that legal information remains current and relevant, which supports Nidec’s reputation as a reliable and legally compliant global player.

Castilho’s role is closely tied to Nidec’s sustainability objectives. As part of the legal team’s involvement in sustainability projects, she works directly with the company’s compliance and sustainability departments. Her task is to guarantee that sustainability measures are legally sound and compliant with internal and external regulations.

“This proactive approach ensures that every decision, from energy-efficient production processes to carbon-neutral initiatives, aligns with legal requirements, mitigating risks and promoting the company’s sustainability goals,” she explains.

By being involved from the early stages of project planning, Castilho helps integrate legal considerations seamlessly into sustainability initiatives, avoiding potential compliance pitfalls.

Empowering women

Castilho plays an important role in advancing Nidec’s diversity and inclusion goals, particularly the company’s objective to have 25 percent of executive roles filled by women by 2030. She is an active participant in women’s circles, leading discussions and organizing book clubs to foster leadership skills among female employees. Castilho is a volunteer in mentoring programs aimed at supporting women’s career progression, encouraging them to step into leadership roles.

Her efforts extend to making compliance and training programs inclusive. She works with the sustainability team to embed diversity into company policies, ensuring these values are represented in training materials.

“This approach promotes diversity and reinforces Nidec’s commitment to ethical and equitable practices,” Castilho says.

As a leader, Castilho manages a legal team of two lawyers, an analyst, and three interns, focusing on clarity, consistency, and accessibility. Despite the challenge of frequent intern rotations, she has established a robust onboarding and training system, including a detailed handbook and internal website, allowing new team members to quickly integrate. Her leadership emphasizes collaboration, mentorship and continuous growth, which helps maintain a stable team in a competitive market.

Castilho is also exploring AI-enhanced contract management software to streamline legal processes and improve accessibility. To address the uneven adoption of technology across regions, she plans to conduct additional training, making tools more user-friendly and encouraging broader use.

Ensuring compliance is a cornerstone of Castilho’s role. She partners with the corporate compliance team to deliver annual training, tackling challenges like compliance fatigue by making content simpler and more engaging. Her structured approach has been vital in maintaining a strong compliance culture, ensuring that it supports, rather than hinders, business operations.

From private practice to global leadership

Castilho’s interest in law and compliance began with a fascination for problem-solving and navigating complex systems. She pursued a law degree from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná and later completed an MBA from ISAE FGV, equipping her with a strong foundation in legal and business disciplines.

After over three years in private practice, Castilho moved into an in-house role as a legal manager for a multinational company, where she spent five years honing her expertise. When a corporate restructure eliminated the legal department in Brazil, she sought a new opportunity, determined to remain close to Curitiba. This led her to join Nidec Global Appliance in April 2018, a global industrial company then under Whirlpool’s control.

In her first year, Castilho successfully navigated the complex process of preparing the company for sale, which required approvals from eight countries. Her achievements in implementing litigation and compliance frameworks earned her a promotion to senior legal and compliance manager, where she now oversees a dynamic, ever-changing legal environment influenced by M&A activity and cultural shifts.

Outside of work, Castilho maintains a well-rounded life. She is fluent in English, French and Spanish, enjoys travel planning, and is known among friends for her meticulous itineraries. She loves nature walks, reading diverse topics, and lists “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg as a favorite.

Castilho is an active mentor for young lawyers, focusing on leadership and compliance, and participates in professional associations, reflecting her passion for growth and community engagement.

“Empowered women empower the world. Leadership is not just about breaking barriers but lifting others over them while building a sustainable future,” Castilho says.