It’s no small task to monitor the comings and goings of 1,300 trucks every month—but Norman Gonzalez Mendez and his team have been able to do that and, through vigilant efforts, keep internal and external product theft to a near-nil 0.0001 percent. It’s just one of the many initiatives Mendez oversees as head of the […]
Features Latin America
Lourdes Padilla Alaman – Grupo Sevago
In the eyes of just about any corporate lawyer, Lourdes Padilla Alaman had it made: the high-profile job, the sterling resume, a reputation as one of the best pharma lawyers anywhere in Mexico. And a fulfilling home life holding it all together. Leaving it all behind to launch your own boutique firm? Maybe, if your […]
Samuel Vaisman – San Martin Contratistas Generales
Do I want to be a doctor, or a lawyer? It’s a question many high-achieving students are forced to confront—including Samuel Vaisman. He may have only chosen one of these prestigious pursuits, but for Vaisman, it often feels like he’s practicing both. “Being a good general counsel is like being a good general practitioner,” explains […]
Luisa Suarez – Grupo Vitalmex
Luisa Suarez makes it clear at the beginning of the lively interview: “I’m a lawyer who happens to be a woman. Not the other way around.” And she’s appreciative to be recognized in that manner by her employer and peers. Of course, she’s earned the faith and goodwill of the executive team at Vitalmex, having […]
Gustavo Cruz – Avon (Andean Cluster)
Even at 16 years old, while most of his peers were simply trying to survive the trials of teenage-hood, Gustavo Cruz was setting his sights on grander things. Like starting a democratic turnaround in his native Colombia. Well, sort of. During his final year at Gimnasio de los Cerros in Bogotá, the city’s school board—which […]
Sofia Almeida Montero – QBE Seguros Colonial S.A.
In a way, Sofia Almeida Montero’s career started with a lie—however white and well-intentioned. When she was 18, Almeida arrived at what would be her “alma mater” to take what she thought was a pre-university political science test. After notching one of the highest scores in her class, Almeida soon discovered she’d instead been enrolled […]
Sofia Zuloaga – Aon
The legal department might have run like clockwork when, at just 32, Sofia Zuloaga joined the South American arm of professional services giant Aon, the first woman to manage the legal functions of a subregion that includes Argentina, Chile and Peru. But Zuloaga wanted the department to be about more than just cold efficiency. For […]
Luis Gerardo Ramirez Villela – Müggenburg, Gorches y Peñalosa S.C.
Say a law firm is asked by a client to pursue an intellectual property (IP) case, despite having no IP staff to speak of. In the past, the firm would have to devote extensive crash-course resources to researching the issue internally—or more costly still, use outside counsel. Now, with just a few key words—“intellectual property […]
Jose Pedro Urrutia – Anglo American
When you think of happy, carefree professionals, lawyers might be the last people who come to mind. Spend any time in Jose Pedro Urrutia’s legal department, however, and you’ll quickly realize it is possible for lawyers to love what they do—and where they work. He’s even found a word for his approach, inspired by a […]
Carlos Landazabal Angeli – General Electric
The trademark of a successful corporate lawyer? It’s not just legal and business savvy, answers Carlos Landazabal Angeli, who, since November 2012, has served as General Electric’s legal leader for South America’s Andean region, as well as Central America and the Caribbean. Anticipation is just as important, the soft-spoken general counsel tells Vanguard from his […]
