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CHILE TEAMS | GC POWERLIST 3
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I
t is an honour for Carey to have been invited once Indeed, to maximise the value and output of
again to participate in this new edition of the GC their talent, their diverse knowledge needs to be
Powerlist in Chile. effectively integrated, something which, as we
know, is not an easy task.
For decades, The Legal 500 has been diligently
evaluating the Chilean legal market and, as a The leadership required to bring together
consequence, has acquired a deep knowledge of its professionals with different types of expertise is an
most outstanding practitioners. art which requires hard work, on a daily basis, by all
the members of the team. If the right collaboration
This is the second year in which it has carried is found, the potential to develop more innovative
out extensive research on the leading and most outcomes increases exponentially.
innovative in-house counsel of our country, with
particular reference to those who display efficient Collaboration, of course, not only involves the
collaboration and, of course, undisputed technical sharing of knowledge and expertise, but also
excellence. requires the ability to trust the other members of the
team so as to achieve a greater shared benefit.
It is, therefore, no small feat to have been recognised
on this year’s GC Powerlist and we heartily Camaraderie and loyalty are fundamental to effective
congratulate these highly effective teams. Carey teamwork, as the expertise and skills of each member
also shares with The Legal 500 our admiration for the of a team, adds value to the legal work done.
outstanding results they have achieved.
Effective collaboration also requires a deep respect
We have worked closely with many of the selected for a colleague’s competence and also a profound
teams and can consequently confirm that, in our belief in his/her integrity.
view, their inclusion in the GC Powerlist is entirely
justified. Promoting teamwork involves developing
motivational strategies that stimulate the
As we all know, in today’s knowledge-based society, participation of all members of the team in a
accumulating star talent is no longer enough. manner that each one recognises that his or
COMMERCIAL AND
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
ADP CHILE COMPASS GROUP CHILE
ADP, the leading provider of Compass Group Chile’s compact but highly capable legal team of
technological solutions for three lawyers is led by chief legal officer Matias Concha Vial, a versatile
human capital management in expert who is particularly adept at handling tax legal matters, having
the world, accelerated its growth worked in this field in both private practice and a previous in-
in Latin America after acquiring house role with EY for a number of years. Thanks largely to Concha’s
PayRoll in Chile, Argentina and exceptional organisational talents, a lot of noticeable improvements
Peru in 2013. Today the firm’s local have been introduced to the team’s internal organisation over the
subsidiary, ADP Chile, which offers past few years. Besides changing the process of incorporation of new
a wide range of human resources, clients and suppliers, the team improved the review process for new
payroll, talent management and tenders and introduced a more accurate system to manage contracts.
tax administration and benefits The governance process of authorisation to include new clients and
tools is able to boast an expert suppliers has also been overhauled, as the different areas of the
legal team which continues to company now have to review and agree with the terms of the contracts.
support its expansion in the Besides these organisational improvements, Concha shares that
country. The legal team assists Compass Group Chile’s legal team ‘has been able to provide very accurate
its clients in keeping up with information regarding the collection of debts’. In fact, he states that the
the latest regulatory and legal team has been able to collect over 90% of the company’s overdue debt
changes concerning the key in the past two years. In addition to the team’s leader, corporate legal
resources and services provided head Andrea Aedo de la Cuadra is another outstanding name within
by the company. Constanza the team, receiving praise for providing ‘security’ and a ‘solid base’ for the
Knakal Villarroel serves as the company. According to Concha with her ‘knowledge and precision in the
legal manager since joining review of contracts and tenders‘, in the past few years de la Cuadra has
in July 2015, she brings her contributed immensely to securing a lot of contracts with new clients
previous expansive corporate law for Compass Group in Chile. ‘Her support has been vital to the growth of
experience from having served in the company,’ he adds.
a variety of legal capacities at The
Coca-Cola Company Chile.
SODEXO CHILE
The French worldwide leader in quality of life services, Sodexo began
its Chilean operations in 1985 and today offers more than 60 services
in 500 sites throughout the country, serving more than half a million
consumers every day. An integral part of the company’s 15,000 Chilean
employees is its highly recommended legal team. The team is headed
by Alvaro Martinez who has been at the company since 2009 and
currently serves Sodexo as general counsel for Latin America and also
CEO Justice for Chile, managing Sodexo’s penitentiary business in Chile.
The department is credited for their legal support to the company on
important transactions, in particular their contribution towards both
public and private bidding processes as well as direct negotiations with
the Sodexo’s clients and suppliers in the region.
CONSUMER PRODUCTS
ARAMARK FALABELLA
Ranking as the 27th largest employer among the Fortune 500 A constituent of the IPSA index
companies, the American multinational food service, facilities, and of the largest Chilean businesses,
uniform services provider Aramark boasts a significant presence in Falabella ranks as the largest retail
Chile which has been established over the course of 30 years. The company in the country and one of
exceptional group of professionals within its legal department not only the largest in Latin America. Headed
gives full legal support to Aramark’s Chile operations, but also provides by a former Walmart veteran
coverage of the company’s activities in Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Gonzalo Smith, the company’s
Colombia, providing advice and project management in areas as diverse sizeable legal department provides
as operations, tenders, the supply chain, compliance and litigation. support to Falabella’s flagship 259
Following the departure of the highly esteemed Eduardo Jara, in April department stores and 27 shopping
2018 the company appointed former Metrogas lawyer Francisco Javier malls centres both in Chile and
Reyes Bobadilla as its new legal vice president. Reyes’ skills in overseeing overseas. Defined by its highly
company law and litigations, as well as his organisational achievements experienced leader, the team’s
at Metrogas are extremely positive signs for the Aramark legal team’s scope has grown dramatically in the
future. In addition to Reyes, the team is full of talented counsel that have last two years to include strategic
amassed a large portfolio of experience between them. Ainhoa Pozzi, advice to senior management,
for example, is an up-and-coming and bright lawyer, who has spent a alongside its already sizeable
considerable length of time working at Aramark’s Chile and Argentina portfolio of more “traditional”
operations, has impressed both with her legal expertise and her work responsibilities in resolving all legal
to implement new technology in the team’s workload. Pía Monasterio and compliance issues encountered
Blanco, another strong lawyer within the team, receives praise for her by the company’s large-scale
skills in negotiating contracts, her ability to handle lawsuits and, more operations. The team features a
generally, her wide knowledge of corporate law. number of prominent professionals;
chief legal and governance officer
Gonzalo Smith, who has over 20
years of experience in the legal
sphere has received wide praise
for supporting impressive projects,
implementing complex legal
systems and creating transformative
initiatives to redesign organisational
processes. Legal manager Maria
Rosa Lagos Mukarker is known for
her superior expertise in corporate
finance and banking law, whilst the
recently appointed lawyer Gonzalo
Tapia has already impressed peers
with his expertise in dealing with
commercial, labour and civil
matters.
CENCOSUD
Sebastián Rivera’s legal team at the largest Chilean retailer Cencosud has been praised by nominators in
this year’s research process for its ‘ability to handle complex legal deals, while maintaining a commitment to
excellence in its legal service provided within the consumer goods industry’. Such a combination of competencies
is absolutely essential for a company that requires a solid operational foundation to support its rapidly
expanding activities on a national level. This, coupled with impending legal and regulatory changes, has
required Cencosud’s legal team to rethink and give further strength to its already well organised internal
structure. In addition to appointing a new legal assistant manager and two new chief attorneys in the last
two years, Rivera’s unit has worked on a new management tool for the company’s contracts, which in his
view ‘will allow a safe and continuous follow-up to the terms of validity of the different contracts, their most
important conditions, and allow timely compliance with the different obligations that have been established in
them’. Likewise, from 2018 the team has adopted a new, complete and efficient technological tool for the
management and administration of lawsuits of the company. According to Rivera the tool will allow his team
to provide ‘internal judicial services in a timely and safe manner, also making internal processes related to the
management more efficient of judgments’. On the transactional side, last year, the team has impressed with its
support in the placement of bonds and credits of the company, whilst also making waves with its work on
corporate restructuring projects and important judicial processes the company had to face. Considering the
significant importance of such project work to Cencosud’s regional strategy, the team’s speed and efficiency
have been of paramount importance in these examples. Featured in the 2017 GC Powerlist: Chile, Sebastian
Rivera Martinez has been the target of wide praise from professionals working both in-house and private
practice during his nearly fifteen-year career at the company. But it is not just the team’s leader that has
captured the attention of nominators in this year’s research. María Inés Buzada, Ricardo González, Macarena
Riquelme and Alejandra Peña have all been singled out individually for contributions to internal innovations
and important project work.
ELECTROLUX
An active participant in relevant discussion forums and public and private working committees, the
legal team at Electrolux Chile is frequently at the epicentre of discussions on issues surrounding waste
management, extended producer responsibility and the Recycling Promotion Act in Chile. ‘This has done
a great job to mobilise the company to keep an active involvement in technical discussions and collaborative
projects with other players, to plan and make the required adjustments to its operation; and to take the necessary
measures for the adequate and timely compliance of this regulation, with the lowest possible operational impacts
and highest efficiency,’ says legal manager Alejandra Urenda Silva, the most senior lawyer in the team. Aside
from its influential role in such discussions, the team has also looked inwards, introducing valuable internal
improvements. It has, for instance, restructured the company’s legal counselling approach, shifting from the
traditional, reactive, and external legal advice approach to one that relies on an internal legal department.
According to Urenda, such modern counselling approach requires the team to ‘show a deep knowledge of
the business, be involved in decision-making, take proactive and preventive control actions of business-related
risks and act like a business partner, but always remaining objective and independent’. Rolling out these internal
changes involved some challenges, however, as Urenda feels that the new approach had to achieve an
‘adequate corporate positioning’, as well as the creation of an ‘internal legal culture’ whose value had to be
promoted across the business. As far as external transactions are concerned, the team’s contributions has
been significant over the years, most recently involving the planning and implementation of an attractive
and ‘very innovative’ stock purchase offer for minority shareholders of some of the group’s companies in
Chile. Urenda shares that this task involved her department working under a ‘complex scenario, with a highly
atomised minority interest both in terms of shareholders and shares’ and that the project challenged the lawyers’
‘creativity’ and their ‘team-working skills’. Two lawyers deserve special mentions, following their impeccable
impressions made during this year’s research – Urenda has been credited in particular for her contributions
in developing a broad, company-wide compliance policy. Francisca Arancibia Durán also impressed with
her contribution to bringing the legal department closer to other corporate units, thereby raising awareness
about the need to carry out joint and coordinated actions to ensure the company’s success.
L’ORÉAL CHILE
L’Oréal is a household name in cosmetics and beauty products around
the world, and its legal department has undertaken a fresh revamp of
the department’s image and priorities. L’Oréal Chile’s all-female legal
team is led by general counsel Andrea Convalia, and supported by legal
counsel Anastassia Fagetti and Neldia Müller who serves as scientific
and regulatory affairs director. Convalia and her team have revitalised
the legal department’s strategic objective and intend to inspire similar
change across the whole global company. Convalia says, that ‘as a
beauty product company we have seen that beauty is not only found
in the products we sell, but in everything we do. In our documents, our
communication and our passion for the respect of our teams, collaborators,
consumers, and customers’. Specifically, it has changed the department’s
approach to technology to create, as Convalia says, a ‘faster and more
efficient response with personalised attention [to] provide solutions
to the business needs’. It has also partnered with a digital start-up to
create a new platform. There is a new focus to incorporate the legal
team into all areas of the business, work collaboratively, and gain new
perspectives by ‘working with the business, and not for the business’. Part
of this initiative is accomplished by increasing site visits, collaboration
with other departments and inviting outside legal teams to provide
an additional perspective. The team bring this business focus to all of
its training with the non-legal teams at L’Oréal Chile educating them
on legal issues, risks, and the normative background relevant to each
department. Convalia highlights that the team’s future goals include
incorporation of artificial intelligence and other technology into
the legal department, increasing the strategic link between law and
business at L’Oréal Chile.
WALMART CHILE
The inclusion of Walmart Chile’s legal department in this year’s GC Powerlist comes off the back of its
participation in two significant corporate transactions completed in the last two years. The first deal involved
the sale of Walmart Chile’s shopping mall business called Espacio Urbano (EU) for an approximate sum of
$660m in 2016. As the biggest real estate transaction in Chile to date, the deal required Walmart’s legal team,
according to legal and corporate manager Carmen Roman, to transfer ‘more than one thousand leases contracts
of commercial spaces and commercial stores, including department stores with national and international
presence’. The second deal took place in December 2017 and involved the sale of several financial services
companies owned by Walmart, including the issuer of the well-known credit card Líder Mastercard. ‘This
operation involved the signing of the SPA, commercial agreement, and more than 50 annexes and contracts to
regulate the relationship we will have with financial services in the future,’ says Roman. ‘We’re still working on this
project, preparing the transfer of the companies, which will subsequently have to be approved by the corresponding
authorities (antitrust authority and banking market authority)’. Its capacity to support such complex corporate
transactions, and the team’s ability to innovate internally is not to be underestimated. In fact, the team
recently appointed a specially designated innovation and technology lawyer to assist the department’s
efforts in this field, which have most recently resulted in the replacement of the department’s old contract
management system and the implementation of digital signing for documents. To add to this, the team
has now fully embraced digital tools in its operation, actively using apps such as SOS legal and Facebook’s
Workplace. For the last 10 years the department has also run an open ‘super conference’, where the team invites
influential speaker to talk about such diverse topics as trust, the circular economy, share value, innovation and
many other important legal matters. The team is comprised of 12 lawyers and eight support staff and is led
by Alejandro Berríos – senior legal manager for real estate, anti-trust, acts and contracts and corporate; and
María Jose Maldonado – senior legal manager in the management of operations, financial services, litigation,
outsourcing and projects.
ENEL DISTRIBUCIÓN
As the country’s’ principle electricity distributor, Enel Distribución Chile has almost 2 million customers
serving an area that accounts for a large portion of the country’s population, representing around 40% of
the country’s total energy sales. As a company that aims to provide power needed by Chile’s inhabitants for
their development and growth, today its most pressing challenge is to open up power to new users and
contributing new products and services to improve quality of life in thousands of homes. The legal team at
Enel Distribución has been supporting this commitment by overseeing projects from a legal perspective
including the company’s initiative of installing 50,000 intelligent meters in Santiago, complimenting the
technological advances implemented by the company to incorporate infrastructure with the capacity
for two-way communication with digitised and interconnected networks. The legal department of Enel
Distribución is driven forward by general counsel Horacio Aránguiz who oversees the function’s strategy and
regulatory compliance and is noted for his good corporate perspective and the ability to provide efficient and
fast legal solutions while retaining focus and clarity on the work he is performing. ‘He is a very hard working
counsel and a real expert in energy distribution law and regulations and is very well regarded by the market
for that’, says one nominator. By implementing a great amount of trust and confidence in his team he has
continually encouraged and inspired the function to also operate in a similar manner. It is to this end that
they have worked on some of the company’s largest scale transactions, one being the regulatory and legal
establishment of the new aforementioned system in Santiago which is safer for clients as maintenance work
can be carried out remotely reducing the need for home visits to read meters or reconnect supply after faults
or outages.
PACIFIC HYDRO
Since joining the global clean energy solutions provider Pacific
Hydro as a legal manager in Chile in 2015, Oscar Lira Valdes has had
a transformative effect on the company’s internal legal function. In
addition to establishing interdisciplinary committees to deal with
issues from across the company, Lira states he has developed a strict
internal compliance policy and trained lawyers within the team
to ‘solve problems from a business perspective’. Besides Lira, whose
practice extends to insurance and corporate affairs, the team includes
Fernanda Errázuriz, a regulatory lawyer who is said to possess excellent
understanding of electricity law, and is currently helping design
a strategy for legal cases presented in courts. Fernanda Correa, a
corporate lawyer and a recent addition to the team, who has previously
worked at the law firm Cariola, receives praise for her expertise in PPA,
commercial and electricity contracts. Boasting an excellent transactional
track record in the last two years, the team has recently been able
to get over a US$24m claim, which has required Lira to relocate to
London temporarily for four months. In addition, the team has recently
impressed with its work on two separate due diligence processes in
Chile, as well as its involvement in the acquisition of a 1.7GW hydro
plant in Brazil. ‘Together, while I was away and when we are together we
are a highly dynamic team, adaptable to every situation,’ Lira articulates.
‘As so, we move across the organisation having always in mind that we are
a business and our efforts are set to fulfill it’.
FINANCIALS
AFP PLANVITAL
With the recent approval by Chile’s pension watchdog (Superintendencia de Pensiones) of changes to its
risk-based supervision framework for private pension fund managers (AFPs) and unemployment insurance
administrators (AFCs), the role of AFP Planvital’s corporate compliance function has become even more
significant. This transition of the regulatory and supervisory framework of the pensions sector to a modern
system that emphasises the capacity to identify and manage risks will, according to the team’s leader
Guillermo Castillo Inostroza ‘pose a great challenge for the areas of risk and compliance’. His team is, however,
more than ready to shield the company and adequately adapt to the changing environment. With the
implementation of a coherent corporate compliance risk program through an established process, the team
has decreased the risk of fines, penalties, work stoppages and lawsuits. ‘Our compliance team has been working
to ensure that the company can uphold a positive image and build consumer trust,’ Castillo states. ‘Our mission
is to keep working to help build consumer loyalty, since customers are more likely going to return to a service or
product from a company they identify as trustworthy’. In order to achieve this goal, Castillo says that his team has
played a ‘significant role in the implementation of several new internal controls based on risk assessment , drafting
new policies and procedures and providing training to all the company on hot topics such as diversity, conflict of
interest, AML, among others’. Cecilia Pietragallo, Eder Juica and Sebastián Molleda have all been praised by
Castillo for their work in implementing best practices within the organisation. He states that they have all
‘been instrumental in the creation and implementation of our first corporate compliance program,’ and adds that
‘given this context, [they] have had a variety of different missions, ranging from total support of corporate policies,
to specialising in specific topics such anti-money laundering, conflicts of interest, whistleblower channel and
investigations, labour law, outsourcing [and more].’
BBVA CHILE
Positioned at the intersection of litigation and regulatory matters at
BBVA Chile, the legal team managed by senior attorney Benjamin
Vial utilises ligation as a tool to prevent future contingencies,
whilst maintaining a more proactive and less reactive approach
to the regulation area. Having recently assimilated responsibilities
for corporate governance at the bank, Vial’s team has produced a
harmonic relationship with the internal regulatory practice, whilst also
maintaining a ‘deep, close and fluid relationship’ with the general counsel,
CEO and other senior management. Improved communication lines
between the two functions, upper management and other departments
within the company ensures a more proactive and early approach
to new regulations, and enables Vial’s team to aptly handle the
accelerating regulatory transformation of the financial services industry
in Chile. Besides its regulatory work, the team has recently been
focused on dealing with the complexities of the impending merger
of the company with Scotiabank Chile, which would undoubtedly
have a profound impact on the legal function and the wider company.
The team has also recently gathered attention with its work on a long
lasting litigation against Corfo, involving a remedy before Chile’s
Constitutional Court, as well as its advice on the ongoing liquidation of
a major insurance claim arising from damages suffered by BBVA Chile as
a consequence a flood occurred in Santiago. Comprised of exceptional
attorneys such as the aforementioned Benjamin Vial, as well as Alberto
Vergara, Valerie Ranson and Jose Enrique Estay, the team has grown
into an indispensable element of BBVA’s business in Chile. ‘Their passion,
knowledge and flexibility among several capabilities, has allowed us to
introduce changes on how we work, face relevant challenges and provide
high quality legal advice,’ deputy legal counsel Alberto Vergara explains.
BCI
For a number of years international expansion has been a major area
of focus for Chile’s BCI, a significant financial institution formed by the
Yarur family in 1937, and currently specialises in savings and deposits,
securities brokerage, asset management and insurance. The company
most recently captured headlines by agreeing to purchase Florida’s
TotalBank in a transaction valued at $528m, which is expected to create
an entity with consolidated assets of $14bn. The deal adds to BCI’s
already strong footprint in the US where the bank owns City National
Bank of Florida, which it acquired in 2013. As a traditionally active
participant in all transactional work completed by BCI, legal manager
Fernando Carmash and his Chile-based legal team have contributed
to the transaction by, for instance, obtaining approvals with the
Superintendency of Banks, Central Bank of Chile and the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency of the United States. The significance of
the contribution of the team to BCI’s strategy is extremely clear, as the
transaction forms a major part of the bank’s strategy to build a robust
platform that strengthens its operations between the US and Latin
America. The department’s contribution to the international expansion
strategy at BCI does not stop there, however, as Carmash’s team has also
helped the company enter the Peruvian market through a significant
infrastructure deal. BCI, in this case, bought a $42.3m stake in a highway
project in Peru, making a first important step in establishing presence
in the country. According to a source, Carmash and his legal team have
‘been making a significant contribution to a wide range of legal areas
within the company’. The source adds that Carmash and his team ‘add
value to the organisation’s business strategy, facing complex legal issues
with innovative solutions’.
GRUPO SECURITY
Grupo Security is a diversified financial conglomerate that provides a
range of banking, insurance, asset management, real estate and other
services to corporate and retail clients. It is structured on the basis
of four business areas (financing, asset management, insurance, and
services), around which its 13 companies are clustered. Consisting of
lawyers who are positioned in close proximity to these companies,
including the group’s main asset Banco Security, the legal team at
Grupo Security is more than capable to provide highly reliable day-to-
day legal support to each business area. In addition, the team serves
as a key advisor to senior management on such important strategic
areas such as digitisation and expansion. The former is a major area
of focus of the bank’s current strategy, as senior management feels
that investments in new technology could prove to be crucial in its
search for a competitive advantage in the market. Grupo Security has
recently launched a project to develop an internal business segment
named “Corporate Management Digital Business Development”
which will introduce technological change in the areas of structured
finance, insurance, investment and asset management. The legal
team’s understanding of various sides of Grupo Security’s business
is expected to be relied upon during the project’s implementation.
The legal department has also impressed with its advice on corporate
transactions and its involvement in the 2015 acquisition of a 61% stake
in the Peruvian insurer Protecta is particularly noteworthy. This strategic
deal for the company represents a major step towards the expansion of
the company’s financial services markets outside of Chile.
NESTLÉ CHILE
The world’s largest food and beverage company, Nestlé has a long
and established presence in Chile having begun its operations there
in 1934. Today Nestlé Chile’s in-house legal team contributes heavily
towards the continued success of the organisation as one nominator
highlights in this year’s research: ‘In my opinion, the legal team at Nestlé
Chile, led by Andrés Eyzaguirre, general counsel, is extremely proactive,
always include the external counsel as an additional member of their team,
which makes it very easy to work with them and provide good legal advice.
I think they should also be recognised for its cohesion and innovation in
addition to its legal ability’. Adding, ‘Eyzaguirre, helps the members of his
team to ensure an efficient fulfilment of their goals and give them the space
needed for each one to have their space and to grow’. Members of the
team are commended for handling legal matters seamlessly. They are
also recognised for contributing to ensuring that the creation of Nestlé’s
distribution centre in Punta Arenas, the southernmost distribution
centre in the world, was successfully achieved when the project was
completed in January 2014.
INDUSTRIALS AND
REAL ESTATE
ADECCO GROUP
Over the past two years Adecco Group’s compact seven-person legal
team in Chile has been fundamental to the success of the wider
company, due to its ongoing involvement in virtually all commercial
affairs that the business conducts within the country. Headed by the
proactive and highly motivated legal director Magdalena Strahovsky,
the team’s superior industry expertise can be seen in its flawless
execution of key M&A transactions and its strategic advice on Adecco’s
aggressive expansion into new sectors in Chile, which include medical,
agro-industrial and mining areas amongst others. Having joined
the business in August 2015 after gaining experience in private
practice, Strahovsky has overseen significant changes to the structural
organisation of the department, including integration of the risk
prevention department (which had previously been a separate entity)
as part of the legal unit, and the division of functional responsibility
within the team, so that each lawyer focuses on a particular area of
specialisation. Besides Strahovsky, who has impressed colleagues with
her deep understanding of the specifics of Adecco’s business, the team
features a number of outstanding lawyers who have received extensive
praise in this year’s research. Paulina Espinoza, who heads legal support
for labour matters, has been singled out for her efforts in ensuring that
Adecco is ‘a place where each employee has the guarantee that his or her
rights are protected’ according to Strahovsky. Recently hired lawyers
Felipe Leigh (who focuses on commercial affairs) and Rocío López (who
also deals with labour matters), have also impressed with their in-depth
knowledge of each respective area of specialisation.
ABB CHILE
ABB Chile, the Chilean branch of ABB Group, is a specialist technology and engineering company specialising
in robotics and motion, electrification products, industrial automation, and power grids across 130 countries
globally. Since 2003 the legal function in Chile has been headed by Andrea Lira Droguett, legal and integrity
manager and compliance officer. She created the legal department in Chile when she joined and has worked
to develop it since applying the global company standards to the Chilean legal sphere. In particular, Lira
says that, legal and integrity counsel Gabriel Venegas, ‘has been a key incorporation from 2016 until today.
[Due to] his past experience in law firms he has been able to bring support to different areas of ABB, without the
need of an external legal advisor, especially in human resources, health and safety and also in local intellectual
property issues’. She also highlights that the team’s biggest challenge operating in Chile is to apply the
company’s European guidelines to local law, with an eye towards the business needs of the company and the
changeable labour laws. The team fulfils this and more as demonstrated by its innovative implementation of
technology into its systems. Lira says that ABB Chile ‘pioneers in the development of a new tool for the review
and approval of legal documents such as offers, contracts, letters of award, change orders, power of attorney
etc.’. The system, launched in 2016, is called “Sales Pursuit Tool” (SPT) and it operates on the computers and
smartphones of the team. This innovation has saved time, increased productivity, and allowed the team to
be mobile and adaptive to client needs making it highly valuable to the business. As a result, it has been
expanded to other countries due to its success in Chile. The team is now developing the technology to
include online monitoring of major legal issues, trials, contract negotiation and integrity cases from ABB
Group worldwide. In addition to this new technology implementation, the team has recently made industry
history by partnering with the Ukrainian extra-large capacity airplane Antónov ASTC, to carry one of the
biggest loads in history when delivering oversized transformers to ABB Chile’s client Colbún in 2016. The
department has also added to its reputation for integrity by becoming certified by Company BH Compliance,
for the adoption and implementation to prevent corporate crimes according to Chilean law no. 20.393 for a
term of two years. Lira says that ‘this represents a major step forward in the public image of ABB in Chile in front of
our authorities and also towards our clients, always in the search of being one of the top companies in our country
strongly compromised with our values’.
COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL
The multinational Canada-headquartered consultancy Colliers
International has over 30 years of experience in the Chilean market
which has enabled it to position itself as a key advisor in four distinct
areas of business – real estate management services, brokerage,
corporate finance and consulting. General counsel Pablo Guzmán’s legal
team is positioned in close proximity to each one of these businesses,
and receives wide praise from nominators for its ability to deal with
complex legal matters ‘effectively, even in an adverse environment’.
Financial services and real estate are two areas of particular credit for
the team this year, with nominators highlighting both the team’s in-
depth technical understanding of each area and the excellent intuition
necessary to resolve issues in a quick and efficient manner. In regards
to finance, the team supports Colliers International’s role as a facilitator
of business for investors and companies, whereas on the real estate
front, the team assists the company’s real estate brokerage business in
the areas of residential, offices, warehousing centres, industrial parks,
fields, retail and land. Pablo Guzmán, who ‘manages all the Colliers legal
projects and has participated in several relevant processes in this last year’,
is a highly experienced GC with many years’ experience in the sector.
Another lawyer who has caught the eye of peers is Verónica Fuentes
López, a young and up-and-coming counsel who has already made a
meaningful contribution since joining the company in May 2016.
JACOBS RIPLEY
Chile is a major regional focal point for global engineering services As one of the largest companies
group Jacobs, with two of the company’s six Central and South America in Chile, Ripley requires a sizeable
office locations found within the country. Due to its extremely diverse legal department to protect its
range of products (that span the areas of architecture, engineering multinational portfolio of services
and construction, operations and maintenance, as well as scientific across Chile, Peru, Argentina
and specialty consulting), the company’s legal team is required to keep and Colombia. As the company
abreast of developments in a wide range of legal practice areas, external operates in three separate areas
market trends and internal business units. This requires the in-house of business – retail, financial
lawyers of Jacobs in Chile to be versatile, quick-learning individuals, services and shopping malls, its
who also possess the keen social intelligence and insight to keep lawyers have to demonstrate a
track of multiple internal clients. Evelyn Kagi has headed Jacobs’ legal working knowledge of various
function in Chile since 2014, prior to which she worked in-house for areas of the law as well as be
AES Gener and mining company SKM Chile. Kagi takes a keen interest in well-attuned in every aspect of
external developments relating to the company, including renewable the company’s multidimensional
energy and other engineering and technological breakthroughs. business offerings. In addition
She has also recently added fresh legal talent to the team; Constanza to possessing these qualities,
Farizo joined Jacobs in early 2018, bringing specialist knowledge in a the team’s lawyers are also
relevant field in the process, in addition to dealing with environmental credited for their meticulous
assessments, permits and analysis for mining projects. Farizo is an and disciplined approach to
expert at negotiating water rights, having specialised in this area during legal work which can be easily
her private practice period with Santiago-based law firm Peña & Daiber. seen in its support to Ripley’s 39
stores, three shopping malls and
substantial banking interests in
Chile. What’s more, the team is
said to possess an outstanding
expertise in managing contracts
and requirements in both the
parent company and subsidiaries
in such areas as corporate
restructuring, powers of attorney,
mutual benefits, provision of
services, leases, purchase and sale.
Its labour relations expertise is
equally impressive, with praise the
year concentrating on the team’s
draft responses, labour demand
presentation and participate in
labour courts.
SACYR CHILE
The main driving force behind the reorganisation of construction and concessions firm Sacyr’s Chile legal
team has been the need to adapt the company’s evolving business requirements, both in terms of size and
operational model. The company has experienced a significant increase in the number of awarded contracts
annually, many of which, according to legal manager Carlos Ochoa Salaber, fall under the complex application
of the new Law of Public Works’ Concessions. ‘This almost immediately put Sacyr Chile under the spotlight to test
this new regulation before a newly established technical dispute board for concessions,’ Ochoa says. Furthermore,
as he explains ‘the state’s impulse to build and operate health infrastructure (hospitals) sustained over several
administrations, allowed Sacyr Chile to take advantage of its international experience in this type of contracts’, in
turn driving Ochoa to reinforce the department’s expertise with in administrative law by hiring several lawyers
with relevant work experience at the National Comptroller’s Office. Indeed, Sacyr Chile’s legal department has
grown immensely in recent years, from a ‘rather reactive’ two-person team working in tandem with external
counsel, to a sizeable nine-strong operation working across diverse areas of specialty, including infrastructure
concessions, hospital facilities, bidding processes and litigation. In addition, to improve contractual work
through effective administrative or judicial claims, the team has appointed an attorney to work on-site to
work on the most relevant project work, to assist the contract management department in adequately
communicating with clients, while also putting on record sufficient evidence and justification to support a
more robust claims process once work has been finalised. Ochoa says that this new operational model has
‘allowed the company to exercise increased control on legal matters and to initially contain, and then reduce, the
cost of external legal advice through selective and competitive outsourcing processes’. The model has also allowed
Ochoa’s team to be integrated as a key component in all decision spheres within the company, changing
the traditional perception of legal services as a mere ‘trouble shooter’. In the past two years Sacyr Chile’s legal
team has been instrumental in the signature of settlement agreements with the State of Chile with respect to
contractual claims derived from the construction of public roads. The team has also successfully participated
in numerous bidding processes for the construction of public hospitals. For instance, in 2017, it completed the
construction of a new hospital in the city of Antofagasta and has very recently been awarded the construction
of the public hospital for the district of Alto Hospicio (city of Iquique), as well as the improvement of El Tepual
airport in the city of Puerto Montt. At present the team is heavily involved in supporting key infrastructure
projects developed by Sacyr Chile, such as a hospital in in the city of Quillota and Autopista Americo Vespucio
Oriente, an urban highway in the heart of Santiago. Besides Ochoa, who has been an architect of the team’s
recent transformation, the team employs a number of outstanding lawyers such as Nicolás Cañas Henriquez,
Cristobal Marimon Mourgues and Ricardo de Pablo Trevisany.
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
ADEXUS SAP
With operations spanning Chile, Multinational software corporation SAP’s highly rated legal team
Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and based in Chile consists of a number of experienced counsel, who
Colombia, Adexus is a leading IT collectively cover legal and contractual support to all of the company’s
provider in Latin America, whose Latin American hubs. The team’s remit covers a number of countries
market has grown significantly in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Chile, Argentina, Peru,
in recent years thanks to the Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay and Caribbean islands, among others. Given
expanding pace of digitisation the scope of the region supported, the lawyers’ ability to remotely
among corporations in the coordinate processes in other countries and seamlessly integrate as
region. Adexus’ legal department, part of cross-border, multidimensional teams has been of paramount
supervised by legal manager importance to the business. Also of high importance has been the
Cristián Lorca, has been an team’s contractual expertise, as individual lawyers are said to be able
invaluable asset during the to easily execute, negotiate, review and modify any kind of agreement
company’s growth, supporting its with customers and suppliers. When providing direct support to SAP’s
numerous transactions to acquire sales and consulting teams, the lawyers have demonstrated knowledge
new customers. Examples of such and curiosity to stay on-top of developments in this rapidly changing
useful contributions from the sector. It is this strong focus on the commercial side of SAP’s business
last two years include projects that has enabled it to excel, and achieve impressive results despite
and contracts with some of the market challenges. All of these impressive qualities, combined by the
largest players in Chile’s corporate department’s high adaptability and methodological approach make
world, such as the biggest oil it a noteworthy inclusion in this year’s list. Notable mentions this year
company in the country, a major include lawyers such as Ricardo Montaner, María Paulina Sancho and
national retailer and most of Mariana Seminario Dalmau.
the country’s top five banks.
Cristián Lorca, Tania Mohr and
Macarena Blanc, have all received
praise for their participation in
these efforts, alongside, more
generally, their collaboration and
support of internal areas within
the company, such as corporate,
labour, biddings, contract
negotiation, compliance and
marketing. Positive comments
have also centred on the team’s
efforts to enhance the business’
reputation by fostering prudent
compliance regulation and
developing ethical business
practices.
ARAUCO
Given the extensive scope of ARAUCO’s operations, which centre on
forestry, wood pulp, timber, panels and energy across various locations
in Latin America, it is not surprising that the company has invested
considerable efforts in building a highly proactive legal department
that is in close proximity to business operations. In charge of all
environmental and natural resource issues that the company has to
deal with, the team has developed an industry-wide reputation for its
expertise, largely thanks to its expanding internal role. In the last two
years alone the team has facilitated strong links and communications
lines between various areas of the business, and has been proactive
in establishing clear policies that enable the company to alleviate
pressing external issues related to market fluctuations, regulatory
changes, competition and labour issues. The team’s project work
highlights from the last few years include its advice on international
trade transactions and large-scale industrial projects, as well as complex
litigation issues characterised by uncertain regulatory hurdles. Also, to
comply successfully with all the environmental regulations, which in
Chile are particularly numerous and complex, the team is said to have
guided operations by means of a preventive and proactive program.
These impressive achievements do not come as a surprise given the
team’s impressive individual component, which includes a number
of recommended names including Felipe Guzman, Tomas Jimenez,
Benjamin Mondragon and Pablo Manriquez.
BHP BILLITON
BHP Billiton – the largest mining company globally – commands a significant presence in Chile thanks to
three major operations in the country, including the largest mine in the world: Mineral Escondida. Constantly
looking for improvement, the company’s legal team has undergone a major restructuring in the last two
years with the majority of its lawyers joining during the period. Far from being a disadvantage, according
to legal manager for projects and supply Daniel Weinstein, the team took this as an opportunity to ‘recruit
top talent and create a structure that better suits the needs of the company’. As a result, BHP’s legal team in the
country is currently compiled of expert-level lawyers who have studied in the best law schools in Chile and
previously worked in the most prominent local law firms. ‘A majority of us have earned Master’s degrees abroad,
in some of the most prestigious law schools in the US and UK, and several also have experience working abroad
at international law firms,’ Weinstein adds. Nicolas Lustig, the department’s leader, who recruited most of the
team, has been described as a ‘capable leader’, who constantly emphasises the importance of being a ‘business-
oriented legal team’. Besides Lustig, the team features two other professionals who previously featured in the
GC Powerlist series; Daniel Weinstein, who negotiated contracts worth several billion dollars, and provides
continuous advice to the projects and supply groups, and Maria de Lourdes Velazquez former Kimberly Clark
lawyer, who joined the team last year to provide advice to non-operated JVs. The team’s recent overhaul has
already borne fruit, 2017 has perhaps been the team’s most successful year in recent memory. The team had
a key role in the drafting and negotiation of contracts for infrastructure projects worth over $5bn in the last
12 months. These included an EPC contract with a JV between Fluor and Salfa for the construction of a copper
concentrator, and a BOOT contract for a desalination plant with a JV between Mitsui and Cobra. Both well in
excess of $1bn, these contracts were related to the SGO project, which will extend the life span of Spence,
one of BHP’s major mines in Chile. Given the sheer size of BHP’s workforce in Chile, currently comprised
of approximately 6,500 direct employees and 10,000 subcontracted employees, the team’s expertise in
employment law has also been key. In 2017, it supported the labour relations teams in four collective
negotiations and it is expected to support the company in three collective bargaining processes over the
next six months. According to Daniel Weinstein the collective bargaining of Minera Escondida in 2017 was
‘one of the most complex labour negotiations in the history of Chile’, and the legal team was key in ‘designing a
strategy to manage further losses’. Other areas of excellence in 2017 involved facilitating BHP’s entry to Ecuador,
management of complex environmental and community matters and their related environmental litigation,
management of several high profile arbitrations and support of non-operated joint-ventures that BHP has in
Latin America (Antamina and Cerrejon).
GLENCORE CHILE
Saying that Glencore Chile’s legal department has had successful few years is an understatement, considering
the sheer scope and amount of transactional work completed by its lawyers. Successful negotiations of
union contracts, renegotiations of major supply contracts, the granting of key environmental permits at
Altonorte and reinforcement of best compliance practices across the group are just some examples of the
team’s extensive and wide-reaching work. Equally impressive have been the team’s internal improvements,
which have contributed to its ability to handle increasing regulatory challenges in environmental permits.
The team incorporated two new positions to its structure, the first being a senior lawyer at the operations to
strengthen the legal services provided directly at the operational sites. ‘With this change, we have now 50%
of our legal team working full time in the operations (Lomas Bayas and Altonorte),’ shares legal and compliance
manager Carlos Prat. The second addition involves an expert in environmental assessment with no previous
legal background, whose incorporation, nevertheless, has been key to improving the team’s performance in
this extremely crucial company field. The superior performance of the legal team at Glencore Chile in recent
years is easy to understand when you consider some of the talent within it. Its leader, Carlos Prat Guarachi,
who already featured in the GC Powerlist series is an exceptional, highly experienced lawyer widely praised for
his achievements during his career at both Glencore and Xstrata. Veronica Baraona, who joined the company
in 2011 has been extremely important with her support to compliance issues at the company’s Santiago office
and operations. Lorena Barraza has been praised for her implementation of changes related to the new labour
code at the company. ‘She was part of the negotiation team that successfully agreed the last Union Contract with
Lomas Bayas’ Union under the new rules,’ says Prat. Last but not least, Andres Bruna has been praised for his
experience in litigation, which has according to Prat ‘strengthened the capacity of the team in dispute resolution
issues’.
TELECOMMUNICATION
SERVICES
ENTEL TELEFÓNICA
Entel is Chile’s largest telecoms A team full of talented lawyers with a number of different attributes
company providing internet, provides advice to Telefónica’s highly significant operations in Chile.
phone and mobile coverage Headquartered in Santiago, Telefónica Chile provides broadband, pay
across the country. According to television, local and long distance telephony and other services in
data on the IPSA stock market, both residential and corporate segments. Following the formation of
Entel’s revenue in the last year the Movistar brand in 2009 alongside another Telefónica subsidiary -
was US$1.9bn, and its scale is Telefónica Móviles Chile – the company now serves in excess of two
demonstrated by its extensive million landline and broadband customers and approximately 650,000
geographic coverage in Chile’s pay TV customers in the country. While the team’s main challenge is to
challenging landscape. Entel’s process the sheer amount of legal work that such an immense business
legal team is led by legal manager, undoubtedly generates, Telefónica’s legal team swiftly deals with every
Cristián Maturana Miquel who, legal and compliance issue, no matter how complex, that it is faced with.
along with the legal team, has What makes such efficiency possible is the team’s unique blend of highly
contributed significantly to experienced lawyers, who have many years of expertise in the sector,
the firm’s recent expansion. in addition to its rising stars eager to make an impact. Cristobal Cuadra
According to Entel, the expansion Court, Gladys Fuentes Espinoza, Diego Downey, Vicente Pocorobba, Carlos
of connectivity across the often Molinari and Nily Saul Arenberg were all names mentioned as outstanding
inaccessible regions of Chile is a individuals during the research process.
central tenant of the company.
It emphasises connectivity and
access since its founding in 1960
after the country’s devastating
earthquake. A modern example
of Entel’s recent innovation is
its offering of Google Play to its
Android customers in 2018 as part
of their account, the first provider
in Latin America to do so. It is a
credit to the legal team that in
covering legal matters, Entel was
enabled to unveil this service in
Latin America.
VTR
For any corporate legal team operating within the telecommunications
sector, coping with the distinctive commercial, legal and compliance
issues is often the biggest challenge in the job. For VTR Chile’s legal
department, this is compounded by the recent growing demands
applied by regulators in the country, which requires the team to stay
on-top of a rapidly changing environment by studying and interpreting
the potential impact of new laws and regulations. This has further
increased the importance of the function within the larger company, as
senior decision makers are now more invested than ever in the team’s
advice on how certain legislative or regulatory changes could impact
both VTR’s short term performance and future strategy. The team’s
remit has therefore grown to include a plethora of strategic tasks in
addition to its already substantial operational coverage. The leader of
the team is Miguel Oyonarte, who has been described as a ‘very good’
lawyer, a ‘tough negotiator’ and ‘one of the best telecoms lawyers in Chile’
by nominators. He joined the company from the general counsel role
at Nextel Chile (currently known as WOM). His very broad experience
in telecoms law and regulations, as well as his ability to ‘integrate a
broad strategy and vision of the telecoms market’ have both shaped the
team’s profile, and distinguishes it as one of the most outstanding
legal departments in the industry. Oyonarte is not the only impressive
performer within the team however, as a number of lawyers in the
department have drawn praise from a number of sources. These include
Nicolás Pérez, Jose F. Silva, Adriana Puelma, Arturo Ignacio Aguilar
Aguilar, Natalia Paz Lucero García and Juan Andres Varas Fuenzalida.
WOM
Despite its relatively small size – particularly when compared to other
large Latin American telecommunications businesses – the legal team at
WOM has consistently demonstrated ‘versatility, depth and extraordinary
comprehension of the telecom industry’ the extent of which is often
associated with large departments that can draw from a wider pool of
expertise. Established approximately three years ago, WOM has fully
embraced a culture of innovation and openness, and its legal team has
been modelled around these principles. Comprised of expert lawyers,
who are all encouraged to be proactive and ‘think outside of the box’,
the team has directly contributed to revenue generation by coming
up with novel solutions to resolve pressing problems. Legal director
Marcelo Fica Aránguez, who took charge of the team in December 2017,
has been described as a ‘very efficient general counsel who manages
a broad range of issues, always providing legal solutions that make the
difference’. Commentators throughout the research process have also
described Fica as a lawyer who ‘maintains a commitment to excellence in
the legal service provided’ and a leader with a ‘corporate perspective of the
company and the input of the legal strategy’. Other up-and-coming legal
professionals within the team that are highlighted include manager
of corporate affairs and ethics Álvaro González Gorroño, director of
regulation and corporate affairs Felipe Simonsohn, regulatory lawyer
Tomás Díaz Marambio and legal support coordinator Araceli Garrido
Silva.
TRANSPORT AND
INFRASTRUCTURE
LATAM AIRLINES GROUP CHILE
The product of one of the most significant airline mergers of recent
years, LATAM Airlines Group was formed in 2012 when TAM Airlines
of Brazil agreed to the takeover by historically important Chilean
commercial aviation company LAN Airlines. Now the largest airline
holding company in Latin America, LATAM Airlines Group boasts over
three hundred aircraft and over 40,000 employees at seven subsidiaries
across Latin America. Juan Carlos Menció leads the company’s legal
function and has been in his current role of senior vice president of legal
affairs and compliance since September 2014. He and the company’s
legal function have been at the centre of some exciting developments
for the company during this time. Notable among these include the
company-wide decision of August 2015 to rebrand the entire company
as LATAM, with all subsidiaries agreeing to adopt a universal livery on
aircraft, and the August 2017 closure of an approximately $350m private
placement aimed at refinancing some of the company’s debt in Brazil.
Menció is joined in the company’s legal function by a number of other
experienced and successful Chile-based lawyers. Senior legal director
Jose Miguel Bellagamba joined LATAM in 2016 from Santiago-based law
firm Carey where he focused on finance and corporate legal matters;
he continues to specialise in these areas for LATAM, leading financing
projects for the company and contributing corporate advice to the
company. Senior legal manager Claudia Pavez is another example of the
talent within the team, having worked with them since early 2011, while
at the other end of the spectrum the team has added fresh talent in the
shape of senior lawyer and compliance analyst Felipe Encina Barraza,
who joined in February 2018.
VÍAS CHILE
Vías Chile – formerly known as Abertis Autopistas Chile – is a subsidiary of the Spanish multinational
construction conglomerate Abertis, and employs a legal team of seven in-house legal professionals who are
collectively responsible for supporting various infrastructure projects across Chile. The department’s expertise
in this field has been nothing short of outstanding, as individuals within the team are said to handle issues of
the highest level of complexity with ease and efficiency. Dealing with all legal aspects of construction projects
ranging from contract drafting and negotiations to complex commercial litigation, the team has consistently
delivered excellent results on projects with complex regulatory requirements. ‘Over the past few years we have
been dealing with a complex scenario regarding environmental authorisations,’ says legal manager Andres Lopez
Campos. ‘Once we have agreed with [the] government we had also experienced a more bureaucratic approach to
projects which raises the level of execution’. A prime example of the team’s advanced expertise involves its work
related to Santiago’s privatised highway, Autopista Central. After acquiring control of the project, the team
was structured to give counsel and legal services for six concessionaires while also reporting to corporate
headquarters and ensuring full compliance with relevant regulations. During the past three years, Vías’ legal
department has also impressed with its execution of bond redemptions related to infrastructure projects, and
has also settled a complex litigation case. In addition to Andres Lopez Campos, who was included in last year’s
GC Powerlist: Chile, the team features outstanding attorneys Consuelo Martínez and Claudia Moreira. Martínez
has been cited as ‘a young and practical lawyer who understands and deals with complex transactions with ease’
by Lopez, and Claudia Moreira has received praise for developing a ‘state of the art compliance structure for the
company’.
For more information on the GC Powerlist series, to nominate for one of our forthcoming
publications, or to see full listings of our existing editions, please visit gcpowerlist.com