Romina Benvenuti

Argentine & Mexican lawyer, MBA and LLM graduate, strategic advisor to LAM CMB senior management, passionate about Sustainable Finance and Gender Equality

Mother of 2 incredible daughters of 1 and 4-years old, happily married with Federico

Born and raised in Argentina, based in Mexico City since 2014

WORK EXPERIENCE

March 2019 – To date:

Deputy General Counsel – LAM & HSBC Mexico Legal CMB Director (direct report to LAM & HSBC Mexico General Counsel and functional report to Global Legal GBM & CMB co-Heads) (based in Mexico City)

D&I roles: former Global Balance Ambassador/ current HSBC Change Maker; Americas Balance Coaching Circle Coach; LAM Legal D&I workstream sponsor; HBMX Women in CMB ExCo member; HBMX Audit Women4Women Mentor. Working on the launch of LAM chapter of Nurture ERG and LAM Legal Women initiative.

2020 AFL and HBMX GCB2-3 Key Talent participant

  • I am responsible for leading a team of 21 lawyers who provide legal support for Commercial Banking, GTRF and GLCM across all CMB client segments within LAM, a complex and dynamic region (Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay).
  • My Legal GTRF, GLCM and L&TM team and I advise on and participate in planning, decision-making and documenting GTRF, GLCM and lending new products and amendments to existing products.
  • I am LAM and HBMX CMB principal legal adviser at senior management and governance forums such as LAM and HBMX CMB ExCos, LAM CMB RPGC, LAM GLCM BCC, LAM GTRF Mancom, LAM Fraud WG, Wholesale LAM Control Environment Management Meeting, HBMX CMB RMM, HBMX CMB RRCSC, HBMX CMB BSO of Credit.
  • I am an active member of LAM and HBMX Legal Exco and Legal Risk Committees.
  • Among others, my main achievements in this role are: (i) I changed the operational model of Mexico’s Legal BBU&MME team which helped to maximize the operational capacity of lawyers of said team; (ii) I designed, construed and I constantly analyze HBMX Legal CMB MI in order to track Time to Contract, type of agreements escalated to Legal CMB, etc., (iii) I presented a business case to local, regional and global WCOO and Credit Services teams to migrate low value legal work from HBMX Legal CMB to HBMX GSC (launch date, April 2022), (iv) I led phase 1 of Project Clarity in Mexico and, as a result, we implemented a Single Onboarding Contract that comprises all GLCM product and services and significantly reduced number of pages, annexes and clients signatures,  (v) I’ve been advising LAM L&TM and GTRF teams on the approval and implementation of ESG products across LAM countries, (vi) alongside our new LAM Sustainable Finance Head, I’m currently preparing an ESG awareness session for in-house counsels of CMB clients, and (vii) I represent HBMX in external forums such as Legal Committee of Mexican BritCham.

September 2018 – March 2019:

STA – Legal Innovation Think Tank member (based in London)

The Legal Innovation Think Tank was commissioned by former Group Legal’s General Counsel, Stuart Levey. It was formed by 4 in-house counsels and by the Global Head of Innovation of Freshfields. Identifying innovative ways of working that would enable lawyers around the world to work more efficiently, focus on higher-value work and maximize their respective skillsets underlied this initiative. The team delivered to Group Legal’s Exco a strategic plan to obtain a state-of-the-art Legal department.

June 2017 – September 2018:

Deputy General Counsel – LAM & HSBC Mexico Legal CMB Director (direct report to HSBC Mexico General Counsel and functional report to Global Legal CMB Head) (based in Mexico City)

October 2017 – May 2017:

HBMX Head of Legal CTLA (direct report to HSBC Mexico General Counsel) (based in Mexico City)

  • I was the principal legal advisor of HSBC Mexico CTLA team, providing guidance and support to such team. I led a team composed of ten (10) counsels and I was responsible for (i) implementing and communicating the strategic and operational objectives of Legal CTLA; (ii) identifying, formulating, coordinating and communicating policies, procedures and controls to ensure that HSBC Mexico exposure to legal risks in CTLA was effectively managed; (iii) providing oversight and management of all legal aspect related to CTLA, including ongoing litigation against HBMX as trustee; (iv) monitoring and tracking the progress of various work streams and initiatives; and (v) participating at HBMX CTLA risk and management meetings

October 2014 – September 2017:

LAM Global Internal Investigations Group (direct report to Shawn Chen and Maureen Lewis) (based in Mexico City)

  • I gave support to Group Legal and to the LAM’s General Counsel in conducting highly complex internal investigations across LAM. 
  • During 2014 and 2015, I also gave support to Group Legal, LAM’s General Counsel and HBAR senior management in connection with the Swiss leaks Argentine tax criminal case, the Argentine Congressional Committee that investigated HSBC Argentina, the removal of HSBC Argentina’s Chairman and Vice Chairman and the restructuring of HSBC Argentina’s corporate governance. 

2007 – 2014:   

PAMPA ENERGIA S.A., the largest fully integrated electricity company in Argentina (NYSE, BCBA – Bolsa de Comercio de Buenos Aires) (based in Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Legal & Compliance Manager (direct report to the CEO)

  • Back in 2007, I led the startup of the legal department of with 6 direct and 30 indirect reports from the different subsidiaries. My team and I were in charge of drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial agreements and providing advice across a broad range of matters including regulatory, corporate and antitrust matters. I also provided legal advice and support to senior management on litigation, corporate affairs, M&As and restructuring deals. I was responsible for the drafting and filing of Form 20F. I was also responsible for the coordination and supervision of external law firms and the legal department budget. I represented Pampa Energía in external forums on legal and regulatory issues.
  • Corporate Secretary of the Board of Directors, Supervisory Committees and Audit Committee of Pampa Energia’s Group corporations: I’ve advised and given support to executive and independent directors, members of the Supervisory Committee and directors appointed by the Argentine Government.

2000 – 2007:    Bruchou, Fernández Madero, Lombardi & Mitrani – Abogados (Second largest law firm of Argentina) –  Semi-Senior Lawyer – Corporate Law Department.

I actively advised local and international corporations on general corporate matters. Drafted memos and agreements. Worked jointly with other legal departments of the firm, such as Banking, Capital Markets, Litigation, Labor, and Taxes in domestic and international transactions including mergers and acquisitions. Coordinated and led due diligences and carried out legal research.

EDUCATION

2021: Revalidation of lawyer degree before Mexican CENEVAL (National Center for the Evaluation of Higher Education)

2014 – 2015: Executive LLM (Master of Laws) with honors, Northwestern University (GPA: 3.59/4)

2011 – 2012: Executive MBA, IAE Business School (Ranked #5 at the Business Schools in LATAM Ranking carried out by Financial Times)

1998 – 2003: Attorney at Law – Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina (GPA: 8.18/10)


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