Leaders League: Tell us about your role at Samsung and your day-to-day work at the company. 
Luciana Tadiello: Samsung is innovating for a better world, where technology exists together with people and for the planet. Through commitments that re-energize our environmental progress to innovations tailored to each unique lifestyle, Samsung is envisioning a future where sustainability anchors innovation and products are customized and connected for every experience.

My current role, as Director of Legal and Data Privacy at Samsung – Latin America Office (LAO) is to follow this mission by helping the company look for ways to be efficient, accessible and business-oriented in a wide range of legal topics that a market leader like Samsung Electronics needs.

Samsung is present in more than 15 countries in the Latin American region and has several in-house lawyers working for the company. Usually, each country where Samsung operates in the region has a dedicated legal team responsible for addressing the needs of local business. The LAO legal team acts as a conduit to connect them to headquarters’ legal policies, procedures and supports management’s overall business strategy for the region.

We work on a daily basis to establish strategies which respond to major disputes in litigation, arbitration and claims, as well as review major contracts involving large-sized projects. We also take care of data privacy management to ensure privacy risks are effectively identified and addressed, training and educating stakeholders to raise the awareness on this subject across the region. Finally, we act as regional business partners to various Samsung departments, such as HR, marketing, and sales. 

What role does technology play in Samsung’s legal department?
Technology plays a significant role for us. It helps us manage legal documents, contracts and agreements more efficiently. The increasing amount of data in today’s world can only be managed with security tools. We wouldn’t be able to research the vast amounts of legal information, cases and regulations that are important without some level of research and analysis tools. Video conferencing, messaging apps and other collaborative tools also help us connect to our local teams and partners to respond rapidly to the fast-paced demands that we have to deal with on a daily basis.

I value external counsel with a high level of technical expertise and market knowledge

What are regulatory changes to have affected the company’s data protection policy?
In general, data privacy laws and regulatory discussions are a big point of attention for several countries in Latin America. For example,  we´ve recently seen important discussions about dosimetry regulation take place in Brazil, significant progress by the Data Privacy Authority in Chile, discussions surrounding the modernization of Argentina’s Data Privacy Law, among other privacy conversations currently taking place across the region. In order for Samsung to adapt to the pace of change in the regulatory environment globally, we have to constantly follow developments and respond rapidly to new challenges.

What pending privacy issues will technology companies in Latam have to wrestle with?
Data privacy is a new matter for many, but it has long been a pillar of Samsung’s commitment to our customers all around the world. Many Latin American countries have implemented or are in the process of implementing various data protection laws similar to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We have to adapt to this new reality. 

It is important to have a full picture of which data are retained, for how long and on what legal grounds they are stored or processed, then communicate this in a clear and visual way.

What qualities do you value most in the external law firms that the company works with?
It’s common to have people from a handful of different countries and backgrounds discussing and evaluating legal options in a given business meeting. Therefore, it’s important to have a law firm that’s adaptable and transparent. I value a high level of technical expertise and market knowledge too. Last, but not least, it’s critical external counsel can handle tight deadlines whenever required.