She is also one of the members of the Global ESG Strategy group at Eversheds Sutherland International.
She has extensive practical knowledge on Legal, Compliance & ESG matters, particularly on white collar investigations, Compliance Programs, Anti money Laundering Programs, Antibribery Management Systems, International trade sanctions and strategic advice to Board of Directors and Executive Management, amongst others.
She is member of several Client Supervisory Compliance Boards and has provided training at all levels for public and private companies. She has also represented clients in Court to defend the Company through the compliance program and initiatives undertaken by the Company under her advice. At the same time, María and her team of professionals have defined strategies for integrating ESG criteria, prepared reports and non-financial statements, and advised on sustainability rating and classification processes.
Maria was also elected as member of the B20's Integrity & Compliance Taskforce for two consecutive years, being only 100 professionals from around the world elected for these taskforces. B20 is the official G20 dialogue with the business community.
Before joining the Firm, Maria held senior in-house positions at international level both in the Compliance and in the legal fields. In this regard, she was the first non-USA person to be appointed Global Ombudsman at Tyco International (listed company), reporting to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors in the USA with worldwide Compliance responsibility. She has also been (in-house) European Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel for US and Canadian multinationals.
Latest Insights
- María is a regular writer in specialized national and international magazines and books
- She also participates as a speaker in Business Ethics and Compliance international conferences, including the “International Law Office Annual General Counsel Awards” in New York, the Annual European Conference of the Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics in Prague, and the Center of the Legal Profession Harvard Law School in 2016
- Top 50 SW – Selected in 2025 as one of the 50 best female executives in Spain by the Santander SW50 initiative
- Compliance Firm of the Year – Leaders League 2024
- Compliance Expert-Excellence – Leaders League 2022
- Inspiralaw 50 Top Inspiring Lawyers Spain & Portugal 2018, 2019 & 2022
- Legal In-house Team of the Year (member)
- Legal Business Award 2008
- María has been ranked at Best Lawyers (Corporate Governance & Compliance) for several consecutive years (last time in 2025)
- María has been recognized as leading expert by the directory Chambers & Partners in the 2025 edition
- María has been recognized as the Best Corporate Compliance Lawyer by Iberian Lawyer
- María has been recognized as Best Company Lawyer by the prestigious Forty Under 40 Awards
- Chair of the Compliance Section of the Madrid Bar Association
- Vice-Chair of the Association of Regulatory Compliance Professionals (CUMPLEN)
- In 2016, she was elected to serve on the Committee of Women Leaders of the Americas, an initiative of the Organisation of American States and the Documentation Sciences Foundation whose mission is to contribute to improving the capacities and skills of current and potential political leaders, as well as strengthening the role of women in all areas of society, promoting the construction of a participatory and representative democracy
- She holds a degree in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid
- With a specialisation in European Community Law from the San Pablo CEU University in Madrid
- Postgraduate degree in European Union Law and Economics from the Sorbonne University in Paris
- Elected member of the Committee of Women Leaders of the Americas (an initiative of the Organization of American States and the Fundación Ciencias de la Documentación)
- Director of the Global Corporate Compliance Master (LLM) at IE Law School, in collaboration with NY University
- Professor at Deusto Law School, ESADE, UCM, amongst others
- Founder and President of the Compliance Section of the Madrid Bar Association
- Head of International Affairs of the Spanish Association of Compliance (ASCOM)