Ms. Carol Barnhart

Carol Barnhart is a corporate attorney who focuses her practice on mergers, acquisitions, and other complex, strategic negotiated deals, advising clients on a wide range of regulatory compliance, financing, and general commercial issues. She provides pragmatic legal advice for markets lacking predictability and susceptible to fraudulent activity. She also counsels clients on corporate governance matters.

Carol Barnhart rejoined Greenberg Traurig from packaging manufacturer Grupo Phoenix, where she served for several years as general counsel, chief compliance officer, and chief human resources officer. Carol, who directly managed the company’s corporate, litigation, and regulatory strategy, and advised management on legal, strategic, transactional, financing, and general commercial, also served Grupo Phoenix as corporate secretary for its Board of Directors. She has broad experience in complex strategic negotiated deals, mergers, acquisitions and compliance, having led legal teams and operations both in North America and throughout Latin America, advising clients on ways of working, customer conversations, and complex compliance issues arising from operating in Free Trade Zones and at the U.S.-Mexico Border.

Prior to her position with Grupo Phoenix, she was general counsel & chief compliance officer for BTG Pactual-owned, GlobeNet Cabos Submarinos, where she was responsible for leading the legal, regulatory and compliance agenda for the international subsea telecom cable owner and operator. Prior to that, she held various positions at Diageo, the global drinks company, where she was vice president and assistant regional counsel for the Latin American region and subsequently was in charge of M&A for Diageo’s Latin American region. In that capacity, she led the regional acquisition agenda for Diageo, structured numerous strategic acquisitions and ventures throughout the Americas, redefined the company’s compliance program to address issues on global trade, supply chain and operational efficiencies, participated in third party logistics and freight negotiations along with a host of other responsibilities. Carol also worked with several local law firms before her position with Diageo.

Concentrations

•Corporate governance and ethics
•Route-to-market changes
•Border and free trade zone issues

Recognition & Leadership

Awards & Accolades

•Listed, Latin Lawyer, Latin Lawyer 250, 2020
•Practice Recognition: Anti-Corruption Investigations and Compliance, 2020
•Practice Recognition: Corporate - M&A, 2020