Kristine has close to 20 years of experience in the legal sector, first as a practicing attorney at SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan, and later serving as general counsel in a publicly held company.

She started her legal career with SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan in 2000 as an Associate and was promoted to Senior Associate five years later. She covered various areas of law including securities regulation, corporate governance, anti-money laundering, e-commerce, data protection, consumer protection laws and environmental law compliance. She joined a publicly held company in August 2008 as Senior Legal Counsel and served as its General Counsel from January 2014 until July 2017.

Experience

Kristine’s work as an in-house counsel include:

• Serving as corporate secretary of a publicly held company and all subsidiaries; developing the company’s governance framework; advising the Board of Directors, board committees and management and ensuring corporate governance and disclosure compliance. She was the group’s primary contact with the Philippine Stock Exchange and Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Spearheading the development and implementation of the company’s compliance framework in coordination with global practice group for anti-bribery and corruption and fair competition, including conduct of trainings, assistance in investigations, and audit reviews.
• Studying and implementing the multifarious aspects of the group’s equity and capital structure rationalisation.
• Reviewing contracts and leading the group’s major transactions, including monitoring the group’s litigation and regulatory concerns.
• Developing company policies and procedures to align business strategies and goals with applicable laws or global best practices.
• Developing the company’s contracting policies, procedures as well as contract precedents; assisting in the development of a contract process digital tool.
• Leading the development of the company’s information management system for its permits and licenses.

Her representative transactions and matters include:

• Leading the teams that structured and handled the participation of a foreign power company in the biddings conducted by the Philippine government for (i) a 600 MW power plant in Zambales, (ii) a 600 MW power plant in Batangas, and (iii) a 75 MW and a 100 MW hydroelectric power plant complex in Benguet.
• Advising a consortium of foreign and local investors in relation to their participation in the bidding conducted by the Philippine government for the transmission assets of the National Transmission Corporation.
• Advising a group of international underwriters in relation to the offering outside the Philippines of approximately US$73 million worth of American depositary shares, representing Philippine listed securities.
• Advising a government-owned and controlled company in the structuring and implementation of its privatisation including its initial public offering worth approximately Php 17.1 billion.
• Advising a new company spun off from the largest food, beverage and packaging in the Philippines on the initial public offering of its shares worth at least Php 6 billion.
• Negotiating and documenting various acquisitions of private and publicly held companies, including mandatory tender offers. Documentation included share purchase agreements, asset purchase agreements, and tender offer filings. Most transactions included the conduct of extensive legal due diligence audits.
• Structuring, documenting, facilitating, and managing investments by foreign corporations. Documentation included subscription agreements and shareholder agreements.
• Serving as assistant corporate secretary of various private companies, where she was responsible for corporate governance, disclosure compliance, and review of all contracts and agreements.

Memberships / Directorships

• Member, Integrated Bar of the Philippines