SPEAKER
Paola Fonseca serves on the Global Board of the Global Alliance for Impact Lawyers (GAIL) and chairs its Latin American chapter, where she bridges corporate governance and public policy at a global level.
She is also the Managing Counsel at The ESG Governance Institute, providing strategic guidance on ESG compliance, sustainability, and impact investing frameworks.
With over 18 years of experience in corporate governance, ESG compliance, public policy, and structuring impact investment transactions, including social impact bonds and blended finance, Paola has advised multinational organizations across Latin America, Spain, and Portugal on aligning business practices with regulatory frameworks and advancing sustainable finance.
Her professional journey has evolved from working in top-down corporate contexts to incorporating a bottom-up approach, recognizing the unique position lawyers hold in bridging the gap between business needs and client expectations.
This perspective led her to coin the term "mandatory self-governance" which describes the proactive adoption of compliance frameworks by companies within a value chain to meet the extraterritorial regulations or compliance obligations imposed by their clients.
Although not directly mandated by local laws, these client-buyer demands, tied to their own regulatory requirements, make adherence non-negotiable for suppliers or participants in the value chain.
Paola holds a law degree, an MBA, and a Post-MBA from INCAE Business School – Chinese European Business Institute. She is an alumna of the Impact Investing program at Saïd Business School and the Public Policy program at the Blavatnik School of Government, both at the University of Oxford.
Currently, she is completing a PhD at the United Nations University for Peace, focusing on regulatory frameworks for impact investing. Her expertise includes ESG compliance, EU regulations applied in Latin America, sustainability, and structuring social impact bonds, driving innovative solutions to finance sustainable development.
