CLAUDIA POLITANSKI IS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT RESPONSIBLE for the legal department, the ombudsman office, human resources, corporate affairs and marketing at Brazil's Itaú Unibanco. Politanski received a bachelor's degree in law from the University of São Paulo, an LL.M. from the University of Virginia, and an MBA from Brazil's Fundação Dom Cabral. She began working as an intern at Unibanco in 1991 in the legal advisory area when she was in the fourth year of college. Based in São Paulo, Itaú Unibanco is the largest bank in Latin America, the company says. It provides retail, corporate, investment banking and asset management services. It operates in 18 countries and has 94,779 employees, 955 branches, as well as $447 billion in assets. It is in the following markets: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, U.S., Bahamas, United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and the UAE.

LEGAL TEAM: The bank has 450 internal attorneys, 700 analysts who take care of operational processes, and some 290 legal offices that support the bank externally. She oversees the legal function, often providing guidelines, and monitors legal risk. She is a member of the bank's executive committee and VP of the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban).

OUTSIDE COUNSEL: "Our legal area is organized in such a way that all strategic decision-making is conducted in-house while outside legal offices represent us with the courts in the case of the massified portfolios as well as supporting us where some operational processes are involved," Politanski said.

TYPICAL DAY: There are many meetings in Politanski's typical day. "I rise early, work out every day, read the newspapers and have breakfast with my family. The working environment is a very informal one, so much so that all members of the executive committee work in the same room and we are thus able to exchange opinions and knowledge on a wide variety of matters," Politanski said. "However, decisions on matters relating to formal agendas are taken at internal or external meetings most of the time, while lunch hours are set aside largely for relationship meetings with executives from other companies and with market professionals." Politanski works at the bank's headquarters in São Paulo, but she also often attends meetings at Febraban, in connection with her role as vice president. There are business trips, too, to locations such as Brasília, Washington, D.C., and New York. She sees her role at the bank as having beneficial impact to Brazil and the world. "I am motivated by challenges—while the power to transform our country and the world into a better place for the next generations is something that drives me," Politanski said. "The fact that I work in a bank, which is a growth driver for the economy, makes perfect sense to me as it allows me to influence the building of our future based on my own beliefs and values."

PERSONAL: "I am 47, married, and have two beautiful daughters, ages 21 and 24," she said.

LAST BOOK READ: "I enjoy reading very much. I love fiction but also read many books related to work," she said. "The last one I read was about diversity and written by a [Brazilian] federal deputy by the name of Jean Wyllys."

WHAT KEEPS HER UP AT NIGHT: "In the professional field, my biggest wish is to see the results of the transformations that will occur following the enactment of the reforms currently being implemented in … Brazil, particularly labor and social security reform," Politanski said.

PRIORITIES AS GENERAL COUNSEL: "We are looking at an increasingly digital era in which the way people relate to one another has changed. We have been constantly endeavoring to track closely new tendencies," Politanski said. "In my view, it is precisely the capacity of companies to respond rapidly to changes that will guarantee the sustainability of their businesses. And with this change, all areas of the bank have been affected with no exception. For example, the legal area has an increasingly strategic role. Our lawyers have to reconcile their expertise in law with a broader scenario that includes technology, consumer behavior, entrepreneurship and innovation in order to identify the opportunities, ensure the feasibility of products, etc. Today, the lawyer can no longer restrict himself to a knowledge of the laws and jurisprudence," she said.