Law.com interviews Gustavo Contró partner at ECIJA Advisory Mexico

ECIJA has rolled out advisory services in Mexico, bringing to four the number of Latin American markets where the firm has made that offering available as it seeks to build on a successful model that launched in Spain in 2019.

The advisory offering is geared toward helping entrepreneurs and startups and even larger, more established companies with all their business needs, from financial and tax planning to business modeling and restructuring.

Already, ECIJA’s advisory services have assisted more than 500 clients in more than 25 countries, the firm said.

In Latin America, the services are now available in Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile and Mexico, where they go head-to-head with the Big Four accounting firms and smaller advisory boutiques.

“Our clients need solutions through a single interlocutor,” said Gustavo Contró, who in April joined ECIJA as a partner in Mexico after decades working as a chief financial officer, auditor and operations consultant at companies such as Ipsos and Arthur Andersen.

Contró said the firm has already made 10 proposals for projects in Mexico, where he is working alongside another new ECIJA partner, Gerardo Villavicencio, who was a longtime executive at General Electric.

Villavicencio will lead advisory efforts in financial services, corporate governance and forensic services, while Contró will oversee advisory work related to compliance, accounting, human resources and audits.

Contró has also assumed the role of chief financial officer for ECIJA in Mexico.

This full-service approach is meant to accompany legal clients as they grow, while consolidating their needs under one roof rather than referring them to outside vendors.

The advisory group, for example, can help a company study targets for mergers and acquisitions, or provide outsourced CFO services.

Joaquín Rodríguez, a member of the executive committee of ECIJA Mexico, said the rollout of more comprehensive services in the country responds to the global needs of the firm’s clients.

“The services that ECIJA Advisory will now provide in Mexico expands on our global service offering at a juncture where near-shoring and Mexico’s geo-strategic position play an important role,” Rodríguez said in a statement.

With the addition of Contró and Villavicencio, ECIJA now employs nine partners and more than 35 professionals in Mexico — and it’s looking to hire at least four more people to join the advisory team, the firm said.