General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer Europe
Confidential
Germany
“A great General Counsel today is someone who can think strategically, act commercially, and switch quickly between long-term advisor and short-term firefighter (often in the same day!).”
GC Elite Leader Germany 2026
Rafael Colonia Castellanos is an international legal and compliance executive with more than 15 years of experience leading legal, compliance and governance functions across Europe, the Middle East and Latin America in complex, highly regulated multinational environments.
Admitted to practice in Germany, Spain and Mexico, he has held senior in-house leadership roles including General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Board-level advisor, supporting international organisations through periods of growth, transformation, regulatory change and market expansion.
His experience spans legal strategy, compliance & ethics, regulatory matters, corporate governance, cross-border operations, M&A, data protection, digitalisation and technology-related legal frameworks. Over the years, he has built legal and compliance functions from the ground up, supported international expansion projects and advised executive leadership on complex business and regulatory challenges.
Having worked extensively across Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and in close collaboration with Asian headquarters, he brings a pragmatic, business-oriented and multicultural perspective to legal leadership in international environments.
He holds multiple postgraduate degrees (LL.M./MSSc) in areas including IT/IP Law, EU Law, Cybersecurity and International Law, including studies in Germany, Spain and Norway, as well as executive education at Harvard. He is also TÜV-certified as a Data Protection Officer (GDPR).
Rafael is fluent in Spanish, German, English and Portuguese, with working knowledge of French and Russian.