Bernardo Sucre

Mr. Sucre, fluent in Spanish and English and trained in both the civil and common law traditions, has more than 30 years of experience on international business transactions, particularly in Venezuela and Latin America.

Bernardo advises on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, procurement and supply arrangements, financing transactions, and regulatory and compliance matters. He began his career at a leading firm in Venezuela, where he was admitted to practice law, before joining The Coca-Cola Company. At Coca-Cola, he held roles around the world and ultimately served as Transformation Counsel, leading the legal workstream for the company’s worldwide transformation. In that role, Bernardo redesigned the delivery of legal support across all jurisdictions, standardizing contracting and procurement at global scale and reconciling commercial objectives with local regulatory reality in markets. This experience gives Bernardo practical understanding of how multinational companies operate from the inside.

Venezuela is central to Bernardo’s practice. He is among the small group of U.S. based Venezuelan lawyers with substantial experience in doing business involving Venezuela, including sanctions exposure and compliance architecture, contracting with state-linked counterparties, currency and payment mechanics, protection and restructuring of legacy assets. He also provides practical guidance on what can realistically be accomplished. Companies with dormant Venezuelan operations, unresolved claims, or renewed interest in the market turn to him for his candid advice about risk and execution.

Clients value Bernardo’s combination of in-house perspective and transactional experience. Having worked with senior business team members, he also understands what a general counsel actually needs from outside counsel.