About the IAPP

Cathy Baena (CIPP/E) is current Privacy Counsel for GlaxoSmithKline, where she is part of the global legal digital and privacy team. Cathy oversees the Latam, Middle East and Africa Regions (including Serbia). Her recent work has been focused on leading privacy projects with a multijurisdictional scope.  

Before joining GSK, Cathy was the Regional Privacy Officer and Legal Counsel, Latam for PayU (a Naspers-Prosus Group company); in 2017, She also was a Privacy Secondee for Naspers, where she was trained for implementing the GDPR in PayU operations. 

Cathy started her privacy practice in 2011, working as corporate senior associate in Cavelier Abogados, where she had under her remit, the advice on the Constitutional framework (“habeas data”) and the special privacy law for the processing of credit, commercial and financial information (Law 1266 of 2008). Then, she was also responsible for advising and training companies, operating in different sectors and industry groups, on the implementation of the Colombian General Privacy Law (Law 1581 of 2012). 

She teaches privacy, international contracts and fintech at the University Externado of Colombia and Javeriana University in Colombia.

Cathy is also an expert in e-commerce, Fintech, electronic payment methods, and international contracting.