We are delighted to welcome Marcela Silva to Zavala Civitas as Director, bringing with her over 20 years of international experience in Human Resources and executive search across Latin America and Canada.
Marcela has built a distinguished career in HR leadership roles across a range of sectors including high tech, pharmaceutical, retail, and banking. Before joining Zavala Civitas, she was Managing Partner at MS Mayer Executive Search, leading senior-level recruitment mandates across Canada and Latin America. Earlier, she held regional HR leadership positions at BNP Paribas, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Farmacia San Pablo, IMS Health, and Ceragon Networks, overseeing complex HR functions such as talent acquisition, organizational development, succession planning, and workforce strategy in both corporate and growth-stage environments.
Marcela’s strength lies in her ability to align HR strategy with business goals, build high-performing teams, and lead cross-border recruitment initiatives in highly regulated and multicultural contexts. She has successfully led M&A integrations, opened operations in new geographies, and driven transformation agendas with measurable impact on employee engagement and performance.
Originally from Mexico, Marcela is currently based in Montreal and is fluent in French, Spanish, Portuguese and English. Her deep understanding of cross-cultural talent dynamics makes her a strong asset to our international search practice.
We are proud to count on Marcela’s expertise and look forward to the value she will bring to our clients across the Americas.
Fernando Zavala, Partner at Zavala Civitas, stated: “We are thrilled to welcome Marcela to the team. Her strategic insight and hands-on experience—as a former VP of HR in the banking and pharmaceutical sectors across the Americas—will be a tremendous asset to our clients. Marcela’s multilingual background, fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, combined with her entrepreneurial experience in executive search, positions us to strengthen and expand our presence across the Americas, as we now grow our footprint in Eastern Canada with the opening of our Montreal office. We’re very pleased to have her aboard.”
About Zavala Civitas Executive Search & Organizational Consulting:
Zavala Civitas is a global executive search and organizational consulting firm dedicated to identifying and recruiting top executive leaders. We work with organizations to achieve their strategic goals, providing tailored solutions that align with their business vision.
