🎙️Voices #4 — Alina Navarro Melendo, Beyond the M&A deals

GWF Voices — Alina Navarro Melendo

M&A Lawyer Germany & Luxembourg – Squire Patton BoggsVice President – Féminin Pluriel BerlinEntrepreneurial Mindset / Builder of Projects & Networks

When you meet Alina, what strikes you first is her warm smile and the sparkle in her eyes. Something that immediately puts people at ease.

Based in Germany, Alina Navarro Melendo works as an M&A lawyer across Germany and Luxembourg, navigating an environment that is deeply international by nature.

But law is only one part of the picture. Beyond her legal practice, Alina has always been drawn to initiating and growing projects and connecting people. She is particularly interested in the spaces where different actors meet - business, digital products, management, and the broader ecosystem.

GWF: Alina, did you always want to become a lawyer?

Alina:No. At the beginning, I wanted to do something related to languages.

I’ve always loved languages. I speak French, English, German, Spanish, and Russian fluently and I am currently learning Chinese. I also sing.

Language has always been something important to me.

Later, I realized that law is also a language: a structured language that helps you understand how systems work.

GWF: There are still very few women lawyers in M&A. Why do you think that is?

Alina: M&A is very demanding. It requires a lot of time and availability.

If you don’t have support from your partner, your family, or your professional environment ; it can be very challenging.

Especially if you have children and you are managing both business and family responsibilities.

Access to certain circles can also be difficult. There are environments that are not easy to enter if you are not already part of the network.

There are unconscious biases. Most of the time, they are not intentional. But they influence how competence and authority are perceived.

There is a well-known example from the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

They introduced blind auditions to reduce gender bias, but the initial impact was limited.

More women were selected only after additional sources of bias were removed, such as the sound of high heels, by asking musicians to take off their shoes.  It shows that perception can influence decisions, even without awareness.

It’s also linked to education and society.

From a young age, women often receive messages about what they should prioritize.

And sometimes, women can be hard on other women. Often because they struggled themselves to reach their position.

These are psychological dynamics. They are not always conscious, but they exist.

GWF: You are Vice President of Féminin Pluriel Berlin. What does that involve?

Alina:Through Féminin Pluriel Berlin, we support women across industries.

We organize networking events, mentoring, and thematic discussions. We connect women from business, culture, and different sectors.

Every year, we choose one main topic to focus on. Last year, it was women’s health, and this year, it is women’s financial security.

In 2025, we launched the Féminin Pluriel Berlin Cultural Award at the French Embassy in Berlin. It honors women whose work advances the cause of women in society.

This year’s award went to Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank. Last year’s award went to Barbara Schock-Werner, former chief architect of Cologne Cathedral and a contributor to the reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

As part of the wider Féminin Pluriel Global started in France in 1992, we are connected to a strong international community with various locations worldwide.

The idea is that women are not alone. There are mentors. There is support. There is a network.

GWF: You describe yourself as having an entrepreneurial mindset. How does that fit into your life?

Alina:I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset.

 I love initiating projects. I enjoy turning ideas into reality. I also enjoy building bridges between people and opportunities.

Over the past few years, I have gained valuable insight into the startup ecosystem through my husband’s startup, Jocoda Tech, a mobility software solution.

This experience sharpened my interest in innovation, digital products, and strategic networking. It showed me how legal thinking (structure, risk analysis, contracts) can combine powerfully with entrepreneurial drive and vision.

At the same time, it deepened my passion for connecting people and creating meaningful relationships.

I’ve always loved attending events. At the beginning, I would go with a group. It felt more comfortable.

Going alone is very different.When you go alone, you need to introduce yourself. You decide who you want to talk to. You focus on your target audience.

I learned that I don’t need to attend everything. I choose the events that match my goals.

GWF: How do you manage your time with all of this law, project-building and networking, association work, and family?

Alina:It’s about priorities.

Not everything can happen at the same time.

Sometimes work requires more focus. Sometimes family does.

You have to accept different phases.

And you need to be clear about what you want to achieve. Otherwise, you just react to everything.

For me, it’s also about living intentionally: choosing high-impact activities whether professional collaborations (like growing my Luxembourg practice with great co-counsel), empowerment initiatives through Féminin Pluriel, or supporting innovation ecosystems while protecting time for family, self-care, and recharging (lake swims, Zumba, learning Chinese).