Head of Law, Patents and Compliance Andean, Caribbean and Central America | Bayer Colombia
Laura Jaramillo Franco
Head of Law, Patents and Compliance Andean, Caribbean and Central America | Bayer Colombia
Team size: 9
I am a senior legal and compliance executive with over 13 years of experience providing strategic legal advice in corporate law, pharmaceutical regulatory law, antitrust, and litigation. Throughout my career, I have led high-performance legal teams and managed complex matters across multiple jurisdictions, particularly within the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries.
I currently serve as Head of Legal, Patents & Compliance for Central America, the Caribbean, and the Andean Cluster at Bayer S.A., leading a team of seven expert lawyers supporting three business units—Crop Science, Pharmaceuticals, and Consumer Health, across more than twelve jurisdictions. I am proud to be the youngest woman at Bayer to hold a regional Head position in Legal and Compliance, a milestone that embodies the results of a career built on resilience, hard work, and uncompromising professional and ethical standards.
In this role, I have implemented strategic legal frameworks that reduced litigation by 30%, managed high-stakes multi-million-dollar disputes, and developed cost-optimisation initiatives that lowered the legal budget by 20%. I have designed strategies to safeguard Bayer’s licence to operate in politically unstable and highly regulated environments, ensuring compliance and mitigating legal risks at every stage.
My global experience includes serving as Senior Global Legal Counsel at Bayer AG headquarters in Leverkusen, Germany, where I assessed ESG risks, strengthened the company’s strategic positioning, evaluated the implications of the EU Green Deal for Latin America, and conducted comparative legal analyses to identify litigation trends and timelines across Bayer’s key jurisdictions in Pharma and Crop Science.
I have also led major strategic transactions, including significant divestments and the sale of Bayer’s Environmental Science business unit to Envu, as well as pioneering Inclusion and Diversity initiatives within the company.
I began my career in top-tier law firms, including Brigard Urrutia and Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU and Uría (PPU), where I advised on mergers and acquisitions, bond and green bond issuances, and the structuring of renewable energy projects. I also represented leading consumer goods and automotive companies in high-profile consumer protection litigation.
I hold a Law degree from Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia), a postgraduate degree in Commercial Law from the same institution, and an LL.M. with honours from the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK). I am fluent in Spanish and English, with additional proficiency in French, Portuguese, and basic German.
Looking ahead, I am committed to harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to make legal and compliance processes more efficient, data-driven, and agile. By integrating innovative tools into our daily operations, we can reduce administrative burdens, focus on high-value strategic work, and strengthen our role as proactive business partners who enable sustainable growth and long-term value creation.
What emerging technologies do you see as having the most significant impact on the legal profession in the near future, and how do you stay updated on these developments?
Without a doubt, generative AI is the technology having the most significant impact on the legal profession today. It is the most relevant because it strengthens the strategic role of legal teams, allowing us to focus on high-impact matters, protect the company’s licence to operate, and act as business partners by co-creating solutions with the organisation. It frees us from repetitive operational tasks that often limit our ability to contribute at a strategic level.
But the real value does not come from using AI simply because it is available. The key is to specialise its use, understanding what each tool does best and applying it where it adds real value. At Bayer, we have avoided superficial adoption. We use AI intentionally, strategically, and always within our standards for data protection, information security and confidentiality. It is not only about what AI can do, but whether it should, and under what conditions.
We have defined specific use cases for each AI tool. Harvey and myGenAssist support legal research, first drafts and automation of standard documents. Claude is used for retrieving governance data across our 23 legal entities, such as legal representatives, powers and bylaws. Notebook allows secure searches within internal documents in a sandboxed environment. For ideation and creative thinking, we use tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini, which help us connect concepts and explore solutions. For storytelling and presentations, we rely on Gamma, especially for quick, high-impact content.
We stay current through collaboration with external firms and through our Legal Tech Design team, which tracks market developments, tests tools and ensures that what we implement is aligned with business priorities and secure by design.
How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?
During periods of instability or crisis, my approach to managing legal matters is centred on resilience, focus and business empowerment. These situations often bring VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) and the legal department cannot operate in isolation. We approach challenges with a 360° mindset, involving the business early, removing silos and placing decision-making where it belongs.
Rather than centralising control, we enable accountability across the organisation. That means empowering teams to make informed decisions, supporting them with legal clarity and helping them act without fear of mistakes. Legal’s role is not to block but to facilitate solutions and protect the business by guiding risk-based decisions.
Our legal strategy is embedded in Bayer’s broader transformation. Since the arrival of our new CEO, the company has been driving a cultural shift through Dynamic Shared Ownership (DSO), pushing for speed, accountability and decentralised decision-making. From the legal department, we are fully aligned with this shift, engaging early, guiding with purpose and co-owning outcomes with the business. In these moments, I focus on five core principles that guide both mindset and action.
First, we ensure communication is transparent and structured, with messages delivered clearly on time and consistently across stakeholders. This builds trust and enables fast, informed action. Second, we keep a mission-critical focus. In the midst of complexity, we help teams prioritise what truly matters, ensuring that core operations continue and Bayer’s long-term positioning is protected. The legal department supports strategy execution by minimising friction and enabling agility.
Third, I promote resilience by leading with calm and confidence. A positive outlook helps the team stay focused, while adaptability, flexibility and pragmatism ensure we maintain direction during uncertainty. Fourth, we empower teams to take ownership of their decisions. This strengthens collective accountability and enables faster, more autonomous business responses, always grounded in compliance and sound judgment. Finally, we encourage creativity under pressure. Crises push us to challenge assumptions, explore alternative paths and co-create legally sound, practical solutions that may not follow the usual playbook but allow the business to move forward without compromising integrity.
This approach not only helps us navigate uncertainty more effectively but also reinforces the legal department’s role as an enabler of Bayer’s broader business goals. By acting with clarity and speed, we safeguard our licence to operate and directly support our mission: Health for all, Hunger for none.
Head of law, patents and compliance for Bayer Andean, Central America and Caribbean Countries (PACA) | Bayer
Head of law, patents and compliance for Bayer Andean, Central America and Caribbean Countries (PACA) | Bayer
Legal business partner PACA (Central America, Caribbean and Andean region)
Bayer
View Powerlist
Legal business partner PACA (Central America, Caribbean and Andean region)
Bayer
View Powerlist