About

Since May 2016, Francisco Beláustegui has been the regional legal manager of Despegar.com, a leading online travel agency in Latin America. He is mainly responsible for providing the company with legal advice across the entire Latin America region in areas of corporate, labour, regulatory and consumer law. Beláustegui is a ‘very complete legal professional with deep understanding of issues of the most varied areas of law and a quick adapter to new markets’, according to one nominator. He is also the legal coordinator for the company’s intellectual property activities, and is held accountable for the company’s compliance affairs, ensuring they are in accordance with local regulations. With an international presence in 20 countries, Despegar.com provides a wide range of services on flights, travel packages, hotels and products related to tourism and entertainment around the world through its website and mobile application. Described by peers as a ‘clear oriented manager’, Beláustegui has built up his career by working for multinational companies and top-tier law firms. Before he joined Despegar.com, Beláustegui worked for the international alcoholic beverages company Diageo for three years, where he was noted for leading negotiations with Grupo Peñaflor for the sale of Diageo’s wine assets. Prior to Diageo, Beláustegui spent two years at Reckitt Benckiser as legal and compliance manager for the South Cone region, and four years as legal manager at Saputo Diary Products Argentina; both are public listed multinational companies. In addition to his in-house career, Beláustegui obtained private practice experience at several law firms during his early stages as a lawyer.