About

Taking a legal leadership position across a large geographic region at one of the world’s most recognisable brands, Fernando Calia oversees legal and corporate affairs across the Brazil and Southern Cone region at PepsiCo. Starting in 1992 at Pinheiro Neto Advogados, Calia worked in private practice for almost eight years and worked to become a senior associate at the firm. Calia then left private practice to take a position at Philip Morris, working his way up to become legal director of Philip Morris Brazil and then assistant General Counsel for litigation across the entire group, before joining PepsiCo in 2013. This pattern demonstrates Calia’s diligence and the trust he acquires within organisations. Calia is noted for numerous legal skills, but his specialities in competition law, corporate law, litigation and corporate governance are particularly called-upon in his current role. One source stated that Calia’s ‘strong ethical principles and innate leadership qualities’ make him stand out in the in-house legal world.