About

Guatemala-based Luis Pedro Jegerlehner is legal manager for PepsiCo in Central America and the Caribbean. He runs a small team of two lawyers with one additional counsel in the Dominican Republic reporting in to him. Having created the department for the region, Jegerlehner takes pride in the fact that all internal legal issues are dealt with by his team rather than other departments of the company; a change of approach to legal matters has prevented any misunderstandings, reduced external legal cost and provided certainty to the company. Recently the team has been negotiating and coordinating with outside counsel to reduce external expenses. Jegerlehner outlines how he managed the blend of legal complexity and shrinking budgets: ‘I’ve been able to manage and negotiate with unions, to prevent legal problems by providing support and service to the various departments of PepsiCo’. The nature of the food and beverage industry has meant that he has had to handle a number of changes to labour, regulatory and tax matters across the region, including 26 different islands in the Caribbean. The team has nonetheless ensured it hasn’t compromised on the quality of work or resources. For other in-house lawyers in the region who wish to move into a more senior position, Jegerlehner offers the following advice: ‘The in-house counsel must not only be a lawyer but also has to be a manager, to understand and walk hand-in-hand with the business, give solutions and thus ensure business continuity’. Jegerlehner started his in-house career at Colgate-Palmolive in 2011, previously having been part of a family business for nine years. He also had a two year stint as a legal assistant at Racsa Consortium Legal in Guatemala from 1998-2000.