About

The product of one of the most significant airline mergers of recent years, LATAM Airlines Group was formed in 2012 when TAM Airlines of Brazil agreed to the takeover by historically important Chilean commercial aviation company LAN Airlines. Now the largest airline holding company in Latin America, LATAM Airlines Group boasts over three hundred aircraft and over 40,000 employees at seven subsidiaries across Latin America. Juan Carlos Menció leads the company’s legal function and has been in his current role of senior vice president of legal affairs and compliance since September 2014. He and the company’s legal function have been at the centre of some exciting developments for the company during this time. Notable among these include the company-wide decision of August 2015 to rebrand the entire company as LATAM, with all subsidiaries agreeing to adopt a universal livery on aircraft, and the August 2017 closure of an approximately $350m private placement aimed at refinancing some of the company’s debt in Brazil. Menció is joined in the company’s legal function by a number of other experienced and successful Chile-based lawyers. Senior legal director Jose Miguel Bellagamba joined LATAM in 2016 from Santiago-based law firm Carey where he focused on finance and corporate legal matters; he continues to specialise in these areas for LATAM, leading financing projects for the company and contributing corporate advice to the company. Senior legal manager Claudia Pavez is another example of the talent within the team, having worked with them since early 2011, while at the other end of the spectrum the team has added fresh talent in the shape of senior lawyer and compliance analyst Felipe Encina Barraza, who joined in February 2018.