About

Ana Maria Arbelaez joined Sanofi Aventis de Colombia (Sanofi) in 2012, just as the French-headquartered multinational was consolidating its place as the one of the region’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturers following its acquisition of Colombian generics producer Genfar. The Latin American pharmaceuticals market continues to be driven by sales of generics, and a large part of Arbelaez’s job consists of finding ways to operate effectively in this market while protecting Sanofi’s valuable intellectual property. Arbelaez is also cited for her achievement in restructuring the legal team in line with the changing business strategy. Arbelaez’s team-building work has, according to one law firm partner, made her stand out as ‘one of the best legal managers in the region’ and underscored her ‘ability to get the most out of people and demonstrate that effective planning can add significant value to a team’. She began her career at the Bogotá offices of Baker & McKenzie before moving to the position of senior associate at Posse Herrera & Ruiz Abogados. Immediately prior to joining Sanofi she was general counsel at Distribuidora Nissan, the automobile manufacturer.