About

As well as building a comprehensive in-house legal team at confectionery, food, and beverage conglomerate Mondelēz International, Juan Pablo Restrepo has optimised the external counsel service model for Central America, the Caribbean and the Andean countries. He reduced the number of firms that the company uses across these regions from 61 to just a single supplier. ‘This aggressive consolidation is allowing us to create scale, obtain better tariffs, simplify invoicing system and harmonise legal strategy in the entire region’, Restrepo clarifies. The transformation of the company in the region by shutting down 75% of their plants and revamping the remaining 25% has had a major impact on Mondelēz’s strategic path. Likewise, the company has transformed its business model by exiting 10 non-core markets while giving them to master distributors and at the same time heavily investing in their five core markets. In addition to the legal support needed to oversee this change management, Restrepo proposed and was able to open the Cuban market for the company by obtaining all necessary permits before the different US government bodies. Thanks to Restrepo’s legal initiative, the company has a very robust and promising business presence on the once isolated island. Overall, the transformation of the regions has converted Mondelēz into a $1bn venture in the regions that Restrepo covers. Previous roles prior to Mondelēz included a stint at GlaxoSmithKline, and time spent in various law firms, the Federal Communications Commission and AT&T Latin America.