Carlos Esguerra

Practice Areas

Competition Law, Antitrust, Consumer Protection, Telecommunications, Data Protection, Privacy, TMT

Career

Carlos Esguerra is a leading competition and antitrust practitioner in Colombia, with over 16 years of experience advising public and private entities on complex enforcement, regulatory and strategic competition matters.

Carlos combines deep enforcement experience with top-tier private practice and international exposure, a profile that is rare in the Colombian market. Prior to joining Avante Abogados (now Bermúdez & Esguerra), he held senior positions at the Colombian Competition Authority (Superintendence of Industry and Commerce – SIC), where he led a specialised team of more than 30 professionals within the Bid-Rigging in Public Procurement Specialized Group. In this role, he was responsible for some of the most significant cartel and bid-rigging investigations conducted by the SIC during 2017 and 2018, gaining first-hand insight into investigative techniques, evidentiary standards and institutional decision-making.

His experience also includes leading roles in private practice. At Posse Herrera Ruiz, Carlos headed the competition law practice between 2015 and 2016, advising on merger control, investigations and compliance matters.

In addition, he has acted as a consultant to the Colombian Aeronautical Authority, the Colombian Communications Regulator and to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., further strengthening his comparative and international perspective on competition enforcement.

At Bermúdez & Esguerra, Carlos leads the competition and antitrust practice, and his strategic direction and hands-on involvement have been central to the success and growth of the team. He has led all the matters listed in this submission, providing senior-level strategic advice across investigations, merger control, compliance programmes and high-stakes contentious proceedings.

Professional Memberships

Carlos has served as President of the Colombian Association of Data and Privacy (ADAPRI) and as Director of the International Committee of the Colombian Association of Competition Law.

Publications

Asociación Colombiana deDerecho

de la Competencia (ACDC)

Capítulo de acuerdos del libro

Derecho de la Competencia, 2022

Competition Laws Outside the United States (“CLOUS”)

Capítulo de Colombia

American Bar Association (ABA), 2021

Getting The Deal Through

Capítulo de control de integraciones

(Merger Control Colombia) 2016

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Colombia

Languages Spoken

Spanish; English

Experience

Carlos is also a recognised academic and thought leader in the field. He has taught competition law at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and is a frequent speaker at Colombia’s most relevant competition law forums, including the Annual Congress of the Colombian Association of Competition Law and the Competition Law Congress of the Colombian Bank Association, among others.

Clients

Alpina Productos Alimenticios (Colombian Food Multinational)

Publicis Groupe

Abbott Laboratories de Colombia

Bancolombia

Gopass

dLocal

Mercado Libre

GlaxoSmithKlineColombia

Ab inBev/Bavaria

Banmédica

Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional

Uber

Nestlé

Syndesis Health

CBC

América de Cali

Smart Fit

Cementos Progreso

Pint Pharma

Education

Awards