About

Marisol Mateos in an in-house lawyer with unrivalled experience in the hotel and hospitality industry. Across the course of her career she has worked for three of the best-known brands in the world: Melia Hotels International; Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, and, as of September 2016, Marriott International. At the start of her career, she spent one year as an attorney at Argentinean law firm Basualdo & Mateos, before joining Melia Hotels in Majorca, Spain as an internal consultant. Her next move, staying with Melia, saw her move back to Latin America to take up a role as corporate counsel in Mexico. This position was one of considerable importance – not only was Mateos responsible for legal analysis and counsel as Melia opened new sites in Mexico, but she also created the legal department for the Americas division of the company. This work set her in good stead for a move to Miami, where she continued to have oversight of the Americas, along with several countries outside the region. Over a 20 year period in this role Mateos became an expert in litigation, investments, leadership, risk management, negotiation and strategic decision making. Among her most impressive work have been overseeing joint ventures and strategic partnerships in Dominican Republic, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Venezuela, Antilles, Colombia, Peru, and Argentina. In February 2015, Mateos moved to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide as director of legal for Latin America. Two years later, Starwood was acquired by Marriott International. Mateos’ considerable experience was an asset that Marriott did not want to lose, and she was given the role of senior director for legal in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mateos has also played a leading role in the development of the South Florida Group of Regional Counsels, a network of in-house lawyers that work together to help develop the profession.