- The new CEO from Medellín, Antioquia will take office as soon as the hiring requirements are met.
- Posada is known for his extensive, solid international business background; his experience in the energy, infrastructure, and telecommunications sectors; and his leadership on issues such as sustainability, technology and innovation, entrepreneurship, and competitiveness.
- His management signature has been the creation of resilient, dynamic management teams in highly volatile environments.
- During his career, he has been in charge of multiple companies with a presence on several continents.
The Board of Directors sees Juan Emilio Posada Echeverri as a leader with the business background and qualities required for being entrusted with the mission of leading ISA towards its consolidation as the energy and infrastructure company of the future within the Ecopetrol Group. His leadership, multi-sector experience, and high expertise in ever-changing business environments will be essential assets in the mission to maximize the company’s sustainable value.
Juan Emilio has been a key player in the transformation of the sectors in which he has served, as a leader of international corporations at different stages of development (start-up, growth, internationalization, merger, restructuring, or liquidation). He was the head of major airlines such as Avianca, Aces, and VivaAir, who is present in Latin America (including Brazil), the United States, and Europe. He was also in charge of Puerto Brisa, a port megaproject in northern Colombia. He previously held high-level international positions at Billiton Marketing and Trading, which is part of the Shell Group in the Netherlands; and at Banco Cafetero in the United States, Panama, and Colombia.
From the beginning, as a student leader, Juan Emilio began to build a passion for leadership, a virtue he has continued to strengthen throughout his career. He has led campaigns that promote a broader scope of the role of corporate CEOs, urging them to be more active in the promotion of the systemic, sustainable development of the communities, regions and countries in their area of influence. Likewise, in the last few years, he has promoted high levels of commitment from the organizations he has led in environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.
The Board of Directors decided to appoint him at its extraordinary meeting 869 of June 6, 2022. This process was supported by its Organizational Talent Committee, for which it hired Spencer Stuart, an international executive search firm. Posada and dozens of candidates with diverse profiles and from different locations participated in the selection process. The process was exhaustive and involved a serious assessment that responded to the criteria of suitability, knowledge, experience, leadership and adaptation to ISA’s successful culture.
About Juan Emilio Posada Echeverri’s professional career
His experience in the infrastructure sector comes from his role as a member of the Board of Directors of Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional, a development bank specialized in financing and structuring infrastructure projects. His experience also comes from serving as a member of the Board of ODINSA, a multi-latin road and airport infrastructure company, and as a structuring member of several consortia bidding for airport concessions, highway concessions, and the national registry/database of the Colombian transportation system.
In the energy and energy transportation infrastructure sector, as a member of Ecopetrol’s Board, since 2019 he helped define the Group’s 2040 strategy, called Energía que Transforma (Energy that Transforms), to successfully face the challenges of the energy transition, all while remaining on the path of the outstanding operating and financial results reported by Ecopetrol in 2021 and in 1Q22. He also has extensive knowledge of the public utilities sector thanks to his experience as a member of the boards of directors of Sociedad de Acueducto, Alcantarillado y Aseo de Barranquilla (Triple A), and Telecom.
As an entrepreneur, he is known for having founded VivaAir, which revolutionized the airline industry by successfully introducing the low cost model in Colombia. He has also led ventures in transportation, logistics, mass transit fare collection systems, car sharing company management systems, companies of the fourth industrial revolution, and real estate developments for the middle class.
Posada’s contribution and leadership on the boards of directors of non-profit organizations such as the foundations Plan Colombia, Plan Brasil, and the Orchestra of the Americas in Washington, as well as on international committees providing business support to governments, trade associations, and chambers of commerce in several countries demonstrate his great social sensitivity, which has always been a priority in his business agenda.
Thanks to his broad international business experience and work in multiple locations, he was appointed by the Colombian government as senior external advisor since 2020 to support the acceleration of high-priority initiatives for the country and solve complex problems that require a high level of attention and articulation with the private sector. He has broad experience on the boards of directors of oil and energy companies, infrastructure, commercial aviation, public transportation, company builders, data analysis, clusters, BPOs, international distribution of raw materials, telecommunications, securities brokers, international banking, insurance companies, and the media.[1]
Juan Emilio is a business administrator from Universidad EAFIT of Medellín; has an MBA in International Business and Finance from Pace University in New York, where he was honored for his academic excellence and also completed postgraduate studies in International Financial Law at the London School of Economics.
He has received numerous distinctions such as Colombia’s Cross of Boyacá in 2002 (the highest distinction awarded in Colombia to a private citizen), E&Y’s Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year in 2015, as well as numerous national and international customer service awards and recognitions for several years, along with several recognitions and medals from Colombia’s military forces for supporting them from the private sector.
[1] Ecopetrol, FDN, Triple A, Avianca Holdings, Allianz Life Colombia, Allianz General Colombia, Odinsa, GESED (corporate holding of the Ministry of Defense), Sociedad Hotelera Tequendama, Computec Outsourcing, Flores de la Campiña, Disan, Táximo (CEO), Direktio, NT3, AUtolab, Polymath Ventures, AirLogistix, Awake, VivaAir, Avianca, Corredores Asociados, RUNT, Casa Editorial El Tiempo, Telecom, Banco Nacional del Comercio (CEO), Banco Extebandes – Caracas, Agrícola de Seguros Generales, Agrícola de Seguros de Vida, Almadelco, Leasing Arfín, Colombia Compite, Corporación Calidad, Plan International (CEO in Colombia, member of the Board of Directors in Brazil and member of the global governing body of this international NGO), Orchestra of the Americas, and trade associations and chambers of commerce such as IATA, ALTA (Asociación Latinoamericana de Transporte Aéreo – CEO for five years), ANDI-Bogotá, ANDI- Antioquia, Chamber of Commerce of Medellín, Colombian-American Chambers in Bogotá and Miami, and Corporación Calidad.
