Jaime Echavarria

Director
Proexport USA (Colombian Trade Bureau)

Since July 2008 Jaime Echavarria has served as Director of Proexport USA (Colombian Trade Bureau), the Colombia Government entity responsible for promoting non-traditional exports from Colombia to the US and advocating Colombia for North American tourism and foreign direct investment.  Mr. Echavarria oversees the organization and its 30+ professionals, who are directly responsible for attracting a least US$400 million in FDI, US$170 million in nontraditional exports and 400,000 tourists a year to Colombia, one of Latin America’s most stable democracies and rapidly growing economies.

 

Prior to joining Proexport USA, Mr. Echavarria worked in the private sector as an entrepreneur. He is credited with the establishment of the first accounting software company in Colombia, which became one of the most successful IT companies in the region, MECOsoft.  He eventually sold the company to the multinational Spanish Holding Group, “Grupo Softland,” before coming to the US.

 

Other notable achievements include the joint venture Mr. Echavarria developed with Intuit USA to localize Quicken software in Spanish for sales in Spanish-speaking markets, such as Latin America and Spain, as well as numerous awards and recognitions. These include the 1996 National Prize for Entrepreneurship, the International Star from Spain, a 1999 and 2003 Innovation Finalist in Portafolio, among others.

 

Aside from his success as an IT leader and businessman, he has worked on several socially responsible initiatives (Pyramid-Solla Foundation, non- profit Rehab Committee of Antioquia), and is an active sportsman (Golf and Running), and academic lecturer (former professor of University of EAFIT). His multifaceted profile is well-rounded with an appreciation for art and fluency in several languages.

 

Mr. Echavarria holds an Exec Graduate Management Diploma from Stanford, an MBA from the University of Georgia, and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Kansas.