La Republica, a leading Colombian economic, business, and financial newspaper, has published its list of the most influential Colombian business leaders of 2024. The ranking, headed by the presidents of the cement company Grupo Argos and the financial entity Grupo Aval, highlights the figures who have left their mark on Colombia’s business scene over the past year.
Jorge Mario Velasquez, president of Grupo Argos, leads the “The most influential of 2024” list, thanks to the creation of a new business vertical focused on the water sector in Peru, Mexico and Chile. Velasquez also played a central role in the acquisition of Summit Materials by Quikrete Holdings, which was listed as one of the most important deals of the year.
Jorge Mario Velasquez, of Grupo Argos, tops list
La Republica has published its annual ranking of the ten most influential and successful business leaders in Colombia. The 2024 list is headed by Jorge Mario Velasquez, the president of Grupo Argos, a conglomerate with large investments in the infrastructure sector and businesses in energy, road and airport concessions, and cement.
Argos, originally a cement company, has diversified its activity and over the course of this year, Velasquez led the creation of a new vertical. This new venture focuses on the water industry with operations that will initially focus on Peru, Mexico and Chile.
Velasquez also completed one of the most important Colombian business deals of the year. He played a key role reaching an agreement for Summit Materials, a company in which Cementos Argos has a 31% stake, to be acquired by Quikrete Holdings.
In second position in La Republica’s list is Maria Lorena Gutierrez, president of Grupo Aval, a financial holding company that includes several of the most important banks in Colombia.
La Republica notes that Gutierrez, the only woman in the list, has “a long track record in both the public and private sectors, and this year became the head of Grupo Aval.” During 2024, Gutierrez not only announced the launch of Tag Aval, a digital identification key that will facilitate transfers between the groups’ banks, but also returned to the capital market with a bond issue for 300 billion pesos (approximately US$68 million).
In addition, he helped steer Grupo Aval in its fundamental role in what has become known as the Pact for Credit, an initiative via which the sector aims to stimulate economic activity in Colombia.
Other business leaders who stood out in Colombia in 2024
Third place in La Republica’s list was Miguel Escobar, president of Postobon, a sugar-sweetened beverage company that celebrated its 120th anniversary this year. Since joining the company 11 years ago, Escobar has managed to position Postobon as a leader in corporate social responsibility. As president, Escobar also leads the profitable and sustained growth of the company.
In fourth place was Jaime Gilinski, president of the financial holding company Grupo Gilinski. In the middle of this year, Gilinski announced that it had sold Grupo Nutresa to its Arab partners, a business move valued at US$11 billion.
Juan Carlos Mora, president of Bancolombia, the country’s largest bank, was placed fifth in the La Republica list. This year, Mora oversaw the bank’s mortgage rate war and the decision to create Grupo Cibest. Expected to start operations in 2025, with the aim of streamlining Grupo Bancolombia and making its business more flexible, this entity will eventually become the bank’s parent company.
Finally, John Maya Salazar, from Grupo EPM; Carlos Ignacio Gallego, from Grupo Nutresa; Javier Suarez, from the insurance company Grupo Bolivar; Juan Carlos Calleja, from Grupo Exito and Ricardo Roa, from the state-owned oil company Ecopetrol, complete the list of the ten most influential business leaders in Colombia in 2024.
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