Chief executive officer

Juan Emilio Posada Echeverri

 
CEO

The Board of Directors sees Juan Emilio Posada Echeverri as the leader with the business background and qualities required for 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-level of expertise in ever-changing business environments will be essential assets in the mission to maximize the company’s sustainable value.

  • He was born in Medellín, Antioquia 62 years ago
  • He is married to Denise Webb, father of Emilia and María Antonia
  • He is a business administrator from Universidad EAFIT in Medellin, 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.
  • Posada is known for his extensive and 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.
  • During his career, he has chaired multiple companies with a presence on several continents. 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, as well as of Puerto Brisa, a port megaproject in northern Colombia. He previously held high-level international positions at Billiton Marketing and Trading, who is part of the Shell Group in the Netherlands; and at Banco Cafetero in the United States, Panama, and Colombia.
  • 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 the Ecopetrol’s Board, since 2019 he contributed to defining the Group’s 2040 strategy, called Energía que Transforma (Energy that Transforms), to successfully face the challenges of the energy transition. 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.
  • Additionally, he has served on boards of directors of companies in other sectors such as company builders, data analysis, clusters, BPOs, international distribution of raw materials, telecommunications, securities brokers, international banking, insurance companies and the media[1].
  • 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). His management signature has been the creation of resilient, dynamic management teams in highly volatile environments.
  • 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 attention and high-level articulation with the private sector.
  • Over the last few years, he has promoted high levels of commitment from the organizations he has led in environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters. He has also 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.
  • 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.
  • Juan Emilio Posada 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.

 

Awards

2019: Institutional investor  noted  Bernardo  Vargas   Gibsone as one  of the best CEO. 

2017:   Was awarded as “Mejor Líder Empresarial del Año” (best corporate leader of the year) by the Premios Portafolio, for his dedicated management, ethics and social responsibility.

Recommended

ISA, the jewel in the crown, prepares for the business of the year in Colombia

June 21, 2021.

Media: Semana

Running a business in 2020 became one of the most complex feats in the history of the private sector. Despite this, there were companies, such as Interconexión Eléctrica S. A. (ISA), that kept all their jobs, resisted tenaciously and continued to make profits. Our president, Bernardo Vargas, talks about the plans.
Bernardo Vargas, president of ISA at Inside of La República

April 21, 2021.

Media: La República.

Interview with our president, Bernardo Vargas in #InsideLR of La República.

"The only transformative leadership is the one that understands others as peers": Bernardo Vargas Gibsone, president of ISA

March 5, 2021.

Media: Revista Semana

He believes in the power of human relationships, so much so that he ventured to renew the philosophy of a very traditional company in order to reinforce that approach. In this new episode of CEOs Dinero, a journey through the beginnings, the trajectory and the challenges of the past and present of Bernardo Vargas Gibsone, president of ISA.

'The footprint of ISA and the footprint of the jaguar is almost the same'

March 5, 2021.

Media: El Tiempo.

As important as its growth goals in electric power transmission lines or in road concessions is for the ISA Group the Conexión Jaguar sustainability program, with which the firm and its subsidiaries want to leave a conservation footprint, not only of this feline, due to its importance for the balance of ecosystems, but of forests, water and biodiversity.

Gallery