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By nature, we are endlessly curious. By trade, we are generalist, multidisciplinary professionals 

Team

Mr. Castro is the Founder, President and Managing Director of the leading Latin American private equity firm, Mesoamerica Investment; and director of several of the firm’s portfolio companies. Mr. Castro was a founding partner of Central America’s first private equity fund, a former consultant at Bain &amp; Co. and is a member of G-50, a select group of business leaders of the Americas. He brings 25+ years of senior private equity and Company Building experience across the region.

Board Member 

Luis Javier Castro

Wenyi Cai is the Founder &amp; CEO of Polymath Ventures, a venture studio that builds digital platforms to empower the middle-class of Latin America. Prior to founding Polymath, Wenyi was an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. As the COO of Milo.com, a consumer internet startup that sold to eBay in 2010, Wenyi led business development efforts with major technology companies like Microsoft and eBay and oversaw the product and engineering teams. Earlier in her career, Wenyi was a consultant with McKinsey &amp; Company in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Preceding her business career, Wenyi helped build a quantitative trading hedge fund, and was a published researcher in applied physics. Wenyi graduated cum laude from Harvard College, and studied philosophy and physics. Wenyi was born in China and grew up between China and the United States.

Co-Founder & CEO 

Wenyi Cai 

JP is a close advisor to Polymath he was previously our Chief Business Officer. &nbsp;Before that, he co-founded and led Ataria, a venture capital (VC) and corporate advisory firm. Academically, JP’s experience includes both teaching and research positions at Stanford University and Harvard University. JP holds a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Universidad de Lima, a Ph.D.(c) and an M.A. in Economics from Stanford University, an M.P.A. in International Development from Harvard University, and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Advisor 

Juan Pablo Ortíz

Alberto has spent over 10 years at leading law firms advising local and international clients on corporate transactions including mergers &amp; acquisitions and private equity placements. He holds a Master of Laws from the London School of Economics, a Master in Finance from Harvard University and a Law degree from Universidad del Rosario. Alberto also teaches Corporate Law to graduate and undergraduate students at Universidad del Rosario.

Director & General Counsel

Alberto Bravo 

Luisa joined the team in 2017 as a Junior Recruiter and currently works as a Talent Business Partner. Before joining Polymath, she worked with Los Andes University as a project assistant, especially with a program dedicated to entrepreneurship.

Talent Business Partner

Luisa Bolivar

Salvador worked as a engagement manager for McKinsey &amp; Company. Previously he worked in IDEO’s non-profit arm (IDEO.org). He has worked in the energy, healthcare, banking, government and consumer goods sectors across US, Latin America, Africa, Middle East and South Asia. Salvador studied his undergraduate degree in ITESM in Mexico and his Master’s in Stanford University.

Founder & CEO - Autolab

Salvador Zepeda

Mr. Sands is the Founder and Managing Director of California-based venture capital firm, Costanoa Ventures. Prior to this, he was Managing Director of Sutter Hill Ventures, a private equity firm investing in early-stage enterprise software startups like Merced Systems, Youku, and Feedburner.&nbsp;Mr. Sands was the first product manager at Netscape Communications where he wrote the initial business plan, coined the name Netscape and built his business unit from 0 to140 M. He brings 25+ years of experience in tech entrepreneurship and venture capital investing.

Greg Sands

Andrew approaches investments&nbsp;with a broad perspective formed&nbsp;over a career spanning multiple&nbsp;continents, functions, and industries.&nbsp; Prior to Polymath, he was the COO of Obor Capital, a VC fund operating in Cambodia in Vietnam, where he oversaw major growth initiatives in portfolio companies.&nbsp; Prior to that, Andrew worked as a consultant for startups and investors in East&nbsp;Africa and Southeast Asia where he focused on investments, operations, and strategy in verticals including agtech, solar energy, blockchain/traceability, and ecommerce/logistics.Before focusing on emerging markets Andrew worked in commercial real estate in the US where he was on deal teams that closed over $3B in acquisitions and greenfield development.&nbsp; He has a Bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Texas and dropped out of Chicago Booth's MBA program.

Investment Director 

Andrew Durke 

Victor most recently built a home-buying web application for the Swiss real estate market while living as a digital nomad traveling Latin America. Prior to that he worked at the intersection of technology and marketing for the largest news website in Switzerland creating interactive campaigns and contests for various high-profile clients like L’Oréal and Red Bull. He began his career as a software engineer in a startup where he worked on new records management systems for state governments and for the country's section of Amnesty International.

Victor Baumann

Francisco has +12 years of experience in companies in the real sector, private equity, investment banking and management consulting in more than 8 countries across Latin America. He was previously CFO and CTO at MesoFoods (Café OMA/Presto) which is one of the biggest food service groups in Colombia with 450+ points of sale. Prior to that he was consultant in Mesoamerica, a leading Private Equity firm focused in Latin America, where he participated in several M&amp;A and strategic consulting projects across all Latin America in various industries including cement and aggregates manufacturing, construction materials wholesale and retail, sugar cane, energy, banking, bakery/coffee bars, airlines and telecommunications. He holds an MBA from INCAE Business School (Costa Rica), and a B.Sc. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from UNITEC (Honduras).

Business Design Director

Francisco Paz 

Raphael's journey at Polymath Ventues began as an Investment Analyst, where he showcased his analyticial prowess and ability to identify promising investment opportunities. However, his entrepreneurial spirit and passion for creating impactful ventures led him to take on a broader role as a Business Designer and later as EIR were he co-created Ropstar.&nbsp;Before joining Polymath, Raphael worked at Paua Ventures, a German venture capital fund focusing on early-stage tech companies across Europe. Prior to that, he worked in the M&amp;A department of Mediobanca in Frankfurt. Raphael graduated cum laude in MSc Finance and Investments from Erasmus University Rotterdam and holds a BSc in International Business from University Maastricht. Before studying he completed a 2-year apprenticeship at UBS in Switzerland.

Co-Founder & CEO - Ropstar

Raphael Kromer

Zach joined Polymath in May 2017 as intern demostrating his enthusiasm and dedication to learning and making an impact. Through his hard work and entrepreneurial mindset, and remarkable achievements, Zach quickly progresses within the company and assumed the role of Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR).He founded and launched Elenas, Latin America's top Social Commerce Marketplace, empowering women to achieve financia independence that now operates both in Colombia and Mexico&nbsp;Before joining Polymath, Zach started a number of businesses and growth initiatives for startups in the US, South Africa, and the Netherlands. He studied Global Business in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Co-Founder & CEO - Elenas

Zach Oschin

Ana is co-founder and CEO of Aflore, before joining this project she was most recently Director of “Housing for All” at Ashoka, where she worked with corporations and social entrepreneurs to deliver affordable housing solutions to the “bottom of the pyramid”. Before Ashoka, Ana spent eight years in London working for Lehman Brothers and Nomura, structuring financial products for institutional clients. She started her career in Colombia, trading coffee and managing risk at the Federation of Coffee Growers. She has an MBA from London Business School and a Bs in Business Administration from Universidad de los Andes.

Co-Founder & CEO - Aflore

Ana Barrera

Evan Marwell is the Founder and CEO of EducationSuperHighway, the leading non-profit focused on closing the digital divide in America’s most unconnected communities. In eight years, EducationSuperHighway closed the digital divide in America’s K-12 schools – connecting nearly 47 million students in 99.7% of America’s classrooms to high-speed broadband. To accomplish this, Evan secured commitments from 85 governors from all 50 states to upgrade their schools for the 21st century and $2.5 billion per year of federal funding to make these commitments a reality.&nbsp;A recipient of the San Francisco Chronicle’s Visionary of the Year award and a serial entrepreneur, Evan launched companies over the last 25 years in the telecom, software, and hedge fund industries. Evan is an honors graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School, an advisor to high-potential social entrepreneurs, a board member at Direct Relief and Recidiviz, and the board chair of myAgro, an NGO helping smallholder farmers in Africa move out of poverty.

Evan Marwelll

Roberto is the Managing Director of Amador Holdings, he is also Secretary &amp; Member of Investment Committee of Grupo Eleta, Board member of Hugo App and Amicus Holdings. &nbsp;

Board Member

Roberto Sierra

Carlos is a board member and advisor, he was previously the CFO of Polymath Ventures helping build the company from the ground up. Before that, he was a Partner at N+1 Mercapital, where he spent 9 years leading its operation in the Andean Region. He holds an MBA from IE Business School, a Master in Corporate Finance from IEB, and a degree in Law from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Carlos has been a founder and angel investor of start-ups in Spain and Colombia.

Carlos F. de la Pradilla 

Felipe holds a technical degree in Banking Management and Financial Institutions and is currently pursuing a degree in Public Accounting at Universidad de Jorge Tadeo Lozano. In the team, he works as an assistant accountant and handles treasury responsibilities.

F&A Junior Analyst

Felipe Martínez

Former MP &amp; CIO of Upper90 Capital, Former Managing Partner at Solus Alternative Asset Management LP, Former VP at Stanfield Capital Partners, BSE in Financial Engineering from Princeton University; CFA &amp; FRM Charterholder &nbsp;

Venture Partner

Alex Urdea

Arun&nbsp;is the Founder of Quartet Health, a mission-driven technology company that partners with insurers and health systems to make mental healthcare more accessible and effective. Quartet has grown to serve all segments of our society, scaled a SaaS business model, and raised over $150M from leading investors like Google Ventures and Oak HC/FT.&nbsp;Arun&nbsp;served as CEO for Quartet's first five years and as Executive Chairman of the Board for the past two years. Previously,&nbsp;Arun&nbsp;was a General Partner at Accretive where he built and invested in industry-defining technology companies often in partnership with leading corporates. The firm's launches created over $7B of equity value including several IPOs like Accolade (ACCD) and R1 (RCM).&nbsp;Arun&nbsp;served on several of the Boards through their journeys. He also worked with Palantir Technologies during its commercial scale-up and held roles at McKinsey &amp; Company and The World Bank earlier in his career.

Advisor

Arun Gupta

Luis is our investment analyst, he holds a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering and joined Polymath to help enhance our fundraising strategy.

Investment Analyst 

Luis Guarín 

Natalie joined Polymath Ventures after working for a human-centered design and innovation studio in Kenya, leading research and prototyping projects in Africa in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, financial inclusion and gender equality. Prior to that, Natalie spent the last 7 years mentoring and building up start-ups in Africa (Kenya), Europe (UK), Asia (Singapore, Indonesia), Middle East (Iran) and the United States across the board from operations, marketing to product management. Passionate about community building and mentoring, Natalie has organized multiple TEDx, started a community of women entrepreneurs &amp; change makers in Asia Pacific and she is currently mentoring high potential students in Bangladesh and Nepal. She holds a BSc from the London School of Economics (LSE).

Co-Founder & CEO - Tani

Natalie Copuroglu

Managing Partner at 500 Startups LatAm; Founder of Mexican.VC &amp; Super Happy Dev House Mexico City; Kauffman Fellow Class 21

Santiago Zavala

Manuel was previously Vice President of Banco Falabella Colombia, Head of Sales Channels, where he lead areas including branch networks, remote channels (internet/mobile, contact centers and ATM networks) and customer service. Manuel has more than 12 years of experience in international financial institutions, including roles in Finance, O&amp;T, Business Analysis, Credit Scoring, Product Management, Business Development and Sales and Distribution. He holds an Executive MBA from IE Business School, a BS in Business Administration from UNED, and Computer Science degree form Universidad de Valladolid (Spain).

Co-Founder & COO - Aflore

Manuel Jimenez 

Mr. Febres-Cordero is a Senior Advisor, Entrepreneur, Early-Stage Investor in FinTech related startups, Executive Chairman at Alpina and former Senior Advisor and Executive-in-Residence at Capgemini. During the past 8 years, Mr. Febres-Cordero has advised numerous asset and wealth managers, family offices, private equity firms, and venture capital funds. He also served as board member and advisor of several regional start-ups. He brings 25+ years of experience investing across U.S and Latin America.

Rafael Febres Cordero

Victoria holds a bachelor in Economics and a Master's Degree in Data Science from EAFIT. Prior to Polymath she worked as a Business Intelligence Analyst and Data Analyst.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Data Specialist 

Victoria Alvarez 

Andrew was most recently at I-DEV International in Perú providing investment banking and strategy consulting services to social enterprises operating in emerging and frontier markets. Prior to I-DEV, he was a VP at HSBC in New York, focused on debt transactions for clients in the U.S. retail sector. He also spent time at the Grameen Foundation in Colombia building a credit risk tool applicable to smallholder coffee farmers. Andrew graduated from Tufts University with a double major in economics and international relations.

Chief Growth Officer - Autolab

Andrew Hallman

Founder &amp; Chairman at Sarona Asset Management; Board member &amp; Chair of Investment at Grand Challenges Canada; Board member at ImpactAssets

Gerhard Pries

American entrepreneur selected as Endeavor Colombia entrepreneur of the year in 2017. Peter has ten years of operating experience in Latin America and is currently acting as Founder and CEO of Ofi. MBA candidate from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton with an undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago.&nbsp; &nbsp;

General Partner

Peter Ostroske 

Mr. Andres, as a partner, opened the Virtus Partners office in Bogotá, Colombia in 2011, and since then, he leads the Virtus Cambridge Latam Joint Venture.&nbsp;Andrés has extensive experience accompanying large Family Business groups in their strategic and organizational transformation, leadership transition between generations, and corporate governance.&nbsp;Prior to Virtus Partners, Andrés was a Senior Partner in McKinsey &amp; Company where he led the Family Business Practice in Latin America &nbsp;

Andrés Maldonado

Maria Camila has over 9 years of experience and holds an International MBA from London Metropolitan University. Prior to joining Polymath and focusing on talent acquisition and development, she gained experience in researching and analyzing new business opportunities in various markets while working in different multinational companies.

VP of Talent

Camila Montilla

Mr. Posada is Founder, former CEO and Executive Chairman at VivaAir, the leading low-cost airline in Colombia; and former CEO of Avianca Airlines.Mr. Posada is Board Member for Grupo Odinsa, which builds infrastructure projects across Latin America, and holds board positions at several other Latin America-based companies and NGOs. Currently, Mr. Posada is founder and Partner at the Colombian investment firm, NT3.&nbsp;He brings 25+ years of entrepreneurship, executive, and advisory experience. &nbsp;

Juan Emilio Posada

Before joining Polymath Ventures, Damián was CEO and co-founder of Carmatch.mx, an online vehicle marketplace that was sold at the end of 2018. Damián holds an MBA from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, a Master in Architecture, Building and Planning from the Eindhoven University of Technology and a Bachelor in Urban Planning from the Breda University of Applied Sciences.