Virgilio Barco Isakson

Virgilio Barco Isakson (born 1965) is Latin America director^[1] of Acumen, a leading impact investing fund that focuses on tackling global poverty. Previously he served as executive director of the Banca de Inversión Social,^[2] a nonprofit organization that is at the forefront of impact investing in Colombia. From 2006 to 2010 he led Invest in Bogota, a public-private partnership that promotes foreign direct investment to the Greater Bogotá region. Previously Barco headed the privatization unit at the Colombian Ministry of Finance and was an advisor on local economic development for the Bogotá Planning Department. He has also worked as a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton in Brazil and as a financial analyst at Citibank Spain. Barco holds a B.A. in government from Harvard College, an M.S. from the MIT Sloan School of Management and an M.A. in economics from New York University.^[3]

Barco is co-founder and board president of Colombia Diversa, a Bogotá-based nonprofit organization that advocates for LGBT rights in Colombia.^[4] He also sits on the board of Instiglio a nonprofit that is promoting the use of impact bonds to address social and environmental challenges in developing countries.^[5]

Personal life

Virgilio was born in 1965 to former Colombian president Virgilio Barco Vargas and his wife Carolina Isakson Proctor, and is the youngest of four children. His sisters are Carolina, Julia, and Diana. Virgilio lives in Bogotá with his partner Andrew Dier, with whom he has been together since 1998.^[6]

References