WHO SAID IT WAS ABOUT MONEY?

After more than 6 years in such an amazing organization as AIESEC where traveling around the world you have the chance to get to know and interact with Top Leaders from all sectors such as corporate CEOs, presidents from countries, General Secretaries from Multilateral Agencies, Ambassadors, Multiracial Leaders, and many more, you start to find very hard to identify a role model for you and also you start to challenge their contributions trying to make something as significant as they have been doing within their societies.

Back in Manizales, when I was at my 1st year at university, my Creativity Class Teacher was my role model, very proffessional corporate guy, successful, human and diplomatic, then later on in my third year, my Finance Class Teacher amazed me with the logic behind the numbers and how finances mixed with integrity and respect will take you forward in life. Then in my last year of university the President of my country, shocked me with a speech about the 4 Cs, Coherence, Consistence, Competence & Caring. Then when I was living in the Dominican Republic, I met this amazing women from the World Bank, who amazed me with her life story about leadership and how she coming from a very poor family developed herself becoming a color woman in a leadership position in such an institution as the World Bank.

Currently in Rotterdam, actually during my last days in AIESEC International, I had the chance to meet again one of the Supervisory Group member; the Chairman from Microsoft Europe! For sure was one if not the best session one of the best ones I have ever joined in my life. We where in the board room from the office with no agenda, no ppt, no videos, no flip-charts, no papers, just he and us sitting there asking him questions about leadership.

What a shocking moment I had when we start talking about how monopolies are harming the world, how some corporations and its leaders are key responsible for this financial crisis, how ethics are sometimes so diffuse in corporate and government sectors where personal interests are the ones driving economies despite the common well form the people around. Listening him talking about "Solidarity Globalization", the importance to get the truly inclusion from Africa in the world economic map, how to take the European Union to the next level, how to improve Education to ensure competitiveness for next generations, and some other hot topics definitively amazed me! There we were, me and my colleagues sharing this amazing thoughts with such an important corporate figure but a the same time someone very open, sincere and no pretentious at all. This is the kind of people youth need to be in contact with! This is just an example of someone who on his duties includes participation in spaces such as AIESEC to make sure his impact cross the borders from the company he works for and how with just a simple 90 minutes chat, 22 people from 16 countries can learn tons of experiences!

Our International Congress 08 started and with it the crazy journey I have started even since the water fall in my head back in February 2008 finally kicked off to become real!

After the longest conference from my life! the most exciting joyney around the region started, and the itinerary was like this:
From Rotterdam to Spain, then Central America starting from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, then the Caribbean with Dominican Republic & Puerto Rico, then South America with Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and to wrap it up, Colombia!!!

12 weeks, 12 countries, more than 100 meetings with many different people passing from a lot of AIESEC Volunteers and even some of their parents, AIESEC Alumni, Corporate managers, crazy taxi drivers, interesting types of food (like Cow's Hearth in Peru, actually known as "Anticucho"), a lot of Merengue, Salsa, Bachata, Reggeaton, and of course the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen in my life.

Then 2009 came and the journey continues, this time from Colombia to Rotterdam, then Italy, then Guatemala again for the best Regional Conference I have ever been (thanks to everyone involved, I will never forget it). Later on I spent 6 exciting weeks in the country of spicy and tequila, Mexico! What a great time I had there!!! Thanks Andre, Vero, Marco, Ligis, Janeth, Joss and everyone involved!

My 2nd round of country visits started with Costa Rica, Venezuela and Panama, and back in Rotterdam at middle May, I started to realize it was getting to the end.

June came very early and with my successor next to me at the office, transition started and my official countdown in AIESEC Leadership roles was getting closer to zero. It was a tough period of 7 weeks where, myself; a Colombian entrepreneur inducted every single actitivy delivered in the region itself to a high talented Moroccan young leader, what a challenge eh? We did it!!! Youssef my best wishes for this new term, the region and you deserve it!

It was a very very fast journey but now that I have the time to actually wrapping up this experience there is an interesting balance I want to share; from June 08 to July 09:
- I have visited 17 countries.
- I got 2 passports full with tons of stamps and a few more visas.
- I ate Cow's Hearth in Peru.
- I was close to get deported from El Salvador for not having an address registered in my immigration entry form.
- I took a Ferry through the Silver River from Argentina to Uruguay.
- I landed and tried to breed in an airport at 4,100 meters upon the sea level in La Paz, Bolivia.
- I challenged my dancing skills in front of the Boricuas in Puerto Rico,
- I learn a lot of Latin America and had a lot of fun doing it!

Now for my achievements as AIESEC International Director for the Iberoamerica Region (fancy title eh?) please to go the 08-09 Annual Report from AIESEC International at www.aiesec.org, there you will find all the numbers and facts from an amazing term in an amazing organization as AIESEC.

Today I am in Brussels with my head shaved and tan, after great Holidays with my friend Mo in Romania, and the best ones from my life with Andres in Greece, with some Colombian friends having a great time in a city I just love and enjoying for the first time a truly summer break!