Colombian economist Juan Carlos Echeverry is one of the country’s most distinguished economists and policy makers. During his career he has served in the highest positions in both the central bank and the government and has been key in formulating the pivotal legislation and policy initiatives that have shaped Colombia’s investment story. He is widely re-garded by international media as the best Finance Minister in Latin America during his tenure from 2010 to 2012.
He recently finished a term as President and CEO of Ecopetrol, Colombia's state-owned oil company. During his tenure, he steered the company through a volatile period while achieving efficiencies in costs and production, developing growth in production and reserves (including in a partnership with Pemex), and developing a framework for the regulation of the country’s unconventional energy sources. As Finance Minister (2010-2012), he crafted and brought to fruition crucial tax, fiscal responsibility, and oil royalty reform legislation. He also achieved for the country superior investment grades from the top credit rating agencies in the world (Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch Ratings). After an impressive run, he was selected as the country's representative to the Inter-American Development Bank in 2013. In 2011, he was named Latin America Finance Minister of the year by Emerging Markets, the official publication from the meetings of the World Bank and the IMF.
Echeverry has made a substantial contribution to every major policy initiative in Colombia since the mid 1990s. As Colombia’s Minister of Economic Planning from 2000-2002, and prior to that, as Under Secretary to the Ministry of National Planning, he was responsible for coordinating public investment on behalf of the government and initiated the country’s fiscal restructuring plan, as well as advocating critical reforms in the National Congress. As Director of Macroeconomics and Inflation at Colombia’s central bank, he developed the “Quarterly Inflation Report”. He has been a central participant in negotiations with multilateral and commercial banks, and with labor unions and peasant-strike coalitions. He has served as Director of National Planning, Dean of the School of Economics at Universidad de los Andes (Colombia), and consultant to the Inter-American Development Bank; additionally, he has served on the boards of the National Federation of Coffee Growers, Empresa de Energía de Bogotá, Celsia, Ecopetrol, Mazda, Holcim, and Interbolsa in Colombia.
He's been selected as the best Minister of Finance in Latin America by AméricaEconómia Magazine, the best Minister of Economics in the Americas by Emerging Markets, and the best Minister of Finance in the Americas by Financial Times; additionally, he was selected as the best Professor of Economics at Universidad de los Andes and the best lecturer at New York University.
He is a founding partner of EConcept, an economic consulting firm, with offices in Bogota and Washington DC. He´s also an expert in leading high-performance groups in public policy and crisis management.
He wrote the novel EN SITIOS MÁS OSCUROS, published in 2019 and in 2022 he pub-lished UN AÑO DE SOLEDAD, CRÓNICAS Y LECCIONES DE UN POLÍTICO PRIMÍPARO, about his experience in Colombia´s presidential campaign.
Juan Carlos Echeverry holds a Ph.D. in Economics from New York University, a B.A. in Economics from Universidad de Los Andes, and a philosophy degree from the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. He is an expert on regulatory issues in the energy, telecommunications, and water supply and sanitation industries. He has more than 28 years of experience as a keynote speaker and his presentations often end with a standing ovation.
