COLOMBIA: MAKTOUM FOUNDATION ENTREPRENEURS

UNCLAS BOGOTA 002195 SENSITIVE SIPDIS EEB/TPP/MTA FOR SKAPLITT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL CO SUBJECT: COLOMBIA: MAKTOUM FOUNDATION ENTREPRENEURS CONFERENCE REF: STATE 62387 ¶1. (SBU) Post has consulted internally in response to reftel and suggests current Barranquilla Mayor Alejandro Char Chalub and Colombian businessman and philanthropist SAMUEL Azout. ¶2. (SBU) Prior to his 2007 election as Mayor of Barranquilla (one of three major ports on Colombia's Caribbean Coast and the country's fourth largest city),Alejandro Char was the chief executive of a construction company, Alejandro Char and Company. Char graduated from the Universidad del Norte as a civil engineer and has a management degree from the Universidad de los Andes as well as a Masters in Project Management from Georgia Tech University. Since taking office earlier this year, Mayor Char has actively pursued an agenda of public accountability and investment promotion for the city of Barranquilla. He was born in Colombia in 1966 to a family of Lebanese descent. Contact information: (personal telephone) 011-573-311-660-8081; (office telephone) 011-575-340-1177. ¶3. (SBU) Previously the Chief Executive Officer of Carulla Vivero, Colombia's second-largest supermarket chain, SAMUEL Azout now serves as Chairman of the Board of Fundacion Carulla. The Fundacion Carulla, one of Colombia's largest philanthropic foundations, has fostered reconciliation and reintegration among a wide variety of vulnerable populations impacted by Colombia's civil conflict. Mr. Azout received a undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard University. He was born in Colombia of Lebanese descent. Post notes that Mr. Azout is in his early 50s. Contact information: (email) samuelazout@post.harvard.edu; (tel) 011-573-311-230-3030. ¶4. (SBU) In the event that Department provides subsequent guidance permitting posts to consult externally with local contacts, Embassy Bogota may be able to identify additional potential invitees. BROWNFIELD