Virgilio Barco Isakson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965 (age 60–61) Bogota, D.C., Colombia |
| Alma mater | Harvard University Massachusetts Institute of Technology New York University |
| Known for | Impact investing, LGBTQI+ activism |
| Partner | Andrew Dier |
| Parent(s) | Virgilio Barco Vargas Carolina Isakson de Barco |
| Family | Carolina Barco (sister) Julia Barco (sister) Diana Barco (sister) |
Virgilio Barco Isakson (born 1965) is a Colombian impact investor and LBGTQI+ activist. He is the son of former Colombian President Virgilio Barco Vargas.
Since 2013, Barco Isakson has been the first Latin America Director at Acumen, a leading impact investing fund that focuses on tackling global poverty. [1]
In 2018, Barco Isakson co-founded ALIVE, an Impact Fund Manager based in Bogota, Colombia and became its Managing Partner. [1] In 2024, ALIVE was included in the Impact Assets 50 database of the 50 leading impact investment managers in the world. [2]
From 2011 to 2013, Barco Isakson served as executive director of the Banca de Inversión Social, a nonprofit organization that is at the forefront of impact investing in Colombia. [3]
From 2006 to 2010, Barco Isakson led Invest in Bogota, a public-private partnership that promotes foreign direct investment to the Greater Bogota region. [4]
Previously, Barco Isakson headed the privatization unit at the Colombian Ministry of Finance and Public Credit and was an advisor on local economic development for the country's planning department. [5] He has also worked as a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton in Brazil and as a financial analyst at Citibank in Spain.
Barco Isakson is the co-founder and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Colombia Diversa, a Bogota-based nonprofit organization founded in 2004 that advocates for LGBTQI+ rights in Colombia. [6] Colombia Diversa was instrumental in litigation that led the Colombian Constitutional Court to extend property, inheritance, and other benefits to same-sex couples in 2007, recognize de facto civil unions in 2009, and recognize same-sex marriage in 2011. [7]
Barco Isakson holds a Bachelor of Arts in government from Harvard University (1987), a Master of Science in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Master of Arts in economics from New York University (1999). [8]
Barco Isakson was born to former Colombian president Virgilio Barco Vargas and Carolina Isakson Proctor. Barco Isakson is the youngest of four: Carolina, Julia, and Diana. He lives in Bogota with his partner, Andrew Dier, with whom he has been together since 1998. [9]
Barco's partner, Andrew Dier, is also working with the organization.