Grupo Guayacán names 3 new board members
From left: Ángel Pérez, Frances Colón, Javier Soltero (on the wall), Francisco Uriarte, and Manuel Calderón.
Grupo Guayacán Inc. (GGI) announced that three new Directors have agreed to serve on the organization’s Board of Directors effective immediately.
The new appointees are Javier Soltero, corporate vice president of Outlook for Microsoft; Frances Colón, founding board member of Cenadores Puerto Rico; and Ángel Pérez, vice president of Rock Solid Technologies.
“On behalf of GGI’s Board of Directors, I am very proud to welcome these three amazing individuals to the Guayacán family. As Guayacán prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary this year, we are certain that their skills and experience will be of great value to this organization’s vision and leadership and we are thankful for their commitment,” said Francisco Uriarte, partner in Aireko Companies and chairman of GGI’s Board.
Soltero, a technology entrepreneur born and raised in Puerto Rico leads the team responsible for the vision and strategy for the Outlook client and cloud service across all platforms at Microsoft.
“I’m very excited to bring the Silicon Valley perspective to help further Grupo Guayacán’s mission to develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Puerto Rico,” said Soltero.
Colón is a Puerto Rican scientist, advocate, and policy leader. In addition to her role as deputy science and technology adviser to the Secretary of State at the U.S. Department of State, Colón is a founding board member of Cenadores PR, a group that seeks to harness the connections and technical expertise of the Puerto Rican diaspora to empower civil society in Puerto Rico.
“I´m honored to have the privilege of joining this team. I admire Guayacán’s nearly 20 year track record of working to jumpstart entrepreneurial and economic development in Puerto Rico through an innovative model that leverages the catalytic power of the private equity asset class,” said Colón.
Meanwhile, Pérez is a local entrepreneur and contributor to Puerto Rico’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. He has led Rock Solid’s efforts to increase the software company’s international presence, focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Having participated in all of Guayacán’s initiatives and programs since 2006, I can attest to the great impact that the organization’s work has had on Puerto Rico’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,” he said.
“I have witnessed how gaps in the ecosystem have been filled and how the entrepreneurial landscape has become more robust, thanks largely to Guayacán’s programs and the partnerships it has established,” he added.
The new Directors were selected through a nomination and screening process led by GGI Board Vice Chairman Manuel Calderón, Board Member Francisco Martorell, and Executive Director, Laura Cantero.
