Speaker > Biography
Mr. Sarmiento is the President of Grupo Aval since 2000. Grupo Aval is a holding company that owns controlling interests in four leading Colombian banks, a merchant bank, the country’s largest pension fund manager, and several financial subsidiaries. These institutions jointly represent close to 30% of all assets in Colombia’s financial sector, directly employing approximately 30,000 people. Grupo Aval has a 2,170 ATM network, a 1,340 branch network, and 250 other points of presence.
Prior to heading Grupo Aval, Mr. Sarmiento had been President of Cocelco (a green field cellular company that he reorganized and sold to Bell South) and had held various positions at First Bank of the Americas, including Chief Operation Officer. Mr. Sarmiento started his career at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, where he held several positions in the finance and marketing functions.
Mr. Sarmiento holds a BS in Civil Engineering from University of Miami (Magna Cum Laude) and an MBA from Cornell University.
