When Ricardo first joined AIESEC in 1969, AIESEC in Colombia still operated on a small scale with only one local chapter and a small group of members. From there, he became Local Committee President. During his term, he realized that in order to grow his local chapter, it could not just focus on exchange, which at that time was the major activity in AIESEC.
Ricardo believed that the member base is very important part for an organization. Therefore, he started the initiative of developing external events in Colombia. AIESEC in Colombia began offering different student services at university and this not only attracted student involvement but also created an avenue for a better understanding of AIESEC.
Moreover, Colombian AIESEC members organized a theme project: the “World Energy Conference”, which was very successful in the early 1970s. Under Ricardo’s direction, there was a huge growth in AIESEC in Colombia including expansion to five more local chapters. He later also became National Committee President in 1972, and Advisory Council of AIESEC International a year later.
As AIESEC has a strong global image, Ricardo said, “AIESEC has the vision of the world to become more united, and I put the AIESEC way into my everyday life”.
Now Ricardo is the CEO of Juan Valdéz Coffee - a growing coffee company in Colombia. He feels that AIESEC is very much like a company; it has a good learning environment and it is the preparation for young people entering the real world.