The Bogota Post’s 15 International Leaders to Watch in 2026

One of the large tech employers in Colombia, the company’s mission is to provide its customers with early access to cutting-edge technologies, helping their clients to maintain their competitive advantages in the marketplace.

Source Meridian includes a staff of international software engineers and data scientists and has offices in the US and Colombia, including in Medellin, Rionegro and Cali.

Its Founder, Mike Hoey, has long been praised for his mentorship of colleagues.

Alan earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and studied at Oxford University and at the University of Michigan where he received his B.A.

Colombia has seen a sizable uptick in the number of companies deciding to expand their operations to this market, with target industries ranging from consumer goods, to technology and telecommunications. Alan Gongora has played an instrumental role in helping these new business ventures navigate the complexities of Colombian business law to drive growth across the country. 

Langdon Law is now one of the most prominent law firms in Colombia, with plans for continued growth in 2026. 

Her career began in the financial sector, specializing in capital markets, with a focus on technology implementations for treasuries of large banks in Colombia, Panama, and Mexico. However, in 2019, she made a decisive change: she founded and led the social and environmental impact area at a leading Mexican consulting firm, working with organizations that address critical challenges such as education and employability, financial inclusion, and climate action, among others.

An expert in program design, ecosystem mapping, and strategic alliances, Quiñones combines analytical rigor with a transformative vision. Her work not only drives projects forward, but also generates research and innovative thinking, positioning her as a key bridge between the private sector and social development in Latin America.

In a career that has spanned more than two decades at leading healthtech companies and as an Executive Advisor at Blue Mountain Capital, Shahir is shaping the future of data-driven healthcare. As the founder of Veritas Data Research, he champions the use of FAIR principles in health data projects that include transparency, trust and resilience. 

To get the best outcomes for patients, healthcare data needs to be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. However, not every region in the world has the same access. To address this, Shahir and a close group of industry veterans launched 360 Health Data to create a bespoke resource platform that connects Spanish-speaking clinicians in Latin America with high-quality medical knowledge.
​ 

This will empower healthcare professionals across South America by harnessing the vast potential of scientific research and Real-World Evidence (RWE), providing up-to-date journal articles on all relevant disease areas and comprehensive information on pharmaceuticals and other treatments. As a result, the team at 360 Health Data hopes to foster informed decision-making, improve patient outcomes, and advance the field of medicine.

Shetty’s vision is a world where technology empowers organizations sustainably and drives positive impact. His AI-powered sustainability technology platform for the future of business has helped key players in the ecosystem transform end-to-end sustainability for companies. Its impact has set it apart, making them leaders in the hospitality and textile value chain industries. His company has also improved the sustainability of more than 100 companies worldwide, including enterprise clients such as Amazon, Nvidia, Red Hat Storage, Global Knowledge, and QA.

Earlier, he founded in 2012 Qwiklabs, a large-scale hands-on lab company for software professionals, which he sold to Google in 2016. He is also co-founder and board member of MR Access, a portable MRI company with native AI that, thanks to its innovative design in the healthcare sector, has reduced both capital and operating expenses.

Founded in 2021 with support from Colombian insurance giant Grupo SURA, VaxThera is headquartered in Rionegro, Antioquia, just minutes from Medellín’s José Maria Córdova International Airport. The company’s state-of-the-art biopark; the first of its kind in Latin America, is capable of producing over 100 million vaccine doses annually. “We took the best technology and equipment from around the world and translated that to the local language here, because nobody here has made a facility like this before,” Osorio said.

VaxThera focuses on tropical and neglected diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and Mpox, while also producing mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. “I’d like to have the concept of health independence, that we can do health sovereignty for the region,” he explained.

Beyond production, VaxThera is cultivating Colombian talent, training scientists in advanced research and business skills: “We want to stimulate young people to say, ‘I can do something as well for my country.’” With these efforts, Osorio envisions Colombia exporting both vaccines and scientific expertise, transforming the nation into a leader in global biotechnology.

The entrepreneur earlier was CEO of Prezentium, which was acquired this month by Prezent. 

According to TechCrunch, Prezent raised an additional $30 million in a round led by Multiplier Capital, Greycroft, and Nomura Strategic, bringing its total funding to $74 million.

The company is now valued at $400 million following the acquisition of Prezentium, and also recently debuted its first AI-Coach to create the future of business communication training at scale. 

Prior to Prezentium, Juturu was a Senior Manager, Commercial Operations at Genentech and a Senior Associate at McKinsey.

Whether it’s allergies, intolerances, or vegan, vegetarian, kosher, or halal diets, OK to Shop seeks to take the guesswork out of choosing what to eat. Users can even set up multiple profiles for family members, save favorite products, and keep track of what’s safe or suitable.

But the platform isn’t just for shoppers. OK to Shop data and analytics can also be tapped into by supermarkets and food brands to underpin product suitability, enabling them to better engage with consumers in a far more responsible and informed manner.

With Colombians becoming increasingly more digital and diet-conscious, OK to Shop’s approach is a perfect fit. OK to Shop is a very simple idea for an app, solving the real problem of turning such a complicated shopping experience into a manageable, transparent, and empowering one.

Under Cobiak’s leadership in Latin America, Rotate has expanded aggressively through Brazil and is now looking to Colombia as a key market of interest, positioning itself to serve enterprises and service providers who require scalable, integrated cyber‑security tools. With its modular hubs; Identity Hub, Email Hub, Data Hub, Endpoint Hub and EASM Hub, Rotate aims to protect workforces, devices and data with AI‑driven monitoring and response.

Cobiak, who brought significant global experience in technology and security leadership, emphasises Latin America’s growing appetite for robust managed security services and the advantage of using nearshore teams to deliver them. Through Rotate’s Brazil‑based operations, he is building a bilingual (Spanish/Portuguese) technical and service delivery hub to serve the region.

Rotate’s mission is rooted in the belief that “everyone deserves 360 degrees of protection,” and Cobiak is looking to translate that vision into growth across the region, capitalising on Colombia’s and Brazil’s rising tech‑talent pools and the surge in digital transformation across industries.

In the last few years, the global legal ecosystem has experienced an unparalleled transformation. Law firms, corporate departments, and legaltech startups increasingly resort to artificial intelligence to automate repetitive tasks and conserve resources for strategy. This is a shift that raises not just productivity but the quality of the advice given, according to Granda.

According to data provided by Legalcomplex, there are only over 200 legaltech companies operating in Latin America, while more than 490 operate in the United Kingdom alone. The difference not only points to a technological gap but also at an opportunity that accelerates the adoption of AI-based and digitally transformative solutions in Latin American markets. “Today, artificial intelligence lets lawyers focus on what really generates value: strategy and human judgment”, said Granda in a recent interview with Contxto.

At LemonTech, Granda is leading legal teams across Latin America away from manual processes and toward more efficient, transparent, and scalable operations, driving the digital legal-services transformation in the region.

Roby’s dedication and strategic acumen have earned him significant recognition across the global tech ecosystem. He has successfully navigated and been supported by elite accelerators and programs, including SkyDeck Batch 14 S22, the Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund, and StartX S23. Beyond his impressive track record in scaling tech ventures, his commitment extends to philanthropic causes. This blend of business savvy and social responsibility was formally recognized when Forbes Mexico highlighted him as one of their “30 Promising Business Leaders” in 2024 and recently named as one of the Innovators Under 35 LATAM of MIT Technology Review 2025.

Peñacastro is focused on the next evolution of sales, positioning Leadsales to capitalize on the high-volume, direct messaging to empower businesses sales and power social platforms.

Born out of a pain point that many Latins have: Latin American remote workers finally had access to jobs with U.S. companies, but were losing thousands of dollars each year to commissions, bad exchange rates, and outdated banking systems. Midi solves this by giving workers in Latin America access to a U.S. bank account and debit card in minutes without needing to live in the U.S. or deal with bureaucracy. This levels the playing field for millions of talented professionals, ensuring they keep more of what they earn and gain true financial freedom.

Bellosta is leading efforts to connect Latin America with the global economy. In partnership with BSJI (Bank of San Juan International), he is building an ecosystem that enables remote workers in LATAM to receive USD payments seamlessly. With 25+ years in banking and finance, Marcelino combines strategic vision and innovation to drive economic growth across the region.

Christian wrote his lines of code at age 10, marking an early passion for technology. He went on to earn a degree in Computer Science before getting his first real exposure to maintenance management in the oil and gas industry. 

He later joined PwC as a consultant, specializing in ERP and maintenance solutions, before transitioning into a CIO role in manufacturing, where he led large-scale digital transformation projects. 

In 2008, he launched his own consulting firm, working on hundreds of projects to optimize maintenance operations through technology. Over the next years, Christian saw that asset management was stuck in the past. Companies were still relying on spreadsheets and outdated systems that couldn’t keep up with modern industry demands.

This served as the catalyst to launch Fracttal to revolutionize maintenance and asset management with AI, IoT, and cloud technology, helping companies shift from reactive maintenance to predictive intelligence.