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Board of directors

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors of Grupo Aval, chaired by Luis Carlos Sarmiento Gutiérrez, is the organization’s highest body for strategic management and oversight. Its role is to guide the Group’s long-term vision, ensure the sustainability of the business, oversee management, and guarantee that corporate decisions are made in accordance with the highest standards of corporate governance, transparency, and value creation for shareholders and other stakeholders.

The Board of Directors consists of nine principal members elected by the General Shareholders Assembly, who bring a wide diversity of knowledge, experience, perspectives, gender, and professional backgrounds. This combination of profiles fosters a comprehensive analysis of the business’s challenges and opportunities, strengthens the quality of decisions, and ensures sound, transparent governance focused on generating sustainable value for all stakeholders.

The average tenure of board members is 7.5 years, which ensures in-depth knowledge of the sector, a long-term vision, and consistency in business strategy.

Colombia’s New Code of Best Corporate Practices (hereinafter, the “New Country Code”), as part of best practices in corporate governance, recommends that issuers of securities identify their Board of Directors members according to the following categories based on their background:

Executive Member

These are legal representatives or members of senior management who participate in the day-to-day management of the company.

Independent Member

Those who, at a minimum, meet the independence requirements established in Law 964 of 2005 or the regulations that amend or replace it, as well as any other internal regulations issued by the company to classify them as such, regardless of the shareholder or group of shareholders who nominated and/or voted for them.

Equity Member

Individuals who do not qualify as independent and are shareholders—whether legal entities or individuals—or persons expressly nominated by a shareholder (whether a legal entity or an individual) or a group of shareholders to serve on the Board of Directors.

BOARD MEMBERS

Luis Carlos Sarmiento Gutiérrez

Luis Carlos Sarmiento Gutiérrez

Chairman of the Board of Directors

He holds a Doctor of Law degree from the Universidad Externado de Colombia, a postgraduate degree in Public, Economic, Commercial, and Financial Law from the Universidad Externado de Colombia and the Universidad de los Andes, and an LLM in International Business Law from the Universidad Francisco Vitoria. He earned his Doctor of Law degree with honors (Cum Laude). His career includes serving as an associate judge on the Council of State and the Constitutional Court (2018–2021), as an advisor to the Inter-American Development Bank, as director of the Department of Financial and Securities Law at the Universidad Externado de Colombia, as Superintendent of Securities, and as president of the Colombian Association of Financing Companies. He is a member of the Audit and ESG committees of Grupo Aval’s board of directors.

(Equity Member)

Álvaro Velásquez Cock

Álvaro Velásquez Cock

_

He holds a degree in economics from the Universidad de Antioquia and is pursuing an MSc in Economics at the London School of Economics. He has served as dean and professor in the School of Economics at the Universidad de Antioquia, director of DANE, and manager in Bogotá for the Corporación Financiera Nacional. He also served as president of Pedro Gómez & Cía. S.A. and manager of Representaciones Computadores Apple. He is involved in initiatives to update information security and cybersecurity measures. He is a member of the Corporate Affairs Committee and a permanent guest on other support committees of the Grupo Aval board of directors.

(Equity Member)

Fabio Castellanos Ordóñez

Fabio Castellanos Ordóñez

_

He holds a degree in Business Administration from California State University, Pomona, and a master’s degree in Management in the Network Economy from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy (in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley). He has served as CEO of ABN AMRO Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Scotiabank Colombia, as well as vice president of corporate finance at The Chase Manhattan Bank. He serves on the Audit, Corporate Affairs, and Risk committees of Grupo Aval’s board of directors.

(Independent Member)

Esther América Paz Montoya

Esther América Paz Montoya

_

She holds a degree in Business Administration from the Universidad del Valle and a master’s degree in Finance from the Universidad de los Andes. She has served as an advisor to the Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo Organization and has held the position of president of Banco AV Villas and the Las Villas Savings and Housing Corporation. She is a member of the Audit and Corporate Affairs committees of Grupo Aval’s board of directors.

(Independent Member)

Andrés Escobar Arango

Andrés Escobar Arango

_

An economist from the Universidad de los Andes, with a master’s degree in economics from New York University (NYU) and a Ph.D. candidate in economics. He has served as technical deputy minister of finance, deputy director of National Planning, president and partner at Econcept AEI, as well as a university professor and advisor to international financial institutions. He is a member of the ESG and Risk committees of Grupo Aval’s board of directors.

(Independent Member)

Mauricio Cárdenas Müller

Mauricio Cárdenas Müller

_

He holds a degree in electrical engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and an MBA from INALDE Business School. He is currently a manager at the Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo Organization. He has held positions at companies such as AT&T, COCECELCO, and the Ardila Lülle Organization. He is a member of the Compensation Committee of Grupo Aval’s board of directors.

(Equity Member)

Luis Fernando López Roca

Luis Fernando López Roca

_

He holds a Doctor of Law degree from the Universidad Externado de Colombia, a postgraduate degree in Public, Economic, Commercial, and Financial Law, and an LLM in International Business Law from the Universidad Francisco Vitoria. He received his Doctor of Law degree with honors (Cum Laude). He has served as an associate judge on the Council of State and the Constitutional Court, as an advisor to the Inter-American Development Bank, as an academic director, as Superintendent of Securities, and as president of the Colombian Association of Financing Companies. He is a member of the Audit and ESG committees of Grupo Aval’s board of directors.

(Independent Member)

Mauricio Salgar

Mauricio Salgar

_

He holds a degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad de los Andes and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is the managing director of Advent International in Colombia. He has led investments in Alianza Fiduciaria, LifeMiles, GMD, and other companies in Latin America. He was chief operating officer at Ecopetrol and co-founder of Despegar.com. He serves on the ESG and IT committees of Grupo Aval’s board of directors.

(Independent Member)

Jorge Silva Luján

Jorge Silva Luján

_

He holds a degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad de los Andes, an MBA from California State University, and has completed studies in leadership, marketing, and corporate strategy. He has served as CEO of Plan de Vida S.A.S. and has held positions as country manager at Amazon Web Services and general manager at Microsoft in Colombia and Mexico. He has experience in the technology sector. He is a member of the IT and Risk committees of Grupo Aval’s board of directors.

(Equity Member)

SECRETARIO GENERAL

Luis Fernando Pabón Pabón

Luis Fernando Pabón Pabón

_

He holds a law degree from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and has completed graduate studies in financial law at the Universidad de los Andes. He currently serves as legal counsel for the Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo Organization and as secretary of the board of directors of Grupo Aval. Previously, he was vice president of legal affairs at Banco de Colombia and legal counsel to the president of Banco de Bogotá.

Preguntas frecuentes 

  • Luis Carlos Sarmiento Gutiérrez (Presidente de la Junta Directiva)
  • Álvaro Velásquez Cock
  • Fabio Castellanos Ordóñez
  • Esther América Paz Montoya
  • Luis Fernando López Roca
  • Jorge Silva Luján
  • José Mauricio Salgar Hurtado
  • Andrés Escobar Arango
  • Mauricio Cárdenas Müller 

Los integrantes son seleccionados bajo estrictos criterios de trayectoria profesional y mérito técnico en la Asamblea de Accionistas.

Por medio de un Comité de Riesgos dedicado a monitorear la exposición financiera y asegurar la resiliencia operativa.

Aportan una visión objetiva y externa, fortaleciendo el equilibrio en la toma de decisiones estratégicas.

Mediante un control riguroso de la rentabilidad y una visión de largo plazo en todas las inversiones del holding.

Nuestra estructura se caracteriza por una composición diversa y altamente calificada, integrando perfiles con amplia trayectoria en el sector financiero, legal, tecnológico y de sostenibilidad. La junta directiva de Grupo Aval está integrada por quienes aportan una visión global y técnica para enfrentar los retos del mercado actual.

Contamos con expertos formados en las instituciones más prestigiosas del mundo, como el MIT, NYU, la Universidad de los Andes y la Universidad Javeriana, asegurando una dirección con base científica y experiencia probada en banca de inversión, legislación financiera y transformación digita

A través del Comité de Auditoría, que supervisa la veracidad de los reportes y el cumplimiento de normas internacionales.