Bernard Légaut is the co-founder and CEO of Vegora, a company that helps Silicon Valley digital health startups build scalable and secure digital health consumer products by staffing elite engineers from across LATAM. In this interview, Bernard will share his experience on how to find an executive director for Colombia.
What are the three most common mistakes when looking for a director for Colombia?
It depends on the situation of the company. If it is a new one, you need someone who knows Colombia to avoid wasting time. It’s essential to avoid wasting time due to a lack of knowledge about the country.
Building trust with the foreign company that is establishing itself in Colombia requires someone who has experience in Colombia but also has the agility to connect with foreign companies. You need someone who is an expert in the business with technical knowledge or a Colombian executive director who understands the market and can promote sales.
What is your main recommendation to get one?
It depends on the stage of the company’s life cycle; the profile is different.
At the stage of setting up the company, you need to reach a certain level and make it grow. Avoid falling into the trap of trying to implement all processes at once and be able to develop them gradually. When there is a good structure in the company, it becomes much easier (such as in the commercial or human resources areas).
The first profile must focus on building the team. The second profile must be able to develop the business and will be the one to bring in new ideas. It can be the same person, but they should not have the same qualities.
It can be a Colombian with experience; they may even have less experience if they have a supporting structure.
Why would you recommend looking for your CEO through the Europa Network?
Because of the profiles of the people here who know Colombia and have networks in the country.
They know where to find information.
At the same time, they have connections with Europe. Ultimately, it is important to have an expert in a specific sector.
