Hugo Vergara,
Co-Founder & CEO, Travel Andes (Santiago, Chile)
"What I like most about the NESsT strategy is the opportunity it provides for entrepreneurs, like me, to get involved -- tapping into our know-how and not just our wallets. This is a perfect complement to goals of the socially-responsible business movement -- using corporate leaders’ business prowess to further social change."
NESsT BAN member Hugo Vergara is the CEO of T.E.L.A. (Travel Andes), a company with offices in Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Argentina, that organizes student exchange programs throughout Latin America. Hugo founded the company in 1998 with partner Rodrigo Fabrega, as a result of his own passion for travel and adventure. He now leads the firm, overseeing more than 2,500 student exchanges a year.
In 2002, Hugo was selected as an “Avina leader” by the Avina
Foundation for his work to promote socially-responsible business in Chile.
He is currently coordinating a socially-responsible business certification
project for small- and medium-sized companies, with the belief that the
adoption of such business practices are key to solving the social problems
of Chile.
Hugo joined the BAN in 2002, and has participated reviewing feasibility
studies of early-stage portfolio members of the NESsT Venture Fund in
Chile.