Speakers

Rodrigo Villar is the Founding Partner of New Ventures Group (NVG), a firm dedicated to driving Social and Environmental Impact from four main angles: Acceleration, Financing (through debt and equity instruments), Advisory, and Ecosystem Building. Widely acknowledged as a trailblazer and a prominent voice in the fields of social entrepreneurship and impact investing in Latin America, Rodrigo has propelled over 4,000 social and environmental enterprises in the region under his stewardship at NVG.

Rodrigo is also the visionary behind several pioneering initiatives in impact investing. He founded the first Impact Capital Fund in Latin America; "Adobe Capital," which exceeded $50 million USD in assets. Additionally, he established the esteemed impact financing firm "Viwala" and the influential online sustainability community "Las Páginas Verdes," which hosted one of the world's largest directories of green products and services, with an annual circulation of nearly 300,000 copies. Rodrigo's commitment to sustainability extends to founding Mexico's inaugural sustainability festival "Ecofest" and the preeminent Impact Investment event in LatAm, the "FLII" (Latin American Impact Investment Forum), which has consistently convened key stakeholders from investment, finance, development, and innovation across 44 countries for over 14 years.

Beyond his work at NVG, Rodrigo has held significant leadership roles in the impact investment sector. He served as President of the Mexican Alliance for Impact Investment from 2015 to 2023 and contributed as a distinguished member of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) Board of Directors from 2021 to 2023. Recognized for his contributions, Rodrigo is a distinguished Fellow of the Ashoka Foundation and a recipient of the UBS Visionaris Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He was also honored as one of the "40 Mighty CEOs" by Latin Trade magazine, showcasing the most influential young executives in LatAm. As a prolific columnist and respected thought leader, Rodrigo leverages his profound insights and extensive experience in economics and impact investing to enrich discussions on platforms such as CNNExpansión.