Corporate governance
Corporate Governance
Grupo Aval has a Board of Directors composed of nine principal members, ordinarily elected in March by the General Shareholders’ Meeting for a one-year term, with the possibility of indefinite re-election.
Our Board of Directors is composed of nine principal members with recognized experience and diverse backgrounds, and is elected annually by the General Shareholders’ Meeting. The average tenure of Grupo Aval’s Board members is 6.1 years.
As part of good corporate governance practices, currently 5 members are independent in accordance with Colombian regulations.
The Board of Directors guides the company’s strategy, oversees senior management’s performance, defines corporate governance, key policies, and risk management, and ensures compliance, acting as a link between senior management and the General Shareholders’ Meeting.
Board of directors
LUIS CARLOS SARMIENTO GUTIÉRREZ
Chairman of the Board
Doctor of Law from Universidad Externado de Colombia. Postgraduate degree in Economic, Commercial, and Financial Public Law from Universidad Externado de Colombia and Universidad de los Andes. LLM in International Business Law from Universidad Francisco Vitoria. Ph.D. in Law Cum Laude from Universidad Externado de Colombia. His professional experience includes serving as Ad Hoc Judge of the Council of State and the Constitutional Court (2018–2021); Advisor to the Inter-American Development Bank (on several occasions between 1993 and 1997); Director of the Department of Financial and Securities Law at Universidad Externado de Colombia (1991–2024); Superintendent of Securities (1991–1994); and President of the Colombian Association of Finance Companies (1997–2004).
He is a member of the Audit and ESG Committees.
ALVARO VELÁSQUEZ COCK
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Economist from Universidad de Antioquia and MSc Economics Candidate from the London School of Economics. His professional experience includes serving as Dean and Professor of the Faculty of Economics at Universidad de Antioquia; Director of DANE; Manager in Bogotá of the National Finance Corporation; President of Pedro Gómez & Cía. S.A.; Manager of Apple Computers Representations; and member of the Advisory Committee to the Superintendent of Banking. He actively participates in information security and cybersecurity training processes developed at Grupo Aval, as well as being a specialized reader of expert publications on this subject.
He is a member of the Corporate Affairs Committee and a permanent guest to other Support Committees of the Board of Directors.
FABIO CASTELLANOS ORDÓÑEZ
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Business Administrator from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Master’s in Management in the Network Economy from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy (in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley). His professional experience includes: Country Executive and CEO of ABN AMRO Bank (Colombia) S.A. (2002–2008), The Royal Bank of Scotland (Colombia) S.A. (2008–2010), and Scotiabank Colombia S.A. (2010); Vice President and Executive of Corporate Finance for The Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., at its representative offices in Colombia, Argentina, and New York (1988–1989). He is a member of the Audit, Corporate Affairs, and Risk Committees.
ESTHER AMÉRICA PAZ MONTOYA
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Business Administrator from Universidad del Valle and Master in Finance from Universidad de los Andes. Her professional experience includes serving as Advisor to the Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo Organization, the Presidency of Banco AV Villas, and Ahorramás Savings and Loan Corporation. Previously, she was President of Corporación de Ahorro y Vivienda Las Villas. She is a member of the Audit and Corporate Affairs Committees.
ANDRÉS ESCOBAR ARANGO
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Economist from Universidad de los Andes, with a Master’s in Economics from NYU and a Ph.D. candidate in Economics at NYU. President of EConcept AEI, former Technical Vice Minister of Finance, President and Partner of EConcept AEI, Deputy Director of National Planning, Professor at Universidad de los Andes, and Economic and Political Advisor to international financial institutions through Global Source. He is a member of the ESG and Risk Committees.
MAURICIO CÁRDENAS MÜLLER
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Electronic Engineer from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, with an MBA from INALDE Business School. His professional experience includes serving as General Manager of the Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo Organization. He has also held positions in companies such as COCECELCO (predecessor of Movistar – 1996), multinational technology company AT&T (1993), and the Ardila Lülle Organization (1992). He is a member of the Compensation Committee.
LUIS FERNANDO LÓPEZ ROCA
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Doctor of Law from Universidad Externado de Colombia. Postgraduate degree in Economic, Commercial, and Financial Public Law from Universidad Externado de Colombia and Universidad de los Andes. LLM in International Business Law from Universidad Francisco Vitoria. Ph.D. in Law Cum Laude from Universidad Externado de Colombia. His professional experience includes serving as Ad Hoc Judge of the Council of State and the Constitutional Court (2018–2021); Advisor to the Inter-American Development Bank (on several occasions between 1993 and 1997); Director of the Department of Financial and Securities Law at Universidad Externado de Colombia (1991–2024); Superintendent of Securities (1991–1994); and President of the Colombian Association of Finance Companies (1997–2004). He is a member of the Audit and ESG Committees.
MAURICIO SALGAR
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Industrial Engineer from Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá and MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management. His professional experience includes serving as Managing Director and Head of Advent International’s Colombia office (2012). He has led several investments in Latin America, including Alianza Fiduciaria, Alianza Valores, Grupo Biotoscana, GTM (Grupo Transmerquim), Oleoducto Central (Ocensa), United Medical, LifeMiles, and GMD. He has been a mentor at Endeavor since 2013; Vice President and Executive Committee member of Grupo Sanfora, a private investment firm; Chief Operating Officer at Ecopetrol, Colombia’s national oil company; co-founder of Despegar.com, an online travel agency; and Associate at Booz & Co., where he advised clients including utility companies.
He is a member of the ESG and IT Committees.
JORGE SILVA LUJÁN
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Industrial Engineer from Universidad de los Andes, MBA from California State University, with additional studies in Leadership, Marketing, and Corporate Strategy, among others. His professional experience includes serving as CEO of Plan de Vida SAS; Country Manager North of LATAM at Amazon Web Services (Public Sector); General Manager of Microsoft Mexico and Colombia; and Country Manager of the Personal System Group in Colombia. He has over 35 years of management experience, primarily in the IT industry, and solid expertise in Hardware, Software, and Consulting businesses.
He is a member of the IT and Risk Committees.
General Secretary
LUIS FERNANDO PABÓN PABÓN
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Luis Fernando Pabón Pabón
Lawyer – Universidad Javeriana - Not considered a PEP (Politically Exposed Person).
He holds postgraduate studies in Financial Legislation from Universidad de los Andes. He is currently Legal Advisor to the Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo Organization Ltd. and has served as Secretary to the Board of Directors of Grupo Aval since 2000. Previously, he worked as Legal Vice President of Banco de Colombia and Legal Advisor to the President of Banco de Bogotá