Federico Gutierrez Appoints Jorge Londoño de la Cuesta As New General Manager Of EPM

Medellín’s newly elected mayor, Federico Gutierrez Zuluaga , upon taking office January first, immediately appointed engineer Jorge Londoño de la Cuesta (above) as the general manager of Empresas Publicas de Medellín (EPM), the multinational utility company directly owned by the city of Medellin. The appointment became effective immediately, January 1.

For publicly owned companies such as EPM, it is customary that company heads resign at the end of the terms of their political patrons, making way for the new elected official to appoint executives of their choice. Colombia is considering drafting legislation to change this policy and restructure the way publicly owned companies operate, making way for more business continuity, adding insulation from political pressures, and complying with governance recommendations as it seeks to join the OECD.

Federico “Fico” Gutierrez is the new Mayor of Medellin

Londoño de la Cuesta studied systems engineering at EAFIT University in Medellin and also, matriculated through the CEO program at Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota. For 27 years he served as general manager for Invamer SAS, leading efforts in research, market consultancy, business analytics and social media. During that time, he had the opportunity to get to know Colombian industry, along with the needs and expectations of the consumers from diverse areas such as manufacturing, finance, and public services.

• Londoño was appointed by the new mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutiérrez Zuluaga on January 1, 2016 to lead EPM for the next four years.

• Londoño replaces Juan Esteban Calle Restrepo, former CEO of EPM and EPM Corporate Group, who served from 2012 through 2015

“With the support of all workers at EPM, from whom I stressed their experience, professionalism and social commitment, I hope that I can share my knowledge and experience to continue contributing to build sustainable and competitive territories, with projects and innovative solutions that contribute to the quality of life and the well-being of communities in all geographies in which we operate as a business group,” said the new general manager. ¨In the next four years we will be working on providing efficient public services that meet people´s needs, with a team committed to bringing EPM closer to citizens’hearts.”

During his professional career, he was also the president of Asdesilla (Association of native horse breeders), and an advisory member of the board of Casa Luker and to the presidency of Exito Group. He has also been a columnist for magazines such as: Poder, Cambio, and Dinero and also for the newspaper El Tiempo, and he has participated as a guest speaker and teacher at local, national and international universities, such as: The Sorbonne of Paris (France), the London School of Economics, and the University of Miami.

Londoño De la Cuesta, 50 years old, is married to Monica Echavarria, and father of daughters Luciana and Raquel, both students of business administration. When time permits, he makes space for horse riding and to enjoy nature, and declares himself a lover of art, music, painting, dance and poetry.

Cover photo: new mayor Federico Gutierrez (left) thanks outgoing EPM general manager Juan Esteban Calle Restrepo. All photos courtesy of EPM.