Juan Carlos Castro Leaves Invest Pacific; Board Names Mauricio Concha Acting Executive Director

Agency Credits Castro’s Tenure With 57 Projects From 25 Countries

Juan Carlos Castro Lozano has left the post of executive director of Invest Pacific, the investment promotion agency for Cali and the Valle del Cauca department, after three years in the role, from October 2023 to October 2026. The agency’s board of directors named Mauricio Concha Rivera, Invest Pacific’s director of investments, as acting executive director while it completes the process of appointing a permanent successor, Invest Pacific announced on October 6, 2026.

The announcement did not give a reason for Castro’s departure, did not say what position he would take next and set no timeline for the permanent appointment.

Invest Pacific is a nonprofit whose board seats are held by representatives of the Cámara de Comercio de Cali (Cali Chamber of Commerce), the Gobernación del Valle del Cauca (Valle del Cauca Governor’s Office), the Alcaldía de Cali (Cali Mayor’s Office), ProPacífico and independent members, according to the agency’s website.

57 Projects in Three Years

During Castro’s tenure, Invest Pacific says it supported the arrival or expansion of 57 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects by 53 companies from 25 countries, spread across 11 of the department’s municipalities. The agency puts their combined value at $646 million USD and says they created 6,338 direct jobs.

More than 260 companies with foreign capital operate in the department, according to the announcement, which says their sales equal 21% of regional GDP and that they account for 35% of the department’s exports.

In September 2023, shortly before Castro arrived, Invest Pacific, ProColombia and Cali’s Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico (Economic Development Department) led a delegation to San Francisco and Los Angeles to court technology and business-services investors.

Castro’s Background in Industry and Investment Promotion

Castro, a Cali native, has a background in industry, trade associations and the public sector. According to Invest Pacific’s announcement of his appointment, he previously directed the cosmetics and household-cleaning chamber of ANDI (Asociación Nacional de Empresarios de Colombia, or National Business Association of Colombia), held government-relations and sustainability roles at 3M (NYSE: MMM; NYSE Texas: MMM; SIX: MMM) and Unilever (LSE: ULVR; NYSE: UL; Euronext Amsterdam: UNA), and served in leadership positions in FDI promotion at the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (National Hydrocarbons Agency).

In his farewell statement, Castro said that returning to his city to lead Invest Pacific had been one of his greatest aspirations, and he thanked the partners, business owners, investors, government leaders and institutions that worked with the agency.

“The achievements reached are the result of a collective effort that will keep generating impact in Valle del Cauca for many more years.”

— Juan Carlos Castro Lozano, outgoing executive director, Invest Pacific

Valle Verde, Cali Home4Tech and a COP16 Forum

Invest Pacific says it strengthened its Valle Verde narrative during Castro’s tenure. The narrative promotes the department as a sustainable-investment destination, and the agency says it became one of the strategic pillars of the departmental Plan de Desarrollo (Development Plan). Cali Home4Tech, a narrative and brand for the city, was launched on September 30, 2025, at the Cali Chamber of Commerce, according to the agency’s 2025 annual report; the October announcement says it aims to present Cali as an international technology hub with strengths in sectors such as HealthTech, AgriTech and ClimateTech. The agency’s Green Business Forum, held during the COP16 United Nations biodiversity conference in Cali in late 2024, drew 408 attendees, more than 45 international and Colombian experts and more than 20 sponsors, according to Invest Pacific.

SAF and Circular-Economy Studies

The agency obtained technical assistance from the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative for a prefeasibility study of a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant in Valle del Cauca. According to the 2025 annual report, the study by consultants Johan Martínez and Edgar Castillo concluded that such a plant would be technically viable and a strategic opportunity for the region in the energy transition, but that its economic viability would require public incentives and a regional governance framework to consolidate the supply chain and secure offtake agreements. It recommended alcohol-to-jet technology and a phased feedstock strategy that starts with first-generation ethanol from the region’s sugarcane industry and moves to second-generation ethanol made from agricultural residues. The SAF study’s results were presented to companies in the production chain on October 23, 2025.

A separate technical-cooperation arrangement with IDB Invest covers what the agency describes as two studies on the circular economy and the energy transition. The annual report lists their components as prefeasibility studies for a chemical plastics-recycling plant and a plant to recover construction and demolition waste, along with a study of the department’s energy demand. It says a consulting firm was selected and execution began in 2025, with results expected after the first quarter of 2026. The October announcement did not say whether those results have been delivered.

The announcement values the EU and IDB Invest technical assistance at $140,000 USD. The 2025 annual report gives the same $140,000 USD figure for the technical assistance Invest Pacific received in 2025.