Mejía López, an agricultural economist who will replace current president Estupiñán Heredia, cites his chief goals as improving marketing for the Bogotá-based exchange and generally changing the way the agricultural sector does business.

As president of SAC, he made national news two years ago after publicly questioning President Juan Manuel Santos’ approach to negotiating peace with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). “Who rules here: the president or the island of Cuba?” said Mejía López, according to an interview in Bogotá newspaper El Tiempo. Mejía López later apologized.

Earlier in his career, Mejía López worked for Banco de Colombia, Ajover, and Diners Club. He is a member of the Colombia’s National Business Council, Finagro, and the National Agricultural Credit Commission, among other organizations. He studied agricultural economics at the University of North Carolina in the United States.

The Colombian Mercantile Exchange is the nation’s commodities exchange. The main items traded are agricultural, agro-industrial, mining, and energy products as well as other commodities with similar characteristics. It is overseen by the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, the nation’s financial services regulator.