The city of Medellín is scheduled to host the second edition of the “WOBI on AI and Business Transformation” summit on April 28, 2026. The event, which will take place at Plaza Mayor, represents the sixth major collaboration between the Alcaldía de Medellín and WOBI since the partnership began in 2017. This year’s forum focuses on the integration of artificial intelligence into corporate leadership and operational strategy, reinforcing the city’s status as a Special District of Science, Technology, and Innovation.

Martha Lucía Maldonado Nieto, Managing Director of WOBI Colombia, detailed the evolution of the event series, noting that previous editions held between 2017 and 2019 attracted more than 4,300 business owners. “Since last year, we have shifted these digital transformation conversations toward an unavoidable topic: Artificial Intelligence,” Maldonado stated. She emphasized that the summit is designed to analyze how AI supports macro-management themes rather than providing purely technical instruction. “WOBI is not about providing technical content. Our goal isn’t to teach people how to operate a specific AI tool, but rather to support them in their roles as leaders.”

“We are certain that only by sensitizing our leaders will we achieve real changes in organizations.” — María Fernanda Galeano Rojo

The upcoming summit features a lineup of international speakers covering diverse facets of the technology. Terry Gutiérrez, the General Manager for Tesla (TSLA) in Mexico and Latin America, will present on leadership algorithms. Nathan Furr, a professor at INSEAD, is set to discuss using AI to scale business models. Other speakers include marketing expert Giuseppe Stigliano and Andrew Mayne, a former prompt engineer at OpenAI, who will provide insights into the development of ChatGPT. Maldonado noted that the curation of this content is managed by WOBI’s team in New York to identify global trends relevant to executive decision-making.

María Fernanda Galeano Rojo, the Secretary of Economic Development for Medellín, will also address the assembly on the role of “Cities that Think.” Galeano Rojo highlighted the city’s commitment to ensuring high-level technological discourse reaches multiple sectors of the local economy. “We will have 600 leaders, more than 70% of whom will be from our city,” Galeano Rojo said. “At the same time, we will have parallel activities where we will be talking with these same speakers, as well as with entrepreneurs and university students. What we want is for all this knowledge to reach different sectors of our city.”

The event structure has transitioned to a membership model as of 2024, though individual tickets remain available. Maldonado confirmed that the average cost for participation is approximately $1,990,000 COP. The summit aims to build on the success of the inaugural AI edition, which saw 800 attendees from 350 companies and has since been exported to Madrid and Milan. “Artificial Intelligence is not just another trend; it is a new reality,” Maldonado added. “It is going to change and impact us in much the same way that the internet at some point changed the way we function.”

The Secretaría de Desarrollo Económico continues to prioritize digital skills and AI training as part of its broader economic strategy. According to Galeano Rojo, the objective of the Alcaldía de Medellín is to use these international platforms to drive social and organizational transformation. “We are betting on digital skills training and AI training,” she remarked. “We are certain that only by sensitizing our leaders will we achieve real changes in organizations.”

The one-day academic session will begin at 9:00 AM. Key regional entities including Rappi, McKinsey, and Procter & Gamble (PG) were cited as background for the expertise being brought to the stage, reflecting the professional trajectories of the invited speakers.

Guerra holds a degree in Industrial Civil Engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and an MBA from INSEAD Business School. In addition to his corporate roles, he has served as an MBA and Innovation Master’s professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Colfondos, established in 1991, specializes in managing mandatory and voluntary pensions and severance funds. The company is part of Grupo Habitat, with Prudential Financial as a significant shareholder. Prudential was recently recognized as one of the “World’s Most Admired Companies,” ranking first in the life and health insurance industry.

Guerra’s appointment comes during a period of significant changes in Colombia’s pension system, following recent reforms approved by Congress. He succeeds the previous president, who left the position in early 2024. Colfondos reiterates its commitment to providing solid financial support to its clients, adhering to high financial and operational standards, and offering diverse investment portfolios tailored to the needs of Colombians planning for retirement.

Headline Image: Ricardo Guerra. Photo credit: Colfondos.

Opening keynote speaker Nathan Furr, a professor at INSEAD business school, discussed innovation and change in business, the “platform” business model, and how to take advantage of digital disruption. Furr used several cases to demonstrate how both traditional businesses such as utilities and banks can apply some of the same strategies as tech startups to transform business and strengthen relationships with customers.

The afternoon keynote was conducted by Charlene Li, the bestselling author of Open Leadership, co-author of Groundswell and her last book, The Engaged Leader. Li talked about the challenges of aligning customer experience with business strategy, understanding new generation clients and the differences in their behavior, and the role of customer experience in digital transformation.

Workshop throughout the day covered topics such as Medellín’s strategy for the “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” blockchain, civil security, the role of design in technology and business, and artificial intelligence.

WOBI also has a World Business Forum event scheduled for Bogotá June 5-6, a family business forum in Bogotá on October 23, and returns to Medellín for the World Leadership Forum November 26-27.

Photo Credit: Loren Moss

Overall, Colombia ranks 63rd in the newly released Global Innovation Index 2016, published jointly by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Chile and Costa Rica, placing 44th and 45th, are the only two Latin American nations in the top 50, while Mexico and Uruguay, ranking 61st and 62nd, just barely edged out Colombia.

“None of the economies in the region has recently been an innovation achiever, with performance higher than expected by its GDP,” states the report. “Still, a few economies — such as Chile, Colombia, and Mexico — stood out among their peers.”

Image: Global Innovation Index

Colombia’s ranking, which improved from 67th in 2015, is hurt by its low level of spending on R&D. The Global Innovation Index measures this using the team GERD (gross expenditure on R&D) and notes that Colombia, unlike most, has managed to not lower its level of R&D spending since the financial crisis in 2008. As it recovered, it even increased spending. But its overall level remains lower than it should be, per the report.

Unfortunately, just maintaining — let along increasing — the amount devoted to this key area of the economy will be difficult during Colombia’s current age of austerity. The country is reeling from low oil prices, weak currency, and high inflation and also needs to find a way to pay for expensive post-conflict programs and an ambitious nationwide infrastructure renovation. Governmental budgets are tight all around the country and things aren’t much better for many companies.

But the report stresses that Colombia, and all those in the region, must find a way to continue spending on innovation. Investing in more R&D is the only way to fulfill the potential that exists.

“Clearly, most if not all countries in Latin America and the Caribbean — particularly their local governments, firms, and other actors — continue to have the innovation agenda firmly on their radar,” states the report. “This is unlikely to come to a sudden halt anytime soon. Yet, as Latin America and the Caribbean, especially Brazil, has entered into a zone of considerable economic turbulence, it will be important to overcome short-term political and economic constraints and to cling to longer-term innovation commitments and results.”