Salvador Paiz
Director
 
Salvador was born in Guatemala and, through his business and non-profit efforts, has worked towards the development of his country.
 
He obtained his Bachelors degree with honors from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1996 and, four years later, his MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Business, as a Martin Trust Merit Scholar. Salvador was Vice President of Wal-Mart Centroamérica and, subsequently, board member of Wal-Mart México y Centroamérica until the beginning of 2016. Today, Salvador is Chairman of PDC, a private investment company whose corporate purpose is to transform lives.
 
Salvador has helped Guatemala'ʹs transformation by spearheading effective non-governmental initiatives for change. One of them is Fundesa’s Mejoremos Guate (MG), which strives towards a more prosperous, solidary, safe and just nation. Another important part of this transformation is the improvement of the country’s educational system. That is why Salvador has been actively involved in different projects and initiatives, both nationally and internationally, such as Empresarios por la Educación, the Commission for Quality Education for All of the Inter American Dialogue and Funsepa (Sergio Paiz Andrade Foundation in Spanish), which he chairs.
 
Since it’s creation (2002), Funsepa has delivered 20,698 computers in 1,312 schools, benefiting 475,126 children. In addition, it has trained 77,168 teachers in the usage of technology as an educational tool. The foundation has been an important ally for Guatemala’s Ministry of Education, working as their technology arm. In 2014, Funsepa joined forces with Khan Academy, and in 2016 published an independent impact evaluation which showed an achievement of an additional 10 points in mathematics learning in elementary school students. During the same year, Funsepa developed Na’at (“the awakening of knowledge” in ancient Mayan language), a teacher training platform that combines several elements such as pedagogy, technology and values, in a amicable and playful design. In July Na’at was awarded with the Educative Innovation National Prize of the Del Valle University, in Guatemala City.
 
Through Empresarios por la Educación, Salvador has been spokesman of many projects and an intellectual contributor to several documents. He was the driving force in the development of the study “How are we in education?”, which, year after year, evaluates the setbacks and achievements of Guatemala’s educational system. He coauthored of the presidential debate paper “School Scenarios: where will Guatemalan education be in 2032?”, presented in 2015.
 
In November 2014, he became a member of the Commission for Quality Education for All of the Inter American Dialogue, with personalities such as Ernesto Zedillo and Ricardo Lagos. There he promotes changes to improve education quality, teaching quality and the creation of educational systems for the next generations. In 2015, he became the national Ambassador for UNICEF’s initiative, “Safe Schools”.
 
Regarding other matters, Salvador was member of the Guatemalan National Commission for Drug Policy Reforms in 2014, and co-author of two fiscal studies requested by Guatemala's Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (CACIF). Internationally, he is member of the Chairman’s International Advisory Council (CIAC), of the Council of the Americas and a member of The Inter-American Dialogue. As an academic, Salvador was a Research Fellow at Fordham University and contributed to many documents and studies. In 2009, Salvador was the first Guatemalan named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. On November 2014, he was presented with the Inter-American Dialogue Award for Civic Engagement in Washington D.C.
 
 

  www.salvadorpaiz.com

 

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10 Calle 3-17 Zona 10
Edificio Aseguradora General
Nivel 5, Ala Sur.
Teléfono: +502 2331-5133
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