Pilar is currently the Managing Director and Founding Partner of Xtrategy Business and Investment Center in Colombia and Panama, Head of Xtrategy US LLC, Miami.
She holds an LLM in International Business in London at UCL (University College London) and a master’s degree in Private and Corporate Law from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana -UPB- in Colombia. Pilar has extensive experience in Business Development and Investment Promotion, Corporate Affairs, Public Policy and International Affairs.
She has been an IADB Consultant and was also the Regional Director for Conway Inc., one of the most renowned Corporate Expansion Firms worldwide. She was also the Trade and Investment Director at the American Chamber of Commerce in Panama. At AMCHAM, she provided commercial and legal advice to foreign investors, led the execution of internationalization strategies for clients and investors, including the execution of trade missions and best practices visits on innovation to different cities of the United States and led the development and execution of public affairs and advocacy initiatives within the chamber.
Pilar was also part of negotiating Bilateral Investment Agreements and FTAs with several countries on behalf of Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism and handled issues related to investment climate and attention to the foreign investors.
Later, she worked for the Arbitration Group of the American law firm Baker Botts LLP in London in Investor-State cases and for the Charter Institute of Arbitrators -CIARB- in the same city.
She has experience in providing advice to economic operators and investors on access to markets, international business and foreign investment, as well as providing commercial and legal advice to potential investors and investors already installed in the country and the Latin American region.
Additionally, Pilar is a university lecturer in Colombia, Panama and Miami in topics related to International Business and Foreign Investment, Corporate Affairs, Business Development – managing external relations and monitoring legislative and trade instruments with extensive professional experience in Colombia, Panamá, the U.S market and Latin America. She has written several articles on Foreign Investment and International Business in British and Latin American Journals and has been a columnist in renowned media specialized in business and economics.