26th BRAVO Business Awards Highlight Socially Driven Business Leaders

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Miami, October 14, 2021—Council of the Americas (COA) is pleased to announce the distinguished leaders who will be honored at the 26th BRAVO Business Awards in Miami on November 12, 2021. After the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, COA is committed to resuming its long-standing tradition of showcasing excellence in leadership by bringing together the most forward-thinking leaders at a time when the business community is eager to engage in high-impact forums.

"Our 2021 BRAVO Business Awards honorees are great examples of achieving business success, while also driving impact and change in local and global communities," said Susan Segal, President and CEO of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. "In these especially challenging times, the BRAVO Business Awards are delighted to recognize such dynamic leaders who continue to set the standard for others," she said.

Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder, Chairman, and CEO at Chobani and Founder of the Tent Partnership for Refugees, will receive the Social Impact CEO of the Year Award. At Chobani, a food maker who uses food as a force for good in the world, his vision and leadership have been admirable, particularly given how he's retained his steadfast commitment to his employees while building and expanding the business. Additionally, since founding the Tent Partnership for Refugees in 2016, Ulukaya has proven that integrating refugees into companies is not only good for society, but also for business. The Tent Partnership has provided a valuable roadmap for companies in the region and the world on how they can engage refugees as potential employees, entrepreneurs, and consumers. The mission of galvanizing the business community to include refugees is more relevant than ever in the face of the unprecedented refugee crisis impacting the Americas.

Manuel D. Medina, Founder and Managing Partner at Medina Capital, will be honored with the Visionary CEO of the Year Award, in recognition of his 40-year career as a successful investor and CEO during which he founded and led profitable companies in the technology, cybersecurity and finance space, as well as broadly contributed to the development of South Florida's tech ecosystem. Today, South Florida is considered a new tech epicenter for the U.S. and Latin America, due to years of multisectoral efforts in fostering the foundations to attract investment, growth, and talent. Since founding Terremark in 1980 and taking Terremark, Cyxtera, and Appgate to unicorn status, Medina has been spearheading the development of this robust ecosystem not only by successfully leading these companies and Medina Capital, but also by founding eMerge Americas, a year-round platform that's transforming Miami into the tech hub of the Americas. COA is honored to recognize his vision, hard work, and dedication to fostering a tech ecosystem in South Florida.

Juan Carlos Mora, CEO at Grupo Bancolombia, will be honored with the CEO of the Year Award, in recognition of his impressive 30-year trajectory at Grupo Bancolombia, during which he led the company to become both a successful business and a global model of corporate citizenship. During his career at Grupo Bancolombia and since taking the helm as CEO in 2016, Mora has been instrumental in developing and executing the group's internationalization strategy, expanding out from Colombia to become a regional player across Latin America, including in Panama, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Equally as impressive, he has played a pivotal role in leading Bancolombia to become the most sustainable bank in the world, according to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2020. Under Mora's leadership, Bancolombia's steadfast commitment to delivering results and benefits to all stakeholders—not just shareholders—has continued even in the most challenging times. One recent example is the group's provision of COVID-19 vaccines to all Bancolombia employees, reinforcing its commitment to being an ally to the public sector for the overall benefit of society.

The awards will be presented at a formal outdoor dinner at the terrace of the Pérez Art Museum Miami. Although the celebration will be scaled-down due to the current public health situation, COA and the BRAVO Business Awards are committed to providing a secure space, following health protocols, and abiding by local regulations.

Since March 2020, Council of the Americas has turned to digital programming and launched the COA Symposium and BRAVO Leadership Virtual Series, to continue to provide a space for engagement and collaboration among high-level leaders of multinationals and multilatinas across the Americas. During this time, the COA Symposium & BRAVO Leadership Virtual Series has featured over 100 C-level speakers in more than 30 programs, reaching nearly one million online viewers.

*COA will continue to closely monitor COVID-19 developments in South Florida and plan accordingly.

Sponsors: Bank of America, The AES Corporation, Microsoft, Mastercard, Salesforce, SAP, Softtek, Chubb Latin America, Diageo Plc, and Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Media Partners: Americas Quarterly, CNN en Español, and Financial Times

COA Symposium Partner: Inter-American Development Bank

For more information, please visit: as-coa.org/bravo

Press Inquiries:

AS/COA Media Relations | mediarelations@as-coa.org | 1-212-277-8333

Additional Information:

Yndira Marin | ymarin@as-coa.org | 1-646-386-6523