Hugo F. Villegas has been president of Latin America for Medtronic since January 2015. He is responsible for the operations and business performance of the region with commercial operations in more than 35 countries. Villegas began his 28-year career in sales for Johnson & Johnson, after which he held positions of increasing responsibility, from marketing to general management. He was Country Manager for J&J Peru and J&J Venezuela and subsequently led regional marketing for the company’s Cordis division. Villegas also served as regional vice president of Johnson & Johnson Latin America and as regional vice president of Johnson & Johnson Europe’s Medical Technology. In 2013 Villegas brought a strong strategic vision and passion for growth and became president of Covidien Latin America. Under his leadership, Covidien’s regional business accomplished double digit growth. After Medtronic’s acquisition of Covidien in early 2015, he became president for the new, expanded operations of both companies across the continent. Villegas has been a committed member of the Council of the Americas, supporting the Council’s work in the region, and participating actively in the Council’s New York and Washington Conference on the Americas. A native of Colombia, Hugo holds a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree in marketing. He currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board for the Department of Biomedical Engineering of Andes University in Colombia and BioFlorida.