Virgilio Barco Isakson (born 1965) is a Colombian impact investor and LBGTQI+ activist. He is the son of former Colombian President

Virgilio Barco Vargas Virgilio Barco Vargas (17 September 1921 – 20 May 1997) was a Colombian politician and civil engineer who served as the 27th President of Colombia serving from 7 August 1986 to 7 August 1990. Early life Barco was born in Cúcuta in the No ...

Career

Since 2013, Barco Isakson has been the first Latin America Director at Acumen, a leading impact investing fund that focuses on tackling global poverty. In 2018, Barco Isakson co-founded ALIVE, an Impact Fund Manager based in Bogota, Colombia and became its Managing Partner. In 2024, ALIVE was included in the Impact Assets 50 database of the 50 leading impact investment managers in the world. From 2011 to 2013, Barco Isakson served as executive director of the Banca de Inversión Social, a nonprofit organization that is at the forefront of

impact investing Impact investing refers to investments "made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return". At its core, impact investing is about an a ...

in Colombia. From 2006 to 2010, Barco Isakson led Invest in Bogota, a public-private partnership that promotes foreign direct investment to the Greater Bogota region. Previously, Barco Isakson headed the privatization unit at the Colombian

Ministry of Finance and Public Credit The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (), is the ministries of Colombia, national executive ministry of the Government of Colombia responsible for the financial and budgetary matters of the country as well as implementing the financial polici ...

and was an advisor on local economic development for the country's planning department. He has also worked as a management consultant at

Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American company specializing in intelligence, AI, and digital transformation. It is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washing ...

in Brazil and as a financial analyst at

Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...

in Spain.

LGBTQI+ Activism

Barco Isakson is the co-founder and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of

Colombia Diversa Colombia Diversa is an organization based in Bogotá that promotes and defends LGBT rights in Colombia. It was founded in 2004 by a group of activists who met in 2003 while advocating for a failed bill recognizing the rights of same-sex couples. T ...

, a Bogota-based nonprofit organization founded in 2004 that advocates for

LGBTQI+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...

rights in Colombia. Colombia Diversa was instrumental in litigation that led the Colombian Constitutional Court to extend property, inheritance, and other benefits to same-sex couples in 2007, recognize ''de facto'' civil unions in 2009, and recognize same-sex marriage in 2011.

Education

Barco Isakson holds a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in government from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

(1987), a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

in management from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in economics from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

(1999).

Personal life

Barco Isakson was born to former Colombian president

and

Carolina Isakson Proctor Carolina Isakson de Barco (born Mary Caroline Isakson, January 6, 1930 – January 14, 2012) was an American and Colombian artist and philanthropist who served as first lady of Colombia from 1986 to 1990 and previously as first lady of Bogot ...

. Barco Isakson is the youngest of four: Carolina, Julia, and Diana. He lives in Bogota with his partner, Andrew Dier, with whom he has been together since 1998.

References

1965 births Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Barco family Colombian people of American descent Colombian people of Swedish descent Children of presidents of Colombia Harvard College alumni MIT Sloan School of Management alumni New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science alumni Colombian political scientists 20th-century Colombian economists Colombian LGBTQ rights activists 21st-century Colombian economists 20th-century Colombian LGBTQ people 21st-century Colombian LGBTQ people {{LGBT-activist-stub