Interview Summary
In this interview, Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo, founder of the Sarmiento Angulo Organization and the diversified business group Aval, highlights his entrepreneurial career in Colombia from the 1950s to the present. He describes his origins and how he anticipated significant changes in the construction business in Bogotá, a city that grew more than Caracas, São Paulo, or even Mexico City in the 1960s.
He claims that meticulously observing operations and never being satisfied with superficial assessments within his company made a difference. Later, he analyzed how his business activities shifted from construction to a more financial and banking-oriented focus starting in the 1980s, describing his strategies for taking control of several banks, such as Banco de Bogotá. In his testimony, he discussed his risk management approach, as his businesses were highly exposed to the economic fluctuations prevalent in Colombia and Latin America during the 1980s. He also highlights that having a long-term view has helped him navigate different critical moments and expand during the 1990s and 2000s.
He also recalls devoting significant time to public service associations, particularly in his interests in education. He chaired Colfuturo for 25 years, an organization that supports Colombian students who study abroad. In the final part of the interview, he addresses the issues of violence and guerrillas, presenting some ideas to foster economic and social development in rural areas of Colombia.
Businesses themselves call for innovation, just like kites that start pulling on the string. You have to get them off the ground first, but then you need to loosen your grip so they can soar.
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Additional Resources
Moreno Quevedo, "Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo: 90 años del hombre que definió una era del mundo empresarial colombiano,"
Forbes Colombia , February 10, 2023 .
Neira, "No hay milagros, la única manera de tener más es producir más’: Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo,"
El Tiempo , March 27, 2024.
B.E. Rodríguez-Satizábal, Grupos económicos en Colombia (1974–1998): Entre pequeña empresa familiar y gran familia de empresas. Martin Monsalve Zanatti (ed.), Grupos económicos y mediana empresa familiar en América Latina (Lima: Universidad del Pacífico, 2014), pp. 41-85.
Interview Citation Format
Interview with Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo, interviewed by Andrea Lluch, Bogotá, Colombia, 29 August 2024, Creating Emerging Markets Oral History Collection, Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School, http://www.hbs.edu/creating-emerging-markets/.
