José Manuel Restrepo is Colombia’s minister of finance. Before taking on this role, he was the minister of trade, industry and tourism, appointed by President Iván Duque. Formerly he was the president of Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá from 2014-18.
Restrepo earned his BA in economics and a graduate diploma in finance at Rosario. Afterwards, he obtained a masters of science degree in economics from the London School of Economics, and also a DBA in higher education management from the University of Bath.
Restrepo was previously appointed as president of CESA Business School (2009-2014) in Bogotá (Colombia), and as a provost of Universidad del Rosario (2003-2009). The beginning of his uninterrupted and outstanding trajectory in higher education, dates back to 1998, which has made him expert opinion not only in education management, but also in higher education policymaking. Provided his widely recognized experience, in parallel to his higher education positions, Restrepo has managed to do research and consultancy regarding socioeconomic and management issues, proper of the higher education sector in developing countries, as quality and access, national research and innovation systems, corporate governance, and pedagogical innovations, among others.
As a result of his remarkable career, Restrepo was recently awarded the Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit (2017), a recognition by the Congress of Colombia provided his top-quality contributions for the socioeconomic development of the country. Moreover, from the private perspective, he was recognized as one of the outstanding young executives of the country by the International Junior Chamber-Colombia in 2003; and also considered as one of the six winners of the CEO of the Future Survey, organized by and outstanding Colombian business magazine, Revista DINERO, together with the Korn/Ferry International, and Universidad del los Andes (Colombia).
Restrepo was an event speaker at the Dialogue.
