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BOGOTA, Colombia - As an executive with Procter Oc Gamble Co. in the early 1990s, Luis Carlos Sarmiento Gutiérrez felt at ease in the United States and with the American way of doing business. Hc had no plans to return to his native Colombia.
But as an ambitious businessman, he also had a lot to learn. And who better to school him than his own father?
Sarmiento Gutiérrez is the only son of Luis Carlos Sarmiento Ángulo, who seems to possess a magic touch when it comes to making deals. Over the past half-century, Sarmiento Ángulo put together Grupo Aval, the huge and very successful Bogota-based banking and construction holding company. Last year, Forbes ranked Sarmiento Ángulo No. 135 on its list of the world's billionaires.
"I had met some very incredible executives in my time at Procter & Gamble. It took me a while, but I finally realized mat I had one of those executives back home, and he was related to me," Sarmiento Gutiérrez tells Latin Trade. "My tather had put together such an interesting business. He could teach me a lot of things. So I decided to grab the opportunity."
The father-son team has taken Grupo Aval to new heights.
Last year, Sarmiento Gutiérrez, who has served as Grupo Aval's CEO since 2000, oversaw the most important...