CEO of Colombia's Largest Bank to Deliver Durland Lecture on October 18

Luis Carlos Sarmiento, Jr., MBA '85, will discuss value creation, nation's growth at Cornell University's Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management

ITHACA, N.Y., Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 25^th Durland Lecture—Johnson's most prestigious speaking engagement—will be delivered on Thursday, October 18, 2012 by Luis Carlos Sarmiento, Jr., MBA '85, president and CEO of Grupo Aval S.A.

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Grupo Aval is Colombia's largest and most profitable banking company, representing more than a third of the banking industry in that country. In a talk entitled "Look Who Emerged While You Weren't Looking: Value Creation in Times of Mass Destruction," Sarmiento will offer a unique perspective on the rapidly-growing Colombian economy, the dynamic Latin American banking sector, and the entrepreneurial moves that have allowed Grupo Aval to increase its market share, in the midst of a weak global economy.

Sarmiento joins recent speakers, including N.R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys, in bringing a unique perspective on globalization to Johnson. As one of Colombia's foremost businesspeople, Sarmiento will cast light on his country's remarkable economic performance and explain Colombia's global economic emergence.

As CEO of Grupo Aval, Sarmiento will also speak to the strategies that have allowed the company to expand its ambitions, from dominating the Colombian market, to becoming a leader among Latin American banking companies. Given that Grupo Aval seldom offers insights into its strategy and operations, listening to Sarmiento is a unique opportunity to learn more about this highly successful bank.

The Durland Lecture series was initiated in 1983 by Roy H. Park - late chairman of Park Communications - and a group of donors. Durland series lecturers have included Thomas W. Jones, co-chairman and CEO of Citigroup's SSB Citi Asset Management Group, Abby Joseph Cohen, managing director of Goldman, Sachs & Company, Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna, and Lucio A. Noto, chairman and CEO of Mobil Corporation.

About Johnson at Cornell University
Founded in 1946, Johnson at Cornell University offers both a two-year and accelerated Masters of Business Administration program, as well as two executive MBA programs designed for mid-career professionals. Johnson launched its innovative Cornell-Queens Executive MBA program in Latin America Mexico, in July 2012, to include four MBA students in Bogota, Colombia, and five in Monterrey, Mexico.

Johnson also offers dual degree and certificate programs with law, industrial and labor relations, engineering, medicine, health administration and real estate. With 52 full-time tenured and tenure track faculty, 20 regular non-tenure track complemented by adjunct, Emeritus or visiting academics—many of whom come to Cornell from successful careers in the business world—the school offers superb instruction using a collaborative, immersive approach in which students apply what they learn to business challenges at real companies.          

SOURCE The Johnson School at Cornell University