Alejandro Betancourt is a rising entrepreneur who has his finger on the pulse of the financial industry. Alejandro is currently the largest shareholder of Hawkers / Saldum Ventures after a successful early career as an entrepreneur and ambitious businessman.
The beginning of his professional life
The precursor to Alejandro Betancourt’s career was his double degree: a Major in Economics, and a Minor in Administration. Both degrees were attained from the Suffolk University of Massachusetts in the US. Given Alejandro’s specialization in international trade at university, this was exactly where he ended up, being responsible for international trade in his home country, Venezuela.
Later on, Alejandro took his career up a notch by creating his own companies, which was a vital early experience for his managerial development.
Alejandro soon got stuck into the oil and gas industry, as he would present such opportunities to the ICC board from his analytical role. Alejandro then became a director of BGB Energy, which is a subsidiary of the Venezuelan Kawaski Heavy Industries.
The Central West Interconnection (ICO) project
An important part of this BGB Energy role was his involvement in the 2006 Venezuelan Central West Interconnection (ICO) project. The project aimed to connect gas systems in both the central and eastern region of Venezuela, from the western area, so gas distribution would be more evenly spread to areas that were in demand of it.
The biggest success of the project for Alejandro personally was the sale of 13 turbines all across the country, which generated over $50m in revenue.
His work in the oil industry
After his vast experience working on the ICO project and on the board of BGB Energy, Alejandro founded his own company in 2007 that specialized in IPC of thermoelectric plants. The company’s core objective is to be an innovator within the Venezuelan electricity production.
Over 2,000 job were created indirectly from this company, along with 200 in-house employees. The company has become a leader within the industry and is in charge of organizing vast projects both within Venezuela and internationally. In the past ten years, 11 cycle thermoelectric plants have been created, meaning vast amounts of cheap electricity has been provided to Venezuela.
Along with this, Alejandro has become the majority shareholder in the O’Hara administration, which is a private investment group. Unsurprisingly, the group focuses on early oil and gas investments, which is where Alejandro’s expertise lay.
Pacific Rubiales Energy and Pacific Exploration & Production corp are two companies that Alejandro is a stakeholder in, with the former having investment backed by the O’Hara administration.
Alejandro’s present work
Alejandro’s time at the present is predominantly taken up by being the main shareholder and chairman of the board of Hawkers / Saldum Ventures – a growth online sales firm that creates trends in the sunglasses industry. Fashion may have been an anomaly in the colourful career of Alejandro’s, but this is something Alejandro has a particular interest in.
Hawker is now the 3rd biggest sunglasses company in the world, operating in several continents around the world.