Ricardo Pedraza-Barrios is a leader in digital and organizational transformation, with international experience across various sectors, including consulting, energy, internet infrastructure, higher education, and government.
Ricardo is a member of the Innovation Advisory Council at Vation Ventures, a private company that provides innovation services to organizations ranging from start-ups to large enterprises, helping them navigate the emerging technology landscape to drive growth and maintain a competitive edge. He is also the CIO of the Catholic University of Peru, a private non-profit organization.
As a consultant, he advised members of the Colombian Telecommunications Regulatory Commission on Internet governance public policy and conducted training on the topic for the Commission staff and external stakeholders.
Ricardo served as Director of Global Public Policy and Government Relations at VeriSign, where he was an international speaker at several industry conferences and an active member of the IGF, ICANN, and ITU communities. He initially joined VeriSign as the Latin America & Caribbean Regional Manager, driving business development opportunities in the region.
Ricardo was recognized four times as one of the Top 25 CIOs of the Year in Colombia during his tenure as Chief Information Officer at one of the leading private universities in Latin America.
Prior to that, Ricardo worked in Canada at Gaz Métropolitain as a Project Manager, overseeing the development of a sales force and marketing information system. At an engineering consulting firm, he contributed to the development of security applications for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Ricardo holds graduate studies in International Business from McGill University, a Master’s in Management Information Systems from HEC Montreal, an Executive MBA, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from Universidad de los Andes.