The Americas Institute for Cybersecurity Leadership (AICL) today announced that former Consul of Colombia in New York Felipe Andres Forero Hauzeur has been appointed as LATAM Executive Director. Felipe will lead the LATAM strategy and will enable AICL become a nexus of cybersecurity training, education and research. Our goal is to tackle and solve cybersecurity problems around the world, while addressing the critical workforce needs in cybersecurity.
A veteran of high-stakes diplomatic posts at the Consulate of Colombia and the Colombian Navy, Felipe has excelled in leadership roles throughout his career of more than 25 years.
"AICL team is very excited to have Felipe on board whose leadership and guidance will enable AICL to form new relationships and expand our influence in South America", said Julia Costin, AICL’s Public Affairs Director. “Following a very successful year we are extremely pleased to welcome Felipe. His extensive experience with both defense and foreign affairs have prepared him for this leadership role at AICL”.
Felipe successfully served for over 20 years as an officer in the National Navy of Colombia where he was assigned to different roles until he requested early retirement at the rank of Commander. During this time, he was assigned to various positions including Naval Attaché for three first ladies of Colombia, a defense minister and Protocol Group Coordination at Defense Ministry of Colombia. His leadership for the logistics and protocol teams was instrumental to complete over 6,500 national and international events, high-level summits and more than 30 state visits of foreign dignitaries.
Shortly after his government service in that role, he was appointed by the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Administrative Consul in the Colombian Consulate in NY, where the benefit of the Colombian community in the Greater New York area and supervised a team of officials and contractors. In addition to an impressive professional career, Felipe has a strong education foundation. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Naval Electronics engineer from Escuela Naval “Almirante Padilla”, and an MBA from INALDE Business School.
“As our society becomes more digital and inter-connected, cybersecurity awareness is increasingly a matter of collaboration between the private and public sectors ‒ convening intelligence experts, politicians, entrepreneurs, and academic researchers,” said Felipe. “Having worked closely with foreign defense dignitaries, I know there is widespread eagerness to protect information networks as it’s vital to national security strategy.”
“With the selection of Felipe, the Board has chosen a great candidate to lead AICL at a time when the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve and become more complex. We are eager to welcome Felipe to AICL and work with him as we move on to exciting initiatives such as Cybersecurity Training for Diplomats and a series of educational programs focused on cybersecurity education, workforce development, and awareness.”
About AICL
AICL is a non-partisan think tank focused on promoting cybersecurity discourse based on rigorous research. Our mission is to impact global cybersecurity challenges, provide strategic insights and foster cybersecurity leadership for a safer digital society. We aim to achieve our objectives primarily in following ways: policy programs, research, education, and summits.
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Julia Costin at 561-299-0775 or email at [email protected].
Americas Institute for Cybersecurity Leadership, 333 SE 2nd Avenue, Ste 2000, Miami, FL 33131, United States, 5612990775
Media Contacts:
Julia Costin, Public Affairs Director