Andrés Freire
Encyclopedia
Andy Freire is an entrepreneur recognized for co-founding and led Officenet
(purchased by Staples
in 2004), a company that revolutionized the industry of distribution (retail) of office supplies in Latin America
raising over 50M USD (most of it after the Nasdaq 2000 crash
) from investors including among others Goldman Sachs
, GE Capital
, George Soros
, JP Morgan Chase, Warburg Pincus
, KKR, Thomas H. Lee Partners
, FleetBoston Financial
, GP Investimentos and Banco Santander.
A case called "Officenet: how to make entrepreneurship work in Argentina" was written by Harvard Business School
and taught at over 25 universities including the universities of Stanford, Chicago
, Columbia
, Georgetown
, IE Business School and Commercial University of Paris.
He has participated as guest professor or guest speaker at several universities including Stanford, Harvard, Notre Dame
, Wharton
, and IE in Spain. His book "Passion for Entrepreneurship – From Idea to Crude Reality" was published in Spanish and Portuguese becoming a best seller in several countries in Latin America (including #1 best selling business book in Argentina for five months in a row since publication)
He´s currently Axialent’s Co-founder, Chairman & CEO. Axialent works with Fortune 500 firms to align corporate culture and leadership behaviors with long term strategy and company values in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
When he was 18 year old co-created Initiative Foundation, an NGO focused on promoting leadership values among the Latin American youth.
He's the Chairman of Endeavor Foundation in Argentina, Chairman of the Young Presidents' Organization
(YPO) in Argentina and also board member of the Steering Committee of the Young Global Leaders of the WEF and member of the Global Latin American Council of the WEF.
His awards include "Global Leader for Tomorrow" in 2000 by the World Economic Forum (WEF), "Latin American Entrepreneur of the Year" in 2001 by Endeavor Foundation, and "World Young Business Achiever" in 2002. Andy was also named in 2008 one of the 100 "Young Global Leaders of the World" by the WEF in Davos, Switzerland.
He participated as investor and/or Board member in multiple start ups including Wanako (online gaming sold to Vivendi), Coffice (coffee service sold to Lavazza), Reed Argentina (trade-fairs), Restorando (online restaurant booking), The Mind Company (services off-shoring), Estrella limited (oilfield services company publicly traded in Toronto as EEN.V), Parque Austral (real
estate) among others.
Andy has a Licenciatura in Economics with honors magna cum laude from the University of San Andrés in Buenos Aires, Argentina and is an OPM (33) from Harvard Business School
Officenet
Staples Argentina is the subsidiary of the American office supply chain Staples in Argentina and Brazil, headquartered in Buenos Aires.Staples Argentina is the largest office supply company in Argentina and one of the top three in Brazil....
(purchased by Staples
Staples
-Places:*Staples, Minnesota, United States*Staples, Texas, United States*Staples Center, an arena in Los Angeles, California*Staples High School, a high school in Connecticut*Staples , a train station in Staples, Minnesota served by Amtrak...
in 2004), a company that revolutionized the industry of distribution (retail) of office supplies in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
raising over 50M USD (most of it after the Nasdaq 2000 crash
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
) from investors including among others Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
, GE Capital
GE Capital
GE Capital is the financial services unit of General Electric, one of five major units. Its various divisions include GE Capital Aviation Services, GE Capital Real Estate, GE Energy Financial Services and GE Money....
, George Soros
George Soros
George Soros is a Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, philosopher, and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Soros Fund Management. Soros supports progressive-liberal causes...
, JP Morgan Chase, Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus, LLC is an American private equity firm with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil and Asia. It has been a private equity investor since 1966...
, KKR, Thomas H. Lee Partners
Thomas H. Lee Partners
Thomas H. Lee Partners is a private equity firm based in Boston, Massachusetts specializing in leveraged buyouts, growth capital, special situations, industry consolidations, and recapitalizations....
, FleetBoston Financial
FleetBoston Financial
FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts–based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were given the Bank of America logo.-History:...
, GP Investimentos and Banco Santander.
A case called "Officenet: how to make entrepreneurship work in Argentina" was written by Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
and taught at over 25 universities including the universities of Stanford, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Columbia
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:-Places:* Columbia , a poetic name for the Americas, and the feminine personification of the United States of America* District of Columbia, the federal district in which the capital of the United States is located...
, Georgetown
Georgetown
-Africa:*Georgetown, Ascension Island, main settlement of the British territory of Ascension Island*George, Western Cape, South Africa, formerly known as Georgetown*Janjanbureh, The Gambia, formerly known as Georgetown-Asia:*Georgetown, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh...
, IE Business School and Commercial University of Paris.
He has participated as guest professor or guest speaker at several universities including Stanford, Harvard, Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, Wharton
Wharton
-Academic institutions:*Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania*Wharton Center for Performing Arts, at Michigan State University-Places:*Wharton, Cheshire, England*Wharton, Cumbria, England*Wharton, New Jersey*Wharton, Ohio*Wharton, Texas...
, and IE in Spain. His book "Passion for Entrepreneurship – From Idea to Crude Reality" was published in Spanish and Portuguese becoming a best seller in several countries in Latin America (including #1 best selling business book in Argentina for five months in a row since publication)
He´s currently Axialent’s Co-founder, Chairman & CEO. Axialent works with Fortune 500 firms to align corporate culture and leadership behaviors with long term strategy and company values in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
When he was 18 year old co-created Initiative Foundation, an NGO focused on promoting leadership values among the Latin American youth.
He's the Chairman of Endeavor Foundation in Argentina, Chairman of the Young Presidents' Organization
Young Presidents' Organization
The Young Presidents’ Organization is a global network of young chief executives. With approximately 18,000 members in more than 100 countries, YPO and its graduate organization, WPO share a founding mission: Better Leaders Through Education and Idea Exchange....
(YPO) in Argentina and also board member of the Steering Committee of the Young Global Leaders of the WEF and member of the Global Latin American Council of the WEF.
His awards include "Global Leader for Tomorrow" in 2000 by the World Economic Forum (WEF), "Latin American Entrepreneur of the Year" in 2001 by Endeavor Foundation, and "World Young Business Achiever" in 2002. Andy was also named in 2008 one of the 100 "Young Global Leaders of the World" by the WEF in Davos, Switzerland.
He participated as investor and/or Board member in multiple start ups including Wanako (online gaming sold to Vivendi), Coffice (coffee service sold to Lavazza), Reed Argentina (trade-fairs), Restorando (online restaurant booking), The Mind Company (services off-shoring), Estrella limited (oilfield services company publicly traded in Toronto as EEN.V), Parque Austral (real
estate) among others.
Andy has a Licenciatura in Economics with honors magna cum laude from the University of San Andrés in Buenos Aires, Argentina and is an OPM (33) from Harvard Business School