The School of Business Administration Hoffman Family Business Lecture Series will host UVM alumnus Carlos Enrique Cavelier, Wednesday, April 2. The lecture, free and open to the public, begins at 11:45 a.m. in Billings Library.
 
Cavelier is the president of Alquería Dairy, the number one private processor of liquid milk in Colombia and the major processor of the Andean Group in ultra-high-temperature milk production.

In addition to graduating from UVM, Cavelier earned a master’s in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and returned to Colombia to work as assistant professor at the Universidad de los Andes, and was elected a member of the city council of Cajicá, state senator and congressman for Cundinamarca. He was later appointed senior adviser to the minister of agriculture for the National Rehabilitation Plan and secretary general of the Ministry of Justice.

Cavelier has led various business initiatives, especially focused around strengthening the productivity of small dairy farmers in a traditionally former guerrilla area, involving nearly 1,500 families. In 2007 he joined the board of directors of the Universidad de los Andes and currently serves on its executive committee. He also served as senior adviser for education for the governor of the state of Cundinamarca. Carlos also serves as president of the board of the Bogotá Food Bank, vice-president of the board of the Colombian Association of Food Banks, and board member of the Global Food Banking Network, the Colombian Association of Entrepreneurs for Education, the Colombian Competitiveness Council and the Barraquer Ophthalmological Clinic.

“We are thrilled to welcome Carlos as this spring’s Hoffman Family Business Lecture Speaker,” said Dean Sanjay Sharma. “We believe Carlos’ fascinating background and global work experience will intrigue and inspire our students.”

Aside from his speech, Cavelier’s visit includes breakfast with a select group of honors students and a meeting with Tom Sullivan, UVM president.