Wences Casares

Wences Casares is founder and co-CEO of Bling Nation, as well as a founding partner of private investment firm, MECK, Ltd. Bling Nation's mobile technology platform works to connect users' online and offline customer experiences. Businesses can build loyalty programs, while consumers gain seamless integration of smooth checkout experiences integrated with their social media presences.

Casares previously founded Lemon Bank, a Brazilian retail bank for the poor, in 2002. He is also the founder of Wanako Games, a US-based developer of console videogames that leverages the creativity of Latin American talent. Wanako Games was sold to Vivendi Universal. In 1997 Casares founded Patagon, an Argentinean online brokerage. Patagon was sold to Spanish bank Santander. In 1994 Casares launched Internet Argentina S.A., the first Internet service provider in the country. He then sold that company, in order to establish Patagon.

At age 17 he spent a year in Washington, PA as a member of the Rotary International Exchange program. He then attended the University of San Andres, Argentina's top business school. Casares was selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur, and has been an elected member of the World Economic Forum's Global Leaders for Tomorrow since 2001.

As part of his philanthropic and not-for-profit activities, Casres servers on the board of the Viva Trust, and has established the Fundacion Sintesis, with the goal of inspiring the next generation of social and political leaders in Latin America.