Andy Freire

Andy Freire is the co-founder and CEO of Axialent. With a background in both business and social entrepreneurship, Freire's career took off after his tenure at Procter & Gamble. He co-founded and expanded Officenet, a company that significantly altered the office-supply distribution landscape in Latin America, growing from one employee to nearly a thousand in just four years. At 18, he launched the Fundacion Iniciativa, which focuses on nurturing leadership among Latin American youth. He has been consistently involved in various entrepreneurial and leadership roles, including being the Chairman of Endeavor Foundation in Argentina and a board member of the Young Presidents Organisation chapter in Argentina.

Freire was recognized as a "Young Global Leader" in 2008 by the World Economic Forum. His leadership and innovative approach have earned him accolades such as the Latin American Entrepreneur of the Year from Endeavor Foundation and he was a finalist for the World Young Business Achiever award in 2002 in the Philippines. In 2015, he served as the Minister of Innovation and Economic Development in Buenos Aires, where he concentrated on areas of modernization, innovation, and technology.

Freire holds a Licensure in Economics magna cum laude from the University of San Andres in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and an OPM from the Harvard Business School. He has been a keynote speaker at prestigious events around the world including the World Economic Forum and the Interamerican Development Bank Annual Conference. He also imparts knowledge on entrepreneurship at leading universities such as Stanford, the University of Chicago, Columbia, and Georgetown. Freire is an author as well; his book "Passion for Entrepreneurship – From Idea to Crude Reality" became a bestseller in several Latin American countries. Furthermore, he has shared his expertise on CNN multiple times as an "expert entrepreneur." His influential work continues to draw support from major financial institutions globally.