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| CHILE |
| Rodrigo Jordán |
| Educator and mountaineer, President of Vertical, Chairman of the Chilean National Foundation for the Alleviation of Poverty |
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Nominated by Time magazine in 1994 as "one of the 100 young leaders for the new millennium", Dr Rodrigo Jordán, leader of the first successful South American expedition to Mt Everest and K2, has applied the leadership and team-building skills needed to climb the world's most challenging mountains to business and education.
His mountaineering successes gave him the idea of launching in 1992 his own company called Vertical. This organisation, along with the charitable foundation, Fundación Vertical, delivers outdoor education and training services to corporations and individuals, particularly children from inner-city areas.
By involving children in nature conservation, Jordán hopes to rear future generations of environmentally conscious people. "Those who have not had the opportunity of experiencing and enjoying nature as children will not understand the ethical and economic reason for protecting it as adults," he explains. A civil and industrial engineer, Jordán earned a Ph.D. in Organisational Development from Oxford University and is today a lecturer in Leadership and Innovation at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
In 2004, he was awarded the "Order of Gabriela Mistral" for his significant contribution to Chilean education. The following year, he was elected chairman of the Chilean National Foundation for the Alleviation of Poverty. He is currently serving his second term as chairman.
His latest endeavours in exploration include an unsupported 400-kilometre crossing of the Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica, and another successful expedition to the summit of Mount Everest. In 2006, he led a national team of 15 members to the summit of Lhotse, the world's fourth highest mountain.
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