Rodrigo Jordan

Rodrigo Jordán Fuchs (born June 30, 1959, Santiago, Chile) is an Industrial Engineer from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Oxford University. In his professional career, he has served as a professor, social entrepreneur, business man, communicator, and mountaineer. In 1992, he became the first South American to reach the Mount Everest peak. Now, he is well known in Chile and abroad for his work in innovation and leadership and social development. He currently acts as a Vice President of The Foundation for Overcoming Poverty.

Jordán attended The Grange School in Santiago, Chile, where he graduated in 1976, after earning the “Best Student of the Class” distinction and the “García Oldini Cup” for the best student in mathematics and physics. In 1983, he graduated as an Industrial Engineer from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where he received the distinction “Roberto Ovalle Aguirre” for the best engineer thesis awarded by the Chilean Engineers Institute. He also graduated from Oxford University, United Kingdom, where he earned his Ph.D. for his thesis on Innovation and Urban Poverty. He has been a professor at the School of Engineering of Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Parallel to his academic formation, Jordán has developed a sports career that began with rugby, which he practiced during his schooling becoming part of the national youth team. During university he began his career as mountain climber, by taking courses and climbing high mountains in Chile, Argentina, Alaska, Peru and Bolivia. From the beginning he stood out in this activity and gained the distinction for the “Best Athlete in Climbing”, awarded by the Sports Journalists Circle of Chile.

Back in Chile after finishing his Ph.D. in the United Kingdom, he was Director of the Directorate of Distance Education (Dirección de Educación a Distancia) of Pontifical Catholic University of Chile –TELEDUC- between 1990 y 1994. He also worked as Executive Secretary of the President’s Advisory Council of the Republic of Chile for Sport and Recreation (Consejo Asesor del Presidente de la República de Chile para el Deporte y la Recreación). In 1994, he created two pillars for what was going to be his further development. Vertical S.A., company focused on the formation of excellence teams, and Vertical Foundation (Fundación Vertical), that develops educational programs and leadership trainee, social skills and organizational development to institutions, companies and marginal social sectors. Between 1998 and 2000 he was Executive Director of the TV Corporation of the Catholic University of Chile. Rodrigo Jordán is often invited to give seminars and courses of leadership and development of high performance teams among different countries, working actively with several corporations, universities and nonprofit organizations to develop their leadership qualities. In June 1994 he joined the National Foundation for Overcoming Poverty (Fundación Nacional para la Superación de la Pobreza) in Chile as director, whose mission is to contribute to overcoming poverty by promoting greater levels of equity and social integration in the country to ensure the sustainable human development of people who live today in poverty and social exclusion. In 2010 he undertook a new challenge, the creation of Vertical Professional Institute (Instituto Profesional Vertical), an educational organization that trains and forms nature professionals through the careers of Tourism in the Nature and Adventure Sports.

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