Interview with Gonzalo Restrepo, interviewed by Andrea Lluch, Bogotá, Colombia

In this interview, Gonzalo Restrepo, Former President and CEO of Almacenes Éxito, describes his unique and varied career, beginning with a discussion of his family's deep roots in Colombia's business and entrepreneurial community. Early on Restrepo makes clear one central theme that has characterized his career: his emphasis on creating positive work environments and the importance of successfully and efficiently managing teams. "For me," he explained, "the human side of things has always been very important. It is commonly said that business combines land, capital, and labor in an efficient way to produce a result and a sound return for shareholders. I think that, of all those factors, the one referred to as labor, the one that has to do with people is by far the most important one." In this capacity, he describes how he was able to turn around loss-making companies and some of the strategies he used to energize teams and improve management. Another central pillar of Restrepo's career is his international outlook. He explains how his experiences working and negotiation with businesses in Cuba, Russia, France, and the United States during the 1980s gave him an appreciation for the