The Director of the Council's Andean Initiative is . Mr. Mejia-Peñafiel, whose professional portfolio includes extensive experience in the public sector and academia, has served as Economic Vice-Minister of Ecuador, Diplomatic Counselor at the Embassy of Ecuador in Colombia, Director of the Export and Investment Promotion Corporation of Ecuador (CORPEI), Dean of the Universidad del Pacifico in Ecuador, and as a visiting professor at Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona. Preceding his public sector roles was a successful career in the financial private sector serving several financial institutions in Latin America.

Mr. Mejia-Peñafiel holds a Masters in Business Administration from INCAE in Costa Rica, a degree in Agriculture from the Zamorano University in Honduras, a diploma in Leadership from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a diploma in Political Marketing from the Universidad de la Sabana in Colombia. An Ecuadorian national, Mr. Mejia-Peñafiel currently resides in Virginia with his wife and two daughters.