Carlos Rodríguez-Pastor

Carlos Rodríguez-Pastor Persivale was educated in the United States before returning to Peru. He acquired Interbank in 1994, taking control of the distressed financial institution for less than its book value. Over the following three decades he transformed Interbank into a leading Peruvian bank and expanded through Intercorp into an extraordinary range of consumer-facing businesses: supermarkets (Plaza Vea, Vivanda), pharmacy chains (Inkafarma), universities, insurance, real estate, and healthcare. Intercorp became the largest employer in Peru and the controlling entity behind one of Latin America's most successful conglomerates. Rodríguez-Pastor's approach combines aggressive retail and financial expansion with a mission-oriented view of using business to develop Peru's middle class — providing access to credit, consumer goods, education, and healthcare to millions of Peruvians who previously lacked them. His education businesses have enrolled hundreds of thousands of students at accessible price points. He has been widely recognised as Peru's most influential business figure and as an example of locally-rooted private sector development in emerging markets.