Ricardo Vazquez

Ricardo Vazquez Fernandez is a Latin America–focused private equity investor based in Bogotá, Colombia. He holds a Master in International Affairs from Columbia University (SIPA). Earlier in his career he worked as an Analyst at Accenture (late 1990s), a Consultant at Commerce One, an Associate in the Emerging Markets group at Credit Suisse (roughly 2004–2006), and later as a Senior Investment Professional at Fintech Advisory, building expertise across private equity, special situations, and distressed-debt investing in the region.

From approximately 2011 to 2022 he was a Partner at Victoria Capital Partners, the independent South American private equity firm. VCP traces its roots to 2007 as DLJ South American Partners and was rebranded "Victoria Capital Partners" in 2011; since inception the platform has invested in more than 20 companies and deployed on the order of USD 1.5 billion across its regional portfolio, targeting control, joint-control, and significant-minority stakes. Vazquez led the firm's Colombia activity from Bogotá.

His signature deal was VCP's 2017 growth-capital investment and control acquisition of Oncólogos del Occidente (ODO), Colombia's largest privately held comprehensive cancer-treatment provider, where he served as Executive Chairman from June 2017 until January 2022. He subsequently was Head of Corporate Development and M&A at Auna (the pan-regional Latin American healthcare group, 2021–2022). Since September 2022 he has been a Managing Director at Patria Investments, the NASDAQ-listed Latin American alternative-asset manager, and since 2024 has also served as a Board Member at Zentria, a Colombian healthcare-services platform. He has also been associated with LEMCO Grupo Empresarial.

• Invests through institutional private-equity funds — growth capital and control/buyout, not seed or angel rounds. (Note: the "Angel Investors / Seed Round" label in the original stub is inconsistent with all verified sources.)
• Targets established, market-leading businesses in Latin America with strong founders/management, durable cash flows, and clear regional-consolidation or professionalization upside.
• Deep specialization in healthcare, especially oncology and healthcare services in the Andean region, plus consumer and services; VCP's broader mandate spans telecom, media, agriculture and consumer.
• Emphasizes high due-diligence standards, transparency, and strong local presence — VCP's stated approach is "a strong local presence in the region [and] high standards of due diligence and transparency."
• Adds value through governance and board-building: he is known for professionalizing boards, guiding companies through transitions, and driving corporate development / M&A (e.g., his ODO chairmanship and Auna M&A role).
• On the ODO deal he framed the thesis around partnership with founders: *"We are very excited about our investment in Oncólogos del Occidente and to be partnering with such highly recognized and accomplished physicians that founded the company 25 years ago."*