Commercieel Office Director
Counselor Juan Carlos Yépez Franco
Juan Carlos Yépez Franco, Ecuadorian Commissioner for Trade and Investment in the Netherlands (Commercial Counselor) - Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries. He holds an Engineering Degree in International Business Management from the Catholic University of Guayaquil in Ecuador. In addition, Juan Carlos holds a Master's Degree in International Trade from the National University of Córdoba in Argentina.
He worked for a fruit puree factory for 8 years, exporting from Ecuador to all continents of the world. Later, he moved into public service, working for the Ministry of Agriculture in the Undersecretariat of Marketing and then joined PRO ECUADOR. He worked at PRO ECUADOR's head office as an Export Advisory Specialist and Sector Specialist. In 2012, he was appointed Commercial Assistant at the Ecuadorian Trade Office in London. In 2017, Juan Carlos was promoted to Commercial Counselor or Head of the Commercial Office at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. In April 2023, Juan Carlos was appointed as Ecuador's Commercial Counselor in the Netherlands.
His most significant achievements in London were to leave a very strong presence of Ecuador at trade fairs such as IFE, London Produce Show and Natural & Organic Products Europe. As a result of his work in the Commercial Section of the Embassy of Ecuador in London, he managed to create many 'success stories' in the introduction of flowers, fresh fruits, plantains, bananas, cocoa & chocolate, coffee, processed foods, seafood, handicrafts and textiles. Juan Carlos integrated Ecuador into the UK's diplomatic/trade ecosystem. During his stay in the UK, Ecuador became Co-President of the Latin American Trade and Investment Association - LATIA and held a position as a Board member at the Association of Economic Representatives in London - AERL. Juan Carlos and his team successfully supported international investors in their investment projects in Ecuador in the aquaculture, agriculture, mining, services and fintech sectors.
