Commercial Office Director

Counselor Juan Carlos Yépez Franco

Juan Carlos Yépez Franco, Trade Commissioner of Ecuador  in the Netherlands (Commercial Counsellor) - Ministry for Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries. He has a Degree in International Business Management at the Catholic University of Guayaquil in Ecuador. Juan Carlos has a Master's Degree in International Trade from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Argentina.

He worked for a fruit pulp manufacturer for 8 years, exporting from Ecuador to all continents in the world. Later on, he switched to civil service, working for Ministry for Agriculture at the International Trade Undersecretary and later on joining PRO ECUADOR. He worked at the PRO ECUADOR head office as an Export Advisory Specialist and Product Specialist. In 2012, he was posted to London as a Trade Officer. In 2017, he was promoted to Trade Commissioner or Head of Commercial at the Embassy of Ecuador in London. In April 2023, Juan Carlos was posted as Trade Commissioner of Ecuador in the Netherlands.

His most significant achievements in London were leaving a very strong presence of Ecuador in trade shows like IFE, London Produce Show and Natural & Organic Products Europe. As a result of his work at the Commercial Section of the Embassy of Ecuador in London, he achieved many 'success cases' in the introduction of flowers, fresh fruit, plantain, bananas, cocoa & chocolate, coffee, processed foods, seafood, crafts and textiles. Juan Carlos integrated Ecuador in the UK diplomatic / trade ecosystem. Under his time in the UK, Ecuador became Co-President of the Latin American Trade & Investment Association - LATIA and he held a position as a Board member at the Association for Economic Representatives in London - AERL. Juan Carlos and his team successfully supported international investors in their project to open an operation in Ecuador in aquaculture, agriculture, mining, services and fintech.