German Toro Ghio 147,999

Germán José Manuel Toro Ghio, son of Germán Alfonso and Jenny Isabel Cristina, became a citizen of planet Earth in the cold dawn of Sunday, May 11, 1958, in Santiago, capital of southern Chile. In December 1977 he finished his undergraduate studies in Humanities at the emblematic Liceo de Aplicación of that city.

Its development:

Inspired by the Bauhaus movement, after having had the opportunity to attend the traveling exhibition of this architectural movement at the Museum of Fine Arts in his hometown during the winter of 1977, he decided to emigrate to Sweden to fulfill his dream of studying photography in that Scandinavian country.

In 1982 he obtained his degree in Documentary Photography (GFU) at Kursenverksamhet vid Stockholmsuniversitet, known as the -old- school of photography in the city of Stockholm, founded by the legendary photographer Christer Strömholm.

In 1983, he starts working as a photography teacher at Arbetar Bildnings Förbundet (ABF) in Stockholm. In 1984, he joined the education and culture department of the ABF as a study secretary with the premise of having enough independence and time to further develop his career as a documentary photographer.

In 1984, as a freelance photographer, he undertook one of the most critical projects of his life. Together with another colleague, he infiltrated the counterrevolutionary guerrilla -Contras- in the jungle of the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua bordering Honduras during the Sandinista revolution. Years later he publishes the diary of the adventure in his story: "Navidad Roja" (Red Christmas) in three scales.

In a meeting with Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaragua's Minister of Culture, in 1984, the idea arose of strengthening the ministry's photography department, which required investment in professional facilities beyond the reach of the institution's precarious budget. With the purpose of making the project a reality, a fundraising campaign was launched, which was made possible with the sponsorship of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

As a result of this task, Germán forged a lifelong friendship with this Trappist monk and priest Ernesto Cardenal, who, with a profoundly humanistic vision, knew how to enter first of all into the suffering mind of that wonderful blonde, in his Plea for Marilyn Monroe, read by millions of people around the world in every possible language.

Analysis of the environment:

Undoubtedly, one of Germán's most powerful qualities is related to the analysis of the current situation, based on a deep study of the facts, with absolute objectivity and integrity, which leads to very accurate predictions.

Regarding public administration:

From 1990 to 1993, he served as first advisor in the areas of public administration of culture to Gladys Ramirez de Espinosa, Minister of Culture of Nicaragua, under the auspices of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

From 1993 to 1997, he worked for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). During this time, he was involved in the drafting of the document Supporting the Capacity Building Process in Central America: For Democratic Governance in Central America (peace process, Esquipulas Agreement).

In 1997, he joined the academic group of the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) in Madrid, Spain, where he was responsible for the composition of the Nicaraguan chapter of the Ibero-American Guide of Public Administrations of Culture for the Summit of Heads of State.

In 1999, on a special mission for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Bogota, Colombia, he developed a project document aimed at contributing to the peace process between the government and civil society based on the axes of Culture, Development, Human Rights, Education, Gender, Governance and Poverty through a communication and public relations campaign.

Its corporate drive:

In August 2000, he became public relations and communications manager for the Spanish company Unión Fenosa in its subsidiaries in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

During the same period, he also worked as an independent consultant for the Agency for International Development (AID) of the United States of America in the preparation of the document Management and Communication Strategy with stakeholders (with emphasis on increasing the payment of the electricity bill) for the electricity industry in the Dominican Republic.

In the second half of 2004, he assumed the Corporate Vice-Presidency of Communication of AES Dominicana until January 2018. During his 14 years of uninterrupted work in the company, she has been responsible for the institutional image change that has led AES Dominicana to become one of the most respected companies in the region. He is responsible for the creation of the company's corporate social responsibility foundation. The AES Dominicana Foundation was one of the first international organizations to help the victims of the 2010 earthquake in the Republic of Haiti with aid in medicines, food and reestablishment of the electrical system, actions that led it to be the second finalist of the Platts Corporate Social Responsibility awards that year.

His knowledge of the electrical industry:

For two decades, Germán has traveled through the genesis of the industry in all its areas, thus creating a habit of life that makes him feel the sector with passion... He has participated in countless symposiums, emphasizing compliance with the payment of the electric bill, which has contributed after much effort in the improvement of its regulatory framework.

As for Natural Gas:

Germán's participation in the Natural Gas promotion strategy has been crucial.. Starting with the learning of the product, its transportation methods, regasification characteristics, types of markets where gas is commercialized with special emphasis on the differentiation of the NYMEX price in relation to the European market; with all this information, contents for press articles were elaborated and periodically disseminated in the media, causing a revolution in the electricity industry of the Dominican Republic, which until then only depended on oil and coal for its electricity production.

As far as advertising is concerned:

Germán has created, developed and produced more than 70 advertising campaigns aimed at the electricity sector and the promotion of Natural Gas.

Personally:

He has participated in the editions of a dozen books, including his participation in the promotion of the publication of the book by Nicaraguan poet Carlos Martínez Rivas, La insurrección Solitaria seguida de Varia, under the Vuelta and Vuelta Visor publishing houses, with the support and personal sponsorship of the poet Octavio Paz. He is the author of the books Nicaragua Año 5.º and The owners of "No Man's Land" and other stories.

 Regarding education:

He has studies in Project Development and Evaluation at the American University of Managua (UAM), Nicaragua, and the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico. He also participated in the Advanced Marketing Program at Intras - Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia. He has also studied Theory and Tools of Negotiation at Harvard University (CMI), The Harvard Faculty Club, Cambridge, USA.

Honors:

Member of the Energy Central Network

Swedish Writers' Association, for his publication of the photography book "Nicaragua Year 5", with a mention in the Swedish Publications Yearbook of Lund University (1985).

Executive Secretary of the Pro Tempore Secretariat of the VIII Forum of Ministers of Culture and those responsible for Cultural Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean (1995-1996).