Invalsa was founded in 2004 by the Valverde brothers, Nelson & Jorge. They were both born and raised in La Paz, Bolivia, and attended universities in the United States (Dartmouth, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania). They started their first commercial enterprise when they were 16 and 10 years old: a retail aquarium and fish store, run out of their house in La Paz. Since then, they have worked on Wall Street, State Street and Main Street, for large, international corporations, and now, for a business that they started themselves.

Jorge is Invalsa's EVP and Chief Coffee Buyer, and manages our offices in Bolivia.  He was the Coordinator of the Cup of Excellence® (COE) Bolivia program from 2007 to 2009, the last three years that the Bolivia COE was held. He lives in La Paz with his wife, Nasha, and sons, Nicolas and Diego.

Rounding out our Bolivian management team is Jaime, our Logistics Manager; Jorge Rojas, our Chief Agronomist and Cacao Manager, Mery, our Coffee Lab Manager and Chief Cupper; Erik, our Infrastructure Manager; Roxana, our Chief Accountant; and Aida, our Roastmaster and manager of our mini-roastery and coffee shop in La Paz.

Jaime started working with the Valverde brothers 20 years ago as a truck driver, and has progressed since then to our management team. Aida is Jaime's daughter, and Erik is his nephew. Mery was an International Judge in the Bolivia Cup of Excellence competitions in 2005, 2007, and 2008, and was also an International Judge in El Salvador Cup of Excellence in 2007.

Jorge Rojas received his degree in agronomic engineering from the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz, and previously worked with the Rainforest Alliance in Boliva. He joined Invalsa in 2012 to manage our first-in-country specialty cacao processing center and nursery: the Alto Beni Cacao Company.

In the US, Nelson is the President & CEO of Invalsa, and also the Roastmaster for our sister roasting company, Cafe Valverde Coffee Roasters. He has served as an International Judge at Cup Of Excellence competitions in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Rwanda, and Burundi. Eleni, Nelson's wife, manages Human Resources and Special Projects. Cristina, Nelson's oldest daughter, joined the company in 2012 as Director of Strategy and Marketing. She studied international development and agribusiness at Harvard and at Tufts University, and has worked in microfinance institutions and on agricultural development projects with the World Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Elise joined our team in 2012 and handles customer service and shipping from West Newbury, MA.

© 2013 Industrias Valverde S.A.