The executives redefining real estate in the Andean region: strategic profiles for 2026

The real estate investment market in Latin America reached USD 687.70 billion in 2024, according to IMARC Group. The figure positions the region as a hub for global capital attraction, but also highlights the growing relevance of the executives who design, finance, and execute the projects sustaining that volume. In the Andean region, a group of leaders drives decisions ranging from large-scale residential development to transportation infrastructure that catalyzes new urban corridors.

GRI Institute identifies seven strategic profiles whose activity defines the real estate agenda in Colombia, Peru, and Chile in 2026, with extensions into Mexico within the broader Latin American investment context.

Who are the executives leading Andean real estate in 2026?

Roberto Moreno Mejía: Colombia's residential engine

As president of Amarilo, one of Colombia's largest residential developers, Roberto Moreno Mejía operates at the epicenter of a market showing clear signs of recovery. In the first half of 2025, nationwide home sales increased 4.1% year-over-year, reaching 77,151 units, according to Camacol data reported by Global Property Guide. Housing prices grew 9.5% year-over-year in September 2025, according to CEIC Data.

Amarilo focuses its operations on social interest housing and middle-income housing segments, categories that drive the bulk of Colombian transaction volume. Moreno Mejía's strategy aligns with BBVA Research projections, which anticipate 9.0% growth in new home sales in 2025 and 11.5% in 2026, with the non-social-interest segment as the primary catalyst. Amarilo's leadership in Colombia positions Roberto Moreno Mejía as an essential reference for understanding the residential dynamics of the largest Andean market by sales volume.

Munir Jalil: the macroeconomic perspective from BTG Pactual

Munir Jalil, chief economist for the Andean region at BTG Pactual, brings the analytical dimension that guides institutional investment flows. His reading of interest rate cycles, inflation, and economic growth in Colombia, Peru, and Chile directly influences capital allocation decisions toward real assets.

The capital transition from fixed-income instruments to real estate assets is a structural trend shaping 2026. As Andean central banks adjust their monetary policies, the relative return on real assets gains appeal compared to sovereign bonds. Jalil's vision of capital flows in the Andean region is decisive for institutional investors evaluating the right moment to enter the Latin American real estate market. His position at BTG Pactual, one of the region's most active investment banks, grants him privileged access to transaction data and placement trends.

Tomas Elejalde: transport infrastructure as a real estate lever in Medellín

Tomas Elejalde, general manager of the Medellín Metro, heads one of the infrastructure platforms generating the greatest impact on land values and real estate development in Colombia. Mass transit systems do more than solve urban mobility; they reshape development corridors, raise prices per square meter in areas of influence, and open new residential and commercial submarkets.

Elejalde's management gains strategic relevance in a context where mass transit infrastructure acts as a catalyst for real estate development in intermediate and metropolitan cities. Medellín has established itself as a laboratory for urban innovation in Latin America, and the Metro is the backbone of that transformation. For developers operating in the Aburrá Valley metropolitan area, decisions on system expansion and modernization define the viability of mixed-use and densification projects.

Horacio Gallon: departmental infrastructure enabling new markets

Horacio Gallon, Secretary of Infrastructure for Antioquia, complements Elejalde's urban dimension with a broader territorial vision. Road connectivity, departmental infrastructure projects, and the integration of municipalities into the regional productive system create the conditions for real estate development beyond traditional metropolitan cores.

Departmental infrastructure in Antioquia functions as an enabler of emerging real estate markets by reducing commute times and connecting areas with residential, logistics, and industrial development potential. The public investment decisions managed by Gallon directly affect the risk-return equation evaluated by private developers.

How do Chilean leaders and the broader Latam context influence Andean dynamics?

Jose Miguel Rawlins: private capital from Chile to the region

Jose Miguel Rawlins, CEO of Bicentenario Capital in Chile, represents the private investment and capital management dimension that connects the Chilean market with opportunities across the Andean corridor. Chile has a regulatory framework strengthened by the new Real Estate Co-ownership Law, currently in effect, which regulates condominium administration and reinforces institutional confidence in the residential segment.

Bicentenario Capital operates in a market where financial sophistication and capital market depth enable the structuring of investment vehicles that channel resources into various real estate asset classes. Rawlins' position is particularly relevant at a time when Chilean investors are diversifying their portfolios into other Andean markets.

Jose Luis Mogollon: tourism and real estate development with regional reach

Jose Luis Mogollon, chief development officer at Pueblo Bonito in Mexico, brings the perspective of large-scale tourism and real estate development. Although his operational base is in Mexico, where the Nearshoring Decree drives demand for industrial and logistics assets in key cities, his profile illustrates the growing interconnection among Latin American real estate markets.

The impact of nearshoring extends beyond Mexican borders and affects cross-border investment dynamics in the region. Executives like Mogollon, with experience in hospitality and mixed-use asset development, represent a leadership model that integrates tourism, real estate, and capital management in regional-scale operations.

Ronald Tenorio Franco: commercial operations in emerging markets

Ronald Tenorio Franco, commercial advisor at Digas Srl, completes the profile map with a perspective from commercial operations in Andean markets. His activity reflects the importance of intermediation and commercial advisory in markets where formalization and professionalization of the real estate sector advance at different paces.

A regional market with long-term outlook

The projection of Latin America's real estate market reaching USD 1,278.80 billion by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.40% according to IMARC Group, confirms that the region is undergoing a structural expansion cycle. Within this framework, the Andean region holds a differentiated position due to the combination of urban demographic growth, infrastructure improvements, and evolving regulatory frameworks.

Colombia leads in residential transaction volume, with BBVA Research projections placing new home sales growth at 11.5% for 2026. Chile contributes institutional depth and financial sophistication. Peru, although lacking specific verified statistical data for this period, maintains a relevant position as a developing market with significant absorption potential.

GRI Institute's role in articulating Andean leadership

GRI Institute, as a global club of real estate and infrastructure leaders, facilitates connections among the executives who define the sector's agenda in the Andean region. Through its meetings and exchange platforms, the profiles identified here participate in conversations that transcend their local markets and address topics such as cross-border capital allocation, the integration of infrastructure with real estate development, and the transition toward real assets in a changing rate environment.

The mapping of these seven executives serves as a reference for institutional investors, developers, and fund managers seeking to understand who makes the decisions shaping the future of real estate in Colombia, Peru, and Chile. In a regional market growing at sustained rates and attracting capital from diverse sources, individual leadership remains a first-order differentiating factor.