Diego Ontaneda Benavides
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Latin American Leadership Academy
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Co-Founded with David Baptista
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Funded with support from the Jerome L. Greene Foundation
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2018 Global Fellow
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Latin American Leadership Academy
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Co-Founded with David Baptista
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Funded with support from the Jerome L. Greene Foundation
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2018 Global Fellow
bold idea
Promote sustainable economic development and strengthen democratic governance in Latin America by training and connecting a new generation of principled and socially innovative leaders.
organization overview
Latin American Leadership Academy (LALA) is building a new generation of leaders to drive sustainable development and strengthen democratic governance across Latin America and the Caribbean. LALA identifies high-potential, purpose-driven young people—ages 14 to 20, many from historically marginalized communities—and equips them with skills in leadership, entrepreneurship, social innovation, critical thinking, and socio-emotional intelligence.
These emerging leaders, known as LALíderes, gain access to a lifelong ecosystem of support: mentors, universities, scholarships, dream jobs, venture funding, and a world of curated opportunities to accelerate their growth.
By cultivating a diverse and collaborative community of changemakers and partner institutions, LALA is laying the foundation for a more inclusive and prosperous future for the region.
Personal Bio
Diego Ontaneda Benavides is Co-Founder and President of Latin American Leadership Academy (LALA), a social enterprise dedicated to promoting sustainable economic development and strengthening democratic governance in Latin America by developing a new generation of leaders. Diego’s journey took him from McKinsey & Company in San Francisco to African Leadership Academy (ALA) in Johannesburg, where he saw firsthand the vast potential in empowering the region’s most promising youth to become the next generation of changemakers.
Inspired by this experience, Diego co-founded LALA with David Baptista in 2018. Since then, LALA has reached thousands of young leaders from 20+ countries, and started a movement of purpose-driven leaders. LALA’s young leaders have already launched hundreds of social impact ventures impacting hundreds of thousands in their communities.
Diego graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in Political Economy from Williams College and holds an MBA from Stanford. In 2025, he was recognized as a WEF Young Global Leader. Diego is originally from Lima, Peru.
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