Laborde, age 40, brings more than 15 years of business experience in positions of senior management with companies throughout North and South America to his volunteer assignment with the USOC. Laborde (lah-bore-dah) also speaks multiple languages and is fluent in English, Spanish and German.

“It is quite an honor to be involved with such an outstanding group of athletes and coaches, as well as the very experienced USOC Staff that make up the United States Team participating in the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro,” said Laborde. “I am particularly excited about being a part of this great sports celebration in Brazil, a country known for its hospitality and passion for sports, and of all places in Rio, a beautiful city that really knows how to celebrate. This should be an unforgettable experience for all participants.”

Laborde is President and Co-Owner of Synergia Corp, a Chicago-based company dedicated to the distribution of beverages serving the convenience store, foodservice and hospitality segments in the Midwestern United States.

He began his professional career in 1991 with Bayer A.G., the global healthcare and science conglomerate, in Bogota, Colombia. Laborde later joined the Monsanto Company, a global provider of agricultural products, where he held a number of marketing and commercial management positions with the chemical, agrochemical and biotech business units in the Andean Region of Latin America. In 1999, he joined Monsanto’s Nutrasweet-Kelco Division in Chicago as Director of Sales for Latin America and Global Business Manager for the company’s specialty protein business.

In 2001, Laborde joined Unilever Best Foods’ Loders Croklaan Division as Vice President of Sales for North America. While at Loders, Laborde was heavily involved in the food and renewable fuel industries before leaving in January 2007 to focus on managing his own company.

Born in Chicago, Laborde split his childhood between Colombia, the U.S. and Germany. He received his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Los Andes University in Bogota, Colombia, an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and a master’s in management from INALDE at La Sabana University in Bogota.

Laborde is an avid cyclist who recently completed the Ride the Rockies tour of Colorado.

Laborde will be assisted by Jim McCarthy, who was Chef de Mission of the U.S. Team at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy and is a former member of the USOC Board of Directors; and Steve Roush, the USOC Chief of Sport Performance.

For more information, contact the USOC Communications Division at 719-866-4529.