Alejandro Plaz
Encyclopedia
Alejandro Plaz Castillo is a founder of the Venezuela
n volunteer civil association, Súmate
.
Plaz is a Venezuelan electrical engineer and management consultant who holds three Master’s degrees (two from Stanford University
), and was a Senior partner for McKinsey & Company
in Latin America
, before taking a leave of absence to co-found Súmate with María Corina Machado
.
. He graduated in 1977 with a degree in electrical engineering from the Universidad Simón Bolívar
in Caracas. After working for two years, he left for the United States
. He stayed there for four years, during which he graduated with a master's degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech
, a master's degree from Stanford University
in industrial engineering
, and a second master's degree from Stanford in operations research
. He returned to Venezuela at the age of 26, where he took a job with the consulting firm McKinsey & Company
, where he worked for 23 years.
After working for 20 years with McKinsey, Plaz was offered a one-year sabbatical. He used this time to co-found Súmate
, a Venezuelan civil organization that monitors elections. Not long after, he started devoting the majority of his time to it.
Plaz and other members of Súmate were charged with treason and conspiracy for receiving a $31,000 grant from the National Endowment for Democracy
which, according to the United States Department of State
, was "aimed at strengthening citizen participation in the democratic, constitutional processes of their country". The trial was suspended in February 2006 because of due process violations by the trial judge, and has been postponed several times.
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n volunteer civil association, Súmate
Súmate
Súmate is a Venezuelan volunteer civil association founded in 2002 by María Corina Machado and Alejandro Plaz. Súmate describes itself as a vote-monitoring group; it has also been described as an election-monitoring group....
.
Plaz is a Venezuelan electrical engineer and management consultant who holds three Master’s degrees (two from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
), and was a Senior partner for McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company, Inc. is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management. McKinsey serves as an adviser to many businesses, governments, and institutions...
in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, before taking a leave of absence to co-found Súmate with María Corina Machado
María Corina Machado
María Corina Machado Parisca is a founder, former vice president, and former president of the Venezuelan volunteer civil organization Súmate, along with Alejandro Plaz....
.
Life and education
Plaz was born on December 2, 1955, in Caracas, Venezuela. He attended the Colegio de San Agustín, and graduated from high school at the Colegio La Salle La ColinaColegio La Salle La Colina
Colegio La Salle La Colina is a school located in Caracas, Venezuela, part of the Lasallian educational institutions and run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools...
. He graduated in 1977 with a degree in electrical engineering from the Universidad Simón Bolívar
Universidad Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar University or USB, is a public institution located in Miranda State, Venezuela with scientific and technological orientation....
in Caracas. After working for two years, he left for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He stayed there for four years, during which he graduated with a master's degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
, a master's degree from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in industrial engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
, and a second master's degree from Stanford in operations research
Operations research
Operations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...
. He returned to Venezuela at the age of 26, where he took a job with the consulting firm McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company, Inc. is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management. McKinsey serves as an adviser to many businesses, governments, and institutions...
, where he worked for 23 years.
After working for 20 years with McKinsey, Plaz was offered a one-year sabbatical. He used this time to co-found Súmate
Súmate
Súmate is a Venezuelan volunteer civil association founded in 2002 by María Corina Machado and Alejandro Plaz. Súmate describes itself as a vote-monitoring group; it has also been described as an election-monitoring group....
, a Venezuelan civil organization that monitors elections. Not long after, he started devoting the majority of his time to it.
Work with Súmate
Plaz states that Súmate is not a political organization, but rather a group of concerned professionals such as engineers and others with technical careers who want to see concrete results and effective democracy.Plaz and other members of Súmate were charged with treason and conspiracy for receiving a $31,000 grant from the National Endowment for Democracy
National Endowment for Democracy
The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, is a U.S. non-profit organization that was founded in 1983 to promote US-friendly democracy by providing cash grants funded primarily through an annual allocation from the U.S. Congress...
which, according to the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, was "aimed at strengthening citizen participation in the democratic, constitutional processes of their country". The trial was suspended in February 2006 because of due process violations by the trial judge, and has been postponed several times.