For the Mexican distance runner with the same name see Mauricio González (athlete)

Mauricio González (athlete)

Mauricio González is a retired long-distance runner from Mexico. He won the gold medal in the men's 5000 metres event at the 1986 Central American and Caribbean Games, and competed for his native country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.Mexican record holder 5000m and 10000m...

Mauricio González Sfeir (born 1956) is a petroleum company executive and president of the Bolivian professional football team La Paz F.C.

La Paz F.C.

La Paz Fútbol Club, also known as La Paz F.C., is a professional football team from La Paz, currently playing in the Bolivian First Division Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano. Formerly known as Atlético González, the team gained promotion to the First Division in 2003 .-History:La Paz F.C...

. Mr. Gonzalez served as president of YPFB

YPFB

Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos is the state-owned petrol company of Bolivia.-History:YPFB was created in 1936 as a state-owned and run petrol company. During the first presidency of Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, capitalized oil companies were formed from YPFB properties under the...

 (Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos) and Secretary of Energy of Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

 in the mid 1990s, contributing to the success of the Bolivia-Brazil natural gas pipeline. He is a co-author of the Baker Institute's "Americas Project."
http://www.bakerinstitute.org/Pubs/study_5.pdf

Mauricio Gonzalez studied economics at DePaul University

DePaul University

DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...

 and Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 and finance & management at Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...

. Furthermore, he pursued post-graduate studies at Oxford University, while on a Marshall Scholarship

Marshall Scholarship

The Marshall Scholarship, a postgraduate scholarships available to Americans, was created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom when the Marshall Aid Commemoration Act was passed in 1953. The scholarships serve as a living gift to the United States of America in recognition of the post-World War...

. During college, he was a summer intern at the Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...

. After completing his university education and prior to returning to Bolivia, Mr. Gonzalez worked as an international management consultant

Management consulting

Management consulting indicates both the industry and practice of helping organizations improve their performance primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and development of plans for improvement....

 in the London office of The Boston Consulting Group

Boston Consulting Group

The Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm with offices in 42 countries. It is recognized as one of the most prestigious management consulting firms in the world. It is one of only three companies to appear in the top 15 of Fortunes "Best Companies to Work For" report for...

.

Mr. Gonzalez has had a life-long involvement with sport. He represented Bolivia in Junior Davis Cup tennis competition at the South American level (once defeating Ricardo Ycaza

Ricardo Ycaza

Ricardo Ycaza is an Ecuadorean tennis player who was a world top-ten junior, a Davis Cup stalwart, and a world top-fifty touring professional.His most noteworthy achievement was winning the 1976 US Open Junior tournament...

 in doubles), taught tennis at the Welby Van Horn

Welby Van Horn

Welby Van Horn is a retired American professional tennis player who later went on to have a career as a major tennis coach.As a 19-year-old player, Van Horn reached the finals of the 1939 U.S. Nationals only to lose to Bobby Riggs in just 56 minutes...

 Tennis Camp, and played on the tennis teams of DePaul University (under legendary coach George Lott

George Lott

George Martin Lott was an American tennis player and tennis coach who was born in Springfield, Illinois, United States. Lott is mostly remembered as being one of the greatest doubles players of all time. He won the U.S. title five times with three different partners: John Hennessey in 1928; John...

) and Oxford University. He is a past president of The Strongest

The Strongest

The Strongest is a Bolivian football club based in La Paz founded on April 8, 1908. Their team colours are yellow and black. Although they have a home ground, the Rafael Mendoza Castellón , they play most of their games at the Estadio Hernando Siles, Bolivia's national ground...

 football club, a past president of the La Paz Football Association and a past vice-president of the Bolivian Football Federation (Federación Boliviana de Fútbol

Federación Boliviana de Fútbol

The Bolivian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Bolivia. It was founded in 1925, making it the 8th oldest South American federation...

).

Mr. Gonzalez is a charismatic promoter of Bolivian football (soccer), including junior and women's divisions. He has also been a forceful spokesman and advocate for the proposition that the Bolivian national team and Bolivian club teams should be allowed to play official international matches—including World Cup qualifying games—in the high altitude cities of La Paz, Oruro, and Potosi. He is a leading member of an ad hoc committee of prominent Bolivians formed to design a strategy to campaign against the FIFA altitude ban.

Media Coverage

• Numerous articles regarding Mr. Gonzalez's advocacy in defense of Bolivian high-altitude football/soccer http://futboldealtura.blogspot.com/2007_12_01_archive.html