Wenceslao Casares
Encyclopedia
Wences Casares is a technology entrepreneur, based in Palo Alto, California
, with global business experience specializing in technology and financial ventures.
He is co-CEO of Lemon, Inc and a founding partner of MECK Ltd., a private investment firm based in Santiago, Chile
.
Originally from Patagonia
, Argentina
, Casares launched that country's first Internet Service Provider, Internet Argentina S.A. in 1994, a company he would go on to sell in order to found the Argentine Online Brokerage Patagon in 1997. With Casares serving as Chairman and CEO, Patagon established itself as Latin America
's first comprehensive Internet financial services portal and expanded its online banking services to the United States
, Spain
, and Germany
. Patagon was acquired by the Spanish bank, Grupo Santander|Banco Santander for $750 million in 2000.
Casares founded Wanako Games, a videogame developer headquartered in New York City with development based out of Santiago, Chile. Wanako Games developed the award winning game Assault Heroes honored as "Game of the Year" for Microsoft Xbox Live in 2006, and was acquired by Activision
.
In 2002 Casares along with his partners in MECK, Ltd. founded Banco Lemon, a retail bank for the underbanked in Brazil
. Banco do Brasil
, Brazil's largest bank, acquired Banco Lemon in June 2009.
Casares is an elected member of the World Economic Forum's “Young Global Leaders of” Class of 2011 and regularly attends the World Economic Forum
Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. He is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization
and was selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur by Endeavor
, an organization of which he later became a board member. As part of his non-business activities, Casares served on the board of the Viva Trust and founded the Fundación Síntesis. Casares studied business administration for three years at the University of San Andrés
, in Buenos Aires
, and completed the Owner/President Management program at Harvard University
.
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
, with global business experience specializing in technology and financial ventures.
He is co-CEO of Lemon, Inc and a founding partner of MECK Ltd., a private investment firm based in Santiago, Chile
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
.
Originally from Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Casares launched that country's first Internet Service Provider, Internet Argentina S.A. in 1994, a company he would go on to sell in order to found the Argentine Online Brokerage Patagon in 1997. With Casares serving as Chairman and CEO, Patagon established itself as 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...
's first comprehensive Internet financial services portal and expanded its online banking services to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Patagon was acquired by the Spanish bank, Grupo Santander|Banco Santander for $750 million in 2000.
Casares founded Wanako Games, a videogame developer headquartered in New York City with development based out of Santiago, Chile. Wanako Games developed the award winning game Assault Heroes honored as "Game of the Year" for Microsoft Xbox Live in 2006, and was acquired by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
.
In 2002 Casares along with his partners in MECK, Ltd. founded Banco Lemon, a retail bank for the underbanked in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Banco do Brasil
Banco do Brasil
Banco do Brasil S.A. is the largest Brazilian and Latin American bank by assets, and the third by market value. The bank, headquartered in Brasília, was founded in 1808 and is the oldest active bank in Brazil — and one of the oldest financial institutions in the world.Banco do Brasil is controlled...
, Brazil's largest bank, acquired Banco Lemon in June 2009.
Casares is an elected member of the World Economic Forum's “Young Global Leaders of” Class of 2011 and regularly attends the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. He is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization
Young Presidents' Organization
The Young Presidents’ Organization is a global network of young chief executives. With approximately 18,000 members in more than 100 countries, YPO and its graduate organization, WPO share a founding mission: Better Leaders Through Education and Idea Exchange....
and was selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur by Endeavor
Endeavor (non-profit)
Endeavor is a non-profit organization that pioneered the concept of High-Impact Entrepreneurship in emerging markets. Its mission is to “lead the global movement to catalyze long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best High-Impact Entrepreneurs around the...
, an organization of which he later became a board member. As part of his non-business activities, Casares served on the board of the Viva Trust and founded the Fundación Síntesis. Casares studied business administration for three years at the University of San Andrés
University of San Andrés
The University of San Andrés is an Argentine university located in the town of Victoria, Buenos Aires on the shores of the Rio de la Plata, in the metropolitan area of Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is a small private institution, with approximately 1031 undergraduate students and 500...
, in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, and completed the Owner/President Management program at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
External links
- "The Difference between $1 Billion-Plus in Exits and 'Success'", by Sarah LacySarah LacySarah Ruth Lacy is an American technology journalist and author.She co-hosts web video show Yahoo! Tech Ticker and is a columnist at BusinessWeek...
TechcrunchTechCrunchTechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of startup companies, products, and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, and was first published on June 11, 2005.... - "THE SILICON VALLEY 100", Business InsiderBusiness InsiderBusiness Insider is a U.S. business/entertainment news website launched in February 2009. Founded by DoubleClick Founder and former C.E.O. Kevin P. Ryan it is the overarching brand beneath which fall the Silicon Alley Insider and Clusterstock verticals...
- "En la Mente de Casares, por Alberto Fuguet", Revista Que Pasa
- "La vida después de Patagon, Revista Capital-Chile", Revista Capital