Ricardo Salgado is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Loadsmart, a digital freight broker he launched in 2014 and grew into a unicorn. Ricardo identified an opportunity to digitize the antiquated logistics industry, creating a network that is now relied on by 35% of Fortune 100 companies. With experience scaling a tech start-up from scratch, Ricardo has a deep appreciation for the major milestones and challenges faced by high growth technology organizations including organizational design, go-to-market strategy, product development, fundraising, and enterprise sales. He was an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in 2020 and 2021. Under his leadership, Loadsmart was named Digital Freight Broker of the Year by Frost and Sullivan and one of CB Innovators’ Top AI Startups, among other awards. Previously, Ricardo was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, where he spent 14 years investing across New York, London and São Paulo. Ricardo helped the Private Credit Investment team in London scale from $200mm to $1.5bn and founded the firm’s Capital Structure Investing Group in Latin America. Ricardo developed expertise across various sectors globally, including Transportation, Gaming, Retail, Energy, Industrial, and Technology. Ricardo grew up mostly in Bogota, Colombia, in a low income family. Improbably, Ricardo navigated to the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he completed a Bachelor’s of Science in Industrial Engineering. A recipient of scholarships himself, he is committed to giving back, and serves as a Board Trustee of the Georgia Tech Foundation. He has also created the Salgado Family Empowerment Scholarship fund.