Vallejo Monsalve
Hernando Vallejo-Monsalve was born in Cali, in Colombia's Valle del Cauca Department, on July 6, 1960. His recorded family connections include his mother, Nora Lucia; his father, Carlos Alberto; and his wife, Adriana Martelo. He grew up in Colombia and began his professional formation in civil engineering before developing a career centered on infrastructure, transportation concessions, project management, and engineering consultancy.
Vallejo-Monsalve attended Colegio Calazans in Pereira from 1967 to 1977. He subsequently studied at Calasanz and completed civil engineering studies at Escuela Colombiana de Ingeniería Julio Garavito in Bogotá, graduating in 1984. He pursued postgraduate studies in rock mechanics at Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, earning the Diploma of Imperial College in 1986, and completed a Master of Science in engineering rock mechanics in natural resources at the University of London in 1986. His professional qualifications have also been presented as MSc, DIC, MBA, and DBAe.
Vallejo-Monsalve began his professional career as an engineering aide at López Arango Ingenieros from 1981 to 1983, followed by civil-engineering design work at Ingetec from 1986 to 1987 and service as a principal engineer there from 1987 to 1991. In 1992 he worked as a coordinating engineer at Consultoría Colombiana and as a World Bank consultant through HIMAT/IICA-OEA. He then served as deputy director for hydrology and meteorology at HIMAT from 1993 to 1994. From 1994 to 1996 he was partner and manager of planning and strategy at Ponce de León Associate Engineers, followed by work as project manager at Odinsa from 1996 to 1998. He became general manager of Autopistas del Café in 1998 and held that position until 2006, contributing to the management of the major road-concession corridor linking the Colombian coffee region. From 2006 to 2007 he was president of Ferrocarriles del Norte de Colombia, known as Fenoco. He served as general manager of ASSA Concesiones from 2007 to 2008, manager for special projects at Concay Ingenieros from 2008 to 2009, and president of Grupo Virginia Military Institute from 2009 to 2011. He was general manager of Hacienda El Escobal and related enterprises from 2011 to 2012, and director of civil engineering and mining at Andean Pacific Iron from 2012 onward. He later managed the Perimetral de la Sabana public-private partnership project at Odinsa from 2018 to 2020. From 2020 to 2022 he was chief executive and legal representative of Autopistas Urabá S.A.S., concessionaire of the Autopista al Mar 2 project, where he directed the concession and its corporate, financial, operational, and contractual affairs. Since August 2023 he has worked with China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd. as an infrastructure and public-private-partnership adviser and director of alternative dispute-resolution mechanisms, supporting road, rail, airport, and river infrastructure projects in Colombia and related contractual claims processes.
Vallejo-Monsalve has publicly emphasized the importance of questioning technical answers, examining assumptions, evaluating evidence, and strengthening critical thinking in engineering and education. His professional reflections on infrastructure also stress the relationship between physical risk, contractual design, organizational capacity, and resilient project governance.
Vallejo-Monsalve has been associated with the Sociedad Colombiana de Ingenieros, the Sociedad Colombiana de Geotecnia, the Asociación Colombiana de Ciencias Hidrológicas, the International Society for Rock Mechanics, the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, and the International Association of Engineering Geology. The recorded membership dates for these organizations are in 2000.
Sociedad Colombiana de Ingenieros , Colombia
2000 - 2000
Sociedad Colombiana de Geotecnia , Colombia
2000 - 2000
Asociación Colombiana de Ciencias Hidrológicas , Colombia
2000 - 2000
International Society for Rock Mechanics
2000 - 2000
International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering
2000 - 2000
International Association of Engineering Geology
2000 - 2000
In documented professional descriptions, Vallejo-Monsalve has been characterized as a direct and results-oriented manager who values structured planning, accountability, and firm decision-making.
Quotes from others about the person
During his tenure at Autopistas Urabá, professional descriptions portrayed Vallejo-Monsalve as a direct manager who emphasized measured planning, effective execution, fairness, and the achievement of demanding results.
His documented family relationships include his mother Nora Lucia, his father Carlos Alberto, and his wife Adriana Martelo. Professionally, his career has connected him with Colombian infrastructure concessionaires, engineering firms, mining enterprises, international engineering organizations, the World Bank, and public agencies responsible for transport and infrastructure development.
