Ana Maria Giraldo

Ana María Giraldo Gómez is a Colombian elite athlete, lecturer, organizational development consultant and mountaineer, recognized for being one of only three women in her country to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Born in Manizales, Caldas, her life is a testimony of the discipline and mental strength acquired through competitive sport, transforming her experience at altitude into a powerful tool for motivation and leadership.

Although she is an Industrial Engineer from the National University of Colombia and a specialist in Change Management, her true vocation has developed in the sports field. From a young age she stood out as a high performance swimmer, becoming Panamerican Champion in open water finswimming. Later, her passion for challenges led her to mountaineering, where she became a fundamental member of the Colombian 7 Summits Expedition, a challenge that consists of climbing the highest mountain in each continent.

The crowning achievement of her mountaineering career occurred in 2007, when she climbed Mount Everest (8,848 meters above sea level), a milestone that marked her deeply and that she uses as a metaphor for overcoming challenges in her lectures. In addition to Everest, Giraldo has conquered other summits of the 7 Summits Expedition, such as Aconcagua (America), Mount Elbrus (Europe), Mount McKinley (North America) and Kilimanjaro (Africa). Her determination has positioned her as a benchmark of perseverance in Latin American sports.

Currently, Ana María Giraldo is a partner of Kumanday Adventures, an ecological and adventure tourism company in Colombia, where she manages the Experience unit with a formative focus on life skills. Her social commitment includes projects aimed at female empowerment, a topic for which she was recognized by Facebook as an Inspirational Woman of Latin America in 2017. Through talks and consulting, Giraldo transfers the lessons learned at the summits (leadership, teamwork and fear management) to the personal and organizational level.