Bernard W. Aronson is co-founder and managing partner of ACON Investments LLC, a private equity group with offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City and Sao Paulo. In 2015, US president Barack Obama named him Special Envoy for the Colombian Peace Process. Mr. Aronson served as assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs from 1989-1993. Following his service, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award, the State Department’s highest honor, by Secretary of State Warren Christopher for his role in ending the wars and promoting democracy in Central America. Mr. Aronson also served on the White House staff during the Carter administration and was an international adviser to Goldman Sachs & Co.

Mr. Aronson holds a B.A. with honors from the University of Chicago. He has been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Huffington Post, The New Republic and theMiami Herald, among other publications. Mr. Aronson chairs NDI’s Latin American committee.