About
I’m an Operating Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, where I support SoftBank Vision Fund portfolio companies on joint ventures and partnerships, synergies, growth, scale-up, and geographic expansion.
My career has moved between entrepreneurial ventures and large-scale operators — from Motorola to helping Brightstar expand into 30+ markets, and leading a global technology & telecom practice at Greensill. That mix — builder and operator — is how I still work today: close to the team, focused on execution, and always asking what it takes to win in the next market, not just the current one.
Based in Miami. Working in English, Spanish, and French.
Core Domains
Where I spend my time — and where I can be useful quickly.
Principles
How I operate — in the boardroom and on the ground.
Operators First
Strategy only matters if the team can execute it. I start with people, incentives, and operating cadence.
Partnerships Over Transactions
Joint ventures and alliances compound when both sides win. Structure for the long term, not the announcement.
Expand With Evidence
New markets reward curiosity and punish assumptions. Test, learn, then scale what actually works.
Governance Is a Growth Tool
Good boards don’t slow companies down — they help founders make better decisions, faster.
Technology With Judgment
AI and new platforms matter most when paired with human judgment, domain depth, and accountability.
Long Relationships
Careers and companies are built over decades. Show up, deliver, and be honest when things get hard.
Experience
A career across ventures, global operators, and investment platforms.
Operating Partner
Supporting SoftBank Vision Fund portfolio companies on joint ventures and partnerships, synergies, growth, scale-up, and geographic expansion.
Global Technology & Telecom Practice
Led global technology and telecom work — bringing an operator’s lens to financing and growth for tech and telecom businesses.
International Expansion
Helped expand Brightstar’s footprint into 30+ markets — building the partnerships and local operations behind that growth.
Technology & Mobility
Built deep roots in mobile technology and global telecom — the foundation for a career spent at the intersection of tech and markets.
Founder & Operator
Started and built ventures firsthand — the experience that still shapes how I advise founders and boards today.
Boards & Advisory
duPont Registry Group
Luxury automotive and lifestyle marketplace platform.
Siprocal
Mobile advertising and audience platform across the Americas (formerly DigitalReef).
Nexa
Formerly Social Mobile — enterprise mobility solutions.
ARUS
Board member and advisor.
Gopuff
Instant delivery of everyday essentials.
Roofstock
Marketplace for single-family rental investing.
Collective Health
Health benefits platform for self-funded employer plans.
SendCloud
Shipping platform for e-commerce.
Thinking Out Loud
Essays on AI, technology, health, and speed — published on LinkedIn. Tap any essay to open it.
The Human Edge in the Age of AI
What stays human when machines get better at everything else?
Read on LinkedIn ↗The Indy 500, the Triple Crown, and the Beautiful Madness of Speed
Monaco, Le Mans, Indianapolis — and a lifelong obsession with racing’s Triple Crown.
Read on LinkedIn ↗The Rabbit Hole of Metabolic Health
A personal, data-driven journey through cholesterol, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular risk.
Read on LinkedIn ↗The Gilded Reservoir: Navigating the Memory Chasm and the Thermal Wall of AI
AI’s next bottlenecks are physical — memory, heat, and power.
Read on LinkedIn ↗The Robot Metabolism Problem
Physical AI’s hardest frontier isn’t intelligence. It’s energy.
Read on LinkedIn ↗Tokens, Not Transistors
How context became the new compute frontier in AI scaling.
Read on LinkedIn ↗The Tail End — Long Walk Edition
Reflections on time, perspective, and making the long walk count.
Read on LinkedIn ↗No Rungs to Climb: The Vanishing Entry-Level Job in the Age of AI
What happens to careers when AI takes the first rung of the ladder?
Read on LinkedIn ↗The Behavior Change Dilemma: Data ≠ Change
Why having the data is not the same as changing the behavior.
Read on LinkedIn ↗The 90-to-100 Problem: Why Atoms Are Harder Than Bits
The last 10% of physical products — and why it is the hardest part.
Read on LinkedIn ↗DeepSeek R1: The AI That Actually Tries to Be Smart
What DeepSeek R1 signaled about the next phase of AI models.
Read on LinkedIn ↗Reflections from the tech front line
Javier Villamizar’s AI-generated podcast — original essays and ideas from the tech front line, produced as audio. Content is original, podcast is AI generated.
AI-Generated PodcastPublications
Columns for La República, Colombia’s financial newspaper.
Indigestión Technologic
sábado, 5 de septiembre de 2026Prohibiendo el futuro
sábado, 22 de agosto de 2026IA: defensa y amenaza digital
sábado, 25 de julio de 2026El plan chino para la IA
sábado, 11 de julio de 2026La inteligencia necesita intérpretes
sábado, 27 de junio de 2026De copilotos a sistemas inteligentes
sábado, 13 de junio de 2026La ilusión de la confidencialidad
sábado, 30 de mayo de 2026La máquina y la dignidad
sábado, 16 de mayo de 2026El dólar digital conquista América Latina
sábado, 18 de abril de 2026IA: Revolución tecnológica, fractura social
sábado, 21 de marzo de 2026La segunda derivada de la guerra
sábado, 7 de marzo de 2026IA: selección, no apocalipsis
sábado, 21 de febrero de 2026La luna de miel de la IA
sábado, 7 de febrero de 2026Cómputo infinito
sábado, 24 de enero de 2026Crear sin saber programar
Watch & Listen
Videos and podcasts from events and conversations I’ve participated in — on investing, growth, and building companies across borders.
Pioneros: Javier Villamizar y su experticia en inversión
Javier explains what SoftBank looks for when investing in startups.
E105: How to think in 1000x? Javier Villamizar, Softbank.
Interview on first-principles thinking and 100x/1000x growth in Latin America.
E105: ¿Cómo pensar en 1000x? Javier Villamizar, Softbank.
Audio version of the 10AMPRO interview on first-principles thinking and 1000x growth.
#39 Elige tu propia aventura con Javier Villamizar (Operating Partner en Softbank)
A 2h 1m career conversation on operating, investing, and building across markets.
Recent Personal Projects
Two ongoing projects I build and maintain myself — one for readers, one for everyday health. Both live here on jvillamizar.com and are updated regularly.
Javier Villamizar’s Book Club
A personal library of what I’m reading and recommending — curated by theme, with a one-line takeaway on every book so you can decide in seconds whether it’s for you.
Weekly Diet — Daily Nutrition & Exercise Planner
My weekly operating system for eating and training: fresh lunch + dinner menus, recipes with nutrition facts, a ready-to-shop list, and a simple daily workout rhythm.
Javier Villamizar’s Book Club
76 books across 11 sections — plus a 10-book reading queue. Business, history, biography, technology, and the occasional detour into speed and survival. Every book carries a one-line takeaway.
Beyond Work
🏁 Motorsports
Formula 1 and the Triple Crown of Motorsports — Monaco, Le Mans, and the Indy 500. Speed, strategy, and beautiful madness.
🏈 Football
Pittsburgh Steelers, Florida Gators, and FAU. Saturdays and Sundays are spoken for in the fall.
📚 Books
Always reading, always recommending. The Book Club above is the running list — 76 and counting.
🔬 Metabolic Health
A data-driven curiosity about longevity, biomarkers, and what actually moves the needle on health.
Who I’d Enjoy Talking With
Founders Going Global
Technology founders planning their first — or next — international market, JV, or strategic partnership.
Investors & Operators
Portfolio leaders working on value creation, scale-up, and cross-border growth for tech and telecom companies.
Board Builders
CEOs and boards thinking about governance, expansion strategy, and the operator perspective in the boardroom.
Conversation Starters
Current Focus & Connect
Portfolio Growth at SoftBank
Helping Vision Fund companies find partners, synergies, and new geographies — and scale what works.
Governance & Expansion
Active board and advisory work with duPont Registry Group, Siprocal, Nexa, and ARUS.
Thinking Out Loud
Essays on AI, hard tech, health, and speed — and a book club that never stops growing.
Let’s talk.
Best reached on LinkedIn — or start with a book recommendation.
Education & Languages
MBA, International Business
University of Miami Herbert Business School — Valedictorian, Class of 2004
B.S., Electronics Engineering
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia · 1988–1993