Client Experiences
What boards say after working with Zipa
We let the people who've been through an engagement speak for themselves. These are their words, lightly edited for clarity.
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Boards and organizations served
4.8
Average satisfaction rating
15+
Years of governance advisory
3
Industries: family, corporate, nonprofit
Reviews
From the boards that worked with us
Pablo Montoya
Board Chair — Bogotá
We did the Governance Read after two years of unresolved tension between the family shareholders and the operating team. The session itself was calm — almost deceptively calm. But the written summary surfaced three things nobody had put into words yet. That felt like progress we hadn't managed in two years of internal discussion.
June 2025 · Governance Read
Catalina Rincón
Executive Director — Medellín
We engaged Zipa for the Board Companion service during a period when our nonprofit board was in transition — three new directors in six months. The monthly sessions gave us a reference point between meetings. Laura's ability to hold a complicated conversation steadily was something our board needed and didn't yet have internally.
May 2025 · Board Companion
Juliana Ospina
Founder — Cali
Honest review: I went in skeptical. We'd had consultants before who produced frameworks nobody used. What was different with Zipa was that the recommendations came from listening, not from a template. The Governance Read gave us three things we actually acted on. One of them changed how we run our monthly board meeting — and we've kept the change.
June 2025 · Governance Read
Hernando Bermúdez
Director & Co-owner — Bogotá
The Stewardship Study was more thorough than I expected. Felipe's individual interviews with each director surfaced differences in how we understood our own succession plan — differences that had been invisible in board meetings. The roadmap they produced was direct but not alarming. Exactly the right tone for a board like ours.
June 2025 · Stewardship Study
María Victoria Leal
Independent Director — Bucaramanga
Working with Zipa was the first time I'd seen a governance advisory engagement run at the board's pace rather than the consultant's. Andrés was prepared for each session without trying to push us toward conclusions we hadn't reached ourselves. The written summary was clear and specific — nothing vague.
May 2025 · Board Companion
Santiago Forero
Family Council Member — Bogotá
Our family company had grown to the point where governance conversations were overdue but felt hard to start. The Governance Read gave us a way in — a neutral, documented starting point that didn't feel like an accusation of how we'd been doing things. Would recommend it for any family board that's been putting this off.
July 2025 · Governance Read
Case Studies
How three organizations moved forward
Case Study 01 · Governance Read
A manufacturing company in Bogotá, preparing to bring in its first independent director
Challenge
The family board had never formally documented decision rights. There was disagreement about what the incoming independent director's role should be — and no shared language to resolve it before the first meeting.
What Zipa Did
A Governance Read session with the four family directors, followed by a written summary that mapped current decision-making and proposed a clear mandate for the independent role — including what it would and wouldn't include.
Result
The independent director joined two weeks later with a written mandate all directors had reviewed. The first year of board meetings ran without the boundary disputes the family had anticipated.
"We had the conversation we'd been avoiding for two years — in three hours." — Chair
Case Study 02 · Board Companion
A nonprofit foundation in Medellín, rebuilding its board after a difficult transition
Challenge
After the departure of a long-serving executive director, the board had lost much of its operational knowledge and informal decision-making structure. Three new directors were unsure of their role, and the chair was carrying too much.
What Zipa Did
Three months of Board Companion advisory, with monthly sessions focused on rebuilding board rhythm: agenda structure, delegation to the new director, and written guidelines for board oversight of operations.
Result
By month three, the board was running structured meetings without advisory support. The chair reported that agenda preparation time had dropped by half, and board discussions had become more focused.
"The monthly check-ins gave us a structure we didn't know how to build on our own." — Executive Director
Case Study 03 · Stewardship Study
A family holding company preparing for generational transfer
Challenge
The founding generation held both board and operational roles. The second generation was involved but without clear governance authority. Succession had been discussed informally for years without resolution.
What Zipa Did
A five-week Stewardship Study with confidential interviews across both generations. The facilitated discussion brought perspectives from both sides into a shared conversation for the first time, resulting in a governance roadmap with four prioritized steps.
Result
Within six months, the first two roadmap steps had been implemented — including a formal separation of board and operational roles. The founding director described the process as the most useful governance conversation the family had ever had.
"It moved us in five weeks further than we'd moved in five years." — Founding Director
Reach Us
We're glad to hear from you
Phone
+57 317 486 9052Address
Carrera 9 #74-08
Bogotá, Colombia
Office Hours
Mon–Fri: 8:00 – 17:30
Sat: 9:00 – 12:00
Credentials
Professional affiliations and recognition
Confecámaras Governance Network
Member since June 2025
IFC Governance Certification
International Finance Corporation — 2024
Latin American Family Business Forum
Contributing advisor, 2023–2025
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