Our Team
Rodrigo Barrenechea
General Partner
Rodrigo began his career at Tyson Foods, leading process improvement and cost reduction initiatives in the maintenance engineering team. He then worked at Boston Consulting Group and later at PetroTiger, a private equity-backed oilfield services company in Colombia, where he focused on investments and operations.
With an entrepreneurial mindset, Rodrigo launched a self-funded search and successfully acquired Continental Oilfield Services, a company specializing in non-destructive testing for the oil and gas industry. Under his leadership, Continental expanded its service lines and grew into international markets, achieving a tenfold increase in size.
He is a General Partner at 9T Capital, focused on backing entrepreneurs as they search for, acquire, and operate SME businesses. He also serves on the boards of some of our portfolio companies.
Rodrigo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Arkansas and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Gustavo Fernández de Loyola
General Partner
Gustavo initiated his professional journey at Hospitales Puerta de Hierro. He started as the company's first employee and went on to become its General Manager, leading a team of 800 individuals.
Following Hospitales Puerta de Hierro, he pursued his MBA and, during the second year of the program, embarked on an entrepreneurial journey by launching his first search fund. This endeavor culminated in the successful acquisition of Enkontrol, where he assumed the role of CEO. Subsequently, he founded another search fund, which led to the acquisition of Grupo Torre Médica, where he again took on the CEO role until the company was sold in 2021.
Gustavo is highly regarded in academia, having been an invited professor at IPADE and several other prestigious business schools, where he focuses on teaching Search Fund strategies. Additionally, he serves on the boards of select 9T Capital portfolio companies, contributing to their strategic development and growth.
Gustavo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Diego Suárez
Associate
Diego is an Investor at 9T Capital. He began his career at SC Angeles, an angel investment network focused on Latin American tech companies. He later joined LarrainVial’s asset and wealth management division, where he was responsible for covering Bolivian financial institutions, corporations, and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).
Diego holds a degree in Economics from the University of Virginia.
Our Story
9T Capital is a continuation of the entrepreneurial path we started years ago. Having built and led businesses ourselves, we now invest in search entrepreneurs as they step into the CEO role.
Diego La Torre
Intern
Diego is an Intern at 9T Capital. Before joining the firm, he interned at Fortaleza SAFI, a Bolivian asset management firm, and SC Corporate Finance, a financial advisory firm.
He is currently pursuing a degree in Financial Engineering at Universidad Privada Boliviana.
Rodrigo, originally from Bolivia, and Gustavo, from Mexico, met during their first semester at Harvard Business School and quickly became close friends. They both learned about the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) / Search Fund model in an entrepreneurship class.
Rodrigo and Gustavo at business school graduation. Boston, 2009.
2008
Gustavo launched Innova-Mex Capital, one of the first Search Funds in Latin America, immediately after graduating from business school. Meanwhile, Rodrigo, with a background in process engineering, pursued roles in strategy consulting and private equity to gain deeper business and investment experience.
2009
Gustavo and a partner acquired Enkontrol, an ERP company specializing in the construction industry in Mexico, where he served as CEO. Over four years, the company expanded internationally and generated strong returns for investors.
2010
Rodrigo moved back to Bolivia to launch a self-funded search focused on the oil and gas industry. This search led to the acquisition of Continental Servicios Petroleros, a non-destructive testing firm specializing in oilfield services.
2011
After leading Enkontrol’s expansion, Gustavo stepped away from operations and partnered with two other search entrepreneurs to acquire Grupo Torre Médica, leveraging the ETA model once more.
2014
2019
After scaling Continental Servicios Petroleros, adding new service lines, and expanding operations to Argentina, Rodrigo hired a CEO and transitioned out of day-to-day operations to focus on new ventures.
Rodrigo and Gustavo remained close friends throughout the years, frequently sharing insights from their entrepreneurial journeys. Motivated by their success with the ETA model and the attractive returns of the asset class, they launched 9T Capital as a private investment vehicle to deploy their own capital.
2020
Gustavo and his partners successfully exited Grupo Torre Médica after executing a buy-and-build strategy that included the acquisition of two hospitals, five clinics, and a specialty finance company.
2021
Visit to MAS Seguros. Mexico City, 2022.
Seeing an opportunity to scale amid a growing influx of exceptional search entrepreneurs and companies, Gustavo and Rodrigo committed to building 9T Capital full-time and structured a fund to manage third-party committed capital.
Visit to Cartonajes Limousine. Gipuzkoa, Spain, 2024.
2024
9T Capital Team at the 2024 HBS Search Fund Conference. Boston, 2024.