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Haas Alumnus Seeks Chilean Presidency
By Marguerite Rigoglioso
Currently running for the presidency of Chile, Marcelo
Trivelli, MBA 80, headed to Berkeley not just for an
MBA but to experience the freedom the campus is renowned
for. "I chose Berkeley because in addition to
having a world-class business school it represented
liberty, innovation, and the revolutions of the 60s
and 70s," he says.
Presently Intendente of Santiago – an appointed
role similar to that of governor – Trivelli, a
progressive Christian Democrat, heads crime prevention,
public services, and the regional budget for the capital
city. New programs he has overseen have resulted in
a 32 percent decrease in crime in Santiago and major
improvements in the infrastructure for business, education,
and health, says Trivelli.
At Haas, Trivelli recalls, "Being in an environment
with both American and international students expanded
my horizons tremendously." Lessons about entrepreneurship
and the importance of social, legal, and political factors
in business decision-making gave him an advantage when
he returned to Chile, where a strict production- and
market-oriented focus governed commerce.
Once back in Chile, Trivelli climbed the ranks in the
petroleum company Dinamic Oil, where he eventually became
commercial manager. Having gleaned from Silicon Valley
entrepreneurs that "failure isn't the end
of the world," he was emboldened to start two
major businesses, one of which – a diversified
mechanical parts supplier – now enjoys $4 million
in sales per year and is expanding into neighboring
countries.
When democracy returned to Chile in 1990, Trivelli,
whose father had been a minister of agriculture in the
1960s, became assistant counselor to President Patricio
Aylwin. Catapulted through that position into the world
of mass media, Trivelli joined a small public relations
outfit he then turned into the number one PR firm in
the country. He kept a hand in politics, helping with
numerous campaigns, including that of current President
Ricardo Lagos, who in 2002 appointed him to his present
position.
"You can't be rigid about your career plans,"
Trivelli advises. "You have to remain flexible
for new opportunities."
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