Pablo Maldonado is a visionary development professional who leads Creative’s thought leadership and innovation agendas.
During his 12 years as the Chief Operating Officer, Pablo led Creative through an expansion of its portfolio of programs and countries of operation. Through his leadership, Creative solidified its role in supporting communities as they transitioned from conflict-to-peace.
Throughout his numerous positions in the company, Pablo has placed Creative at the forefront of the world’s most demanding foreign policy and development challenges, from turmoil in Central America in the 1990s (which led us to the creation of the Communities in Transition Division), to Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and Syria. He built Creative’s youth practice from scratch and stood up Creative’s recognized education-in-crisis practice. Banking on a workforce development project in Afghanistan, he launched the Economic Growth Division that currently implements USAID’s West Africa Trade & Investment Hub, among other programs.
In 2019, Pablo conceptualized and led the groundbreaking study on the drivers of migration from the Northern Triangle–Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Focusing on 60 high-migration municipalities and based on 2,400 in-person interviews, the study led to the major report Saliendo Adelante, which authoritatively cites economic motivations and lack of opportunity as principal migration drivers. This effort led to the formation of Creative’s Center for Migration & Economic Stabilization.
Since joining in 1983, Pablo has served Creative in various roles, including Senior Vice President of Marketing & Operations, Senior Vice President of Programs, and Acting Director of the Communities in Transition Division, the Education for Development Division and the Economic Growth Division. Pablo sits on Creative’s Board of Directors.
Pablo earned a Master’s degree in Marketing from the Kogod School of Business Administration at the American University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from school of Physics, Mathematics & Engineering at the Catholic University in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In his spare time, he fishes the Chesapeake Bay, rides motorcycles, and is an avid soccer player.