Interviewed by Erik Ramirez
Erik: Gus, your path runs from teaching in rural classrooms to founding a leadership
consultancy. Can you share a little about that journey?
Gustavo: I started out teaching in rural public schools in Chile through Enseña Chile, then
joined Enseña por México. After that, I spent four years as Director General of Mexicanos
Primero Sinaloa, working at the intersection of education, public policy, and organizational
change. Across all of those roles, I kept noticing the same thing: the biggest obstacle was
rarely commitment or technical knowledge. It was leadership. That conviction is what led me
to build the practice that became Aquí Se Aprende Liderazgo, which I took full-time in 2025.
Erik: What does Aquí Se Aprende Liderazgo do?
Gustavo: We help leaders lead better in the dimensions that actually move organizations:
how they work with people, how they mobilize others, how they build durable structures, and
how they create meaning. In practice, that looks like executive coaching, team programs,
and professional learning communities for school leaders, nonprofit executives, and founder-
led small businesses across Mexico, Chile, and other Spanish-speaking countries. It's all
anchored in Liderazgo con PIES Firmes—People, Influence, Structures, and Meaning—our
adaptation of Bolman and Deal's four-frame model.
Erik: Where is the work growing?
Gustavo: Over the past few years, we've worked with more than 150 leaders, and 2026 is
our most ambitious year yet. We’re aiming to support 40 executive leaders through our six-
month coaching program, and we’re coaching close to 60 school leaders in Chile through
Impulso Directivo, a co-venture with Impulso Docente. We’re also expanding beyond one-to-
one and team coaching, and reaching leaders across Latin America through our Círculo de
Líderes newsletter and the first season of our podcast.
Erik: How has HGSE shaped this trajectory?
Gustavo: I arrived at HGSE as a practitioner with a lot of field intuition but lacking the most
rigorous language for it. What it gave me was the ability to take what I’d seen work in
classrooms and organizations and connect it to evidence-based theory—to move from "this
feels right" to understanding why it works and how to make it repeatable. The four-frame
thinking behind PIES traces directly back to that period. It also confirmed something for me:
leadership is one of the most decisive factors in whether an organization creates lasting
change. And it exposed me to tools and perspectives that most leaders in Latin America
simply don’t have access to in their own contexts. Closing that gap is a real part of our
mission.