PFO Advisory Group provides strategic consulting services to leading global foundations and corporate organizations with a focus on Latin America.
Meet Pilar Frank O’Leary
Pilar Frank O’Leary is Founder and President of PFO Advisory Group. She has over 20 years of experience working on global business and policy initiatives. Pilar has advised leading organizations including Facebook, the Howard G. Buffet Foundation, the Hilton Foundation, Shakira’s Fundación Pies Descalzos, Blackboard, EDENS, Enterprise Holdings, The US Chamber of Commerce, the International Women’s Media Foundation, and the National Geographic Society, among many others.
Pilar is of Colombian-American heritage and was born and raised in Washington DC. She has lived and worked in Latin America and Europe and has a solid track record of developing and implementing strategic, high impact initiatives in diverse markets.
Pilar is a graduate of Georgetown University (B.S., J.D.) and serves on a number of boards, maintaining a broad network of contacts in U.S. and Latin American diplomatic, business, and cultural sectors. In 2018, Pilar was awarded the Order of San Felipe Arcangel for her service to the U.S.-Colombia partnership. She is fluent in English, Spanish and French and proficient in Italian and Portuguese.
“Pilar immediately understood EDENS’ vision of La Cosecha to be the foremost Latin American marketplace that would authentically represent the cultures and communities of Latin America. She worked closely with our team to share her vast network from the Latin American diplomatic, business, and influencer community. Given her background and experiences, she brought invaluable insights to our team.”
“Pilar stepped up as a special contributor whenever Latino-oriented policy, partnership, and business development opportunities appeared at Fannie Mae. She engaged with the Central Banks for Peru and Chile to facilitate the sale of fixed income securities and helped lead the development of a Latino homeownership outreach strategy. She has an unusual set of professional abilities, combining language and multicultural skills with natural interpersonal skills, thoughtfulness, and a passion for her work.”
“Pilar is a results-driven, strategic leader and has greatly expanded our organization’s international impact. Her research and development of a proposal to expand our foundation’s work into Latin America culminated in a multi-million dollar grant from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and helped us establish several key partnerships in the region and in the US to highlight and enhance our activities.”
“Pilar’s determination, business focus and network are a tremendous asset to our company as we look to expand our business platform to the Latin American market.”
“Pilar really gets what cultural diplomacy is all about. She has a knack for getting the right people in the room and making sure that programs supporting business, education or the arts also turn into meaningful, productive partnerships.”
“Pilar was a highly effective member of the legal team at JP Morgan Latin America, assisting us at a critical time when we were establishing new trading operations and executing new types of financial transactions in Argentina and many other countries in Latin America, each with its own set of cultural and regulatory challenges. Pilar was extremely adept at analyzing and resolving the key issues. She is a team player, proactive and terrific to work with.”
“Pilar has a keen knack for creating momentum, impact and progress in launching new ventures with the Latin American community. Working with her on the successful launch of The Latino Dance Fund at The Washington Ballet in collaboration with the embassies of Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Panama and others was a highlight of my tenure at the Ballet.”
“Pilar has been a great strategic partner for our company as we’ve sought to deepen our business development efforts in D.C. She grasps concepts and goals quickly and her valuable background, network and moreover her ability to represent our firm in an engaging and professional manner have been a great asset to us.”
“Pilar has been a tremendous help to our company as we have sought to deepen our relationships in Latin America and other parts of the globe. She stepped in quickly as a full team player making great in-roads for us with top leaders in the diplomatic and private sectors with excellent follow up and attention to detail. She is a true pleasure to work with.”
“Pilar has been a great partner to the National Geographic Society in helping us further our relationship with Latin America and Colombia in particular. Thanks to her efforts, National Geographic has been able to become a member of the U.S.-Colombia Business Council where we have been able to promote our organization’s scientific, media and cultural work in the country at the highest public and private sector levels. Pilar also helped our team put together a high-profile event with our CEO and the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos to highlight the country’s collaboration with the Society and its environmental conservation efforts. She is a high-energy, strategic and get-things-done team player. Our leadership and staff has loved working with her and would welcome the opportunity to do so again.”
“It has been a pleasure working with Pilar as I’ve sought to make in-roads with Embassy contacts here in Washington, D.C. Working with Pilar, we were able to establish some highly productive partnerships for my company in just a few short months. Her strong, comprehensive network and ability to navigate diverse international cultures in business and government relations is invaluable. I highly recommend her.”