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Nearshore Americas, founded in 2009, is the leading resource for decision makers engaging in knowledge services sourcing and investment in Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada.
OUR TEAM
Kirk Laughlin
Founder and Managing Director
Kirk Laughlin founded Nearshore Americas in 2009, after working as a business journalist and media executive in the United States and Asia. Before launching Nearshore Americas, Kirk was Vice President of custom content and events at IT business publisher Ziff Davis Media, in New York City.
He has extensive knowledge of the Nearshore industry, having interviewed and consulted with thousands of business leaders, government officials and sources in more than 20 countries in the region. Kirk has also participated as an expert speaker and moderator at dozens of IT, BPO and inward-investment forums in recent years. He spearheaded the launch of Nearshore Nexus in 2010, the Nearshore industry’s annual conference in New York City. Kirk remains deeply committed to the core mission of Nearshore Americas which is to increase awareness and engagement with Latin America and Caribbean services partners.
Maria Ramos
Director of Marketing and Digital Strategy
Maria is an experienced Communications, Marketing and Sustainability professional with a demonstrated history of working across industries. She is skilled in corporate communications, marketing and corporate social responsibility. She speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. Maria has an MBA from HEC Montreal and a double major in international development studies and psychology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She is currently based in Bogota, Colombia.
Stephen Woodman
Managing Editor
Stephen Woodman is an independent journalist based in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. He has six years’ experience covering business and culture in Latin America. Stephen has been published in numerous international media outlets, including The Financial Times, BBC News and Reuters.
Narayan Ammachchi
News Editor
The News Editor for Nearshore Americas since 2012, Narayan Ammachchi is a career journalist with more than 20 years’ experience in global technology and international business reporting. He works out of his base in the Indian Silicon City of Bangalore.
Avia Ustanny Collinder
Senior Editor
Avia Ustanny-Collinder is an author and award-winning business journalist who has worked in the fields of news writing and communications for three decades. Her principal affiliations have been with Gleaner Media Limited, the Jamaica Observer Limited and Trend Media.
She has been a business writer for 14 years, winning the Carlton Alexander Prize for Business News, among other awards.
As an author, she writes on religion and also produces books for children. She currently lives in St. Catherine, Jamaica, with her husband.
Tim Wilson
Contributing Analyst
Tim has been a regular contributor to Nearshore Americas since 2012. He is a former Research Analyst with IDC in Toronto and has over 20 years’ experience as a technology and business journalist, including extensive reporting from Latin America. A graduate of McGill University in Montreal, he has received numerous accolades for his writing, including a CBC Literary and a National Magazine award. He divides his time between Canada and Mexico. When not chasing down stories, he is busy writing the Detective Sánchez series of crime novels.
Next Coast Brokerage
Spencer Ewald
Vice President, M&A Consulting
Spencer has served on Next Coast Media’s Board of Advisors since 2010. In his role with Next Coast Brokerage, Spencer supports the acquisition of organizations in the global technology services industry. He was the Co-Founder and President of Nxtbook Media, LLC (NBM) a pioneer in the software for digital magazines and catalogs commonly found on mobile devices today. Responsible for launching NBM, he organically grew the company to $7 million in sales, making the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing small companies in America. The company was also named the best place to work in Pennsylvania several times.
Sergio Quiroz
Vice President, Chief Investor Analyst
Sergio Quiroz worked for more than ten years at ProNicaragua in Managua, gaining valuable insights on FDI negotiations, international trade agreements and incentive systems designed to attract investment. Sergio contributed to efforts leading to the investments of more than 30 international companies, who established operations in Nicaragua.
With Next Coast Brokerage, Sergio manages the group’s market analysis studies in order obtain quality insight into deal activity.
Sergio holds a double major in Management and Marketing from the University of the Ozarks (Arkansas, USA) and an MBA in International Business from Coventry University (UK).
