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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 Chief Analyst
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.
César Cantú
Managing Editor
Cesar is the Managing Editor of Nearshore Americas. He’s a journalist based in Mexico City, with experience covering foreign trade policy, agribusiness and the food industry in Mexico and Latin America.
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.
Tim Wilson
Senior Market Analyst
Tim Wilson has worked as a technology research analyst for 25 years. He began his career at IDC in Toronto, where he conducted numerous quantitative and qualitative studies of the software and services industry in North America. Subsequently, as an independent researcher, Tim worked on contracts for large ICT companies such as Cisco and Microsoft, expanding his coverage to include markets throughout the Americas.
With Nearshore Americas, he has conducted over a dozen country, city, and individual site assessments across Latin America and the Caribbean. His clients have included sovereign governments and providers of software and services, with research and analysis based on thorough sourcing from academics, economists, and government officials, including statisticians. Tim’s research delivery typically includes detailed comparators at varying levels of granularity, from macroeconomic and political analysis to unique assessments of on-the-ground requirements and capabilities. His familiarity with specific markets in Latin America and the Caribbean, including his working proficiency in Spanish, allows him to provide high-quality research and analysis, and assess tax, legal, and other factors.
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.
