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 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.

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.