Dionisio Gutiérrez, PhD., is a businessman, sociologist, communicator, and president of Fundación Libertad y Desarrollo. After earning a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a Master's in International Management and Finance, he obtained a Ph.D. Summa Cum Laude in Sociology and Political Science from the Pontifical University of Salamanca.

Dr. Gutiérrez holds several prominent international roles, including serving as a member of the Atlantic Initiative at Johns Hopkins University and the Advisory Council of the International Foundation for Freedom. He sits on the Academic Council of the Atlantic Institute of Government and is a trustee of Universidad Francisco Marroquín. As a founder and trustee of the School of Government in Guatemala and a member of the Washington, DC-based G50. In February 2021, he became the first Latin American to be appointed to the Board of Directors of Freedom House, and he further contributes his expertise to the Advisory Council of the Bush Institute in Dallas, Texas. 

Dr. Gutiérrez served as Executive Director and host of the acclaimed television series Libre Encuentro, where he led analysis, debates, and proposals for 20 years. He later helmed the program Dimensión and currently directs and hosts Razón de Estado, which is broadcast throughout the Americas via NTN24.

Dr. Gutiérrez was Corporate President of CMI (Corporación Multi-Inversiones) for over 33 years. For seven years, he also served as president of the Chamber of Free Enterprise. He has been Director of the Guatemalan Association of Managers, Director of the Chamber of Commerce, Director of Banco de Occidente, and Vice President of Banco Reformador. Additionally, he was an active member of the political observers in Latin America during the 1990s.

Since the democratic opening of Central America in the 1980s, Dr. Dionisio Gutiérrez has played a significant and ongoing role in the region’s critical moments and remains an intellectual committed to freedom, democracy, and development, issues that have led him to participate in think tanks, write opinion columns, deliver lectures in various countries, and receive both national and international awards and honors.

In 2012, the Poder Awards and the American Business Council Foundation honored Dr. Gutiérrez with the “Empowerment of Democracy” award in recognition of his distinguished career and lifelong dedication to democratic values.

In 2014, His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain awarded Dr. Dionisio Gutiérrez the Civil Order of Merit, Commander Grade—an honor bestowed upon exemplary citizens who have rendered significant service to the State, whose extraordinary work stands as a model of perseverance in the pursuit of the rule of law, democracy, and freedom.

Dr. Gutiérrez is a former member of the Georgetown University Latin American Board and the Advisory Board at the Harvard Kennedy School.

In 2024, Dr. Gutiérrez was selected as one of the most influential leaders in Latin America by Bloomberg magazine.

In 2025, Dr. Gutiérrez was awarded the Enrique V. Iglesias Award, honoring the work of personalities who make an extraordinary contribution to the evolution and development of Ibero-American countries, as well as to the promotion of an inclusive spirit that enables the sharing of common challenges and values.

As President of the Fundación Libertad y Desarrollo, he leads a team of intellectuals with whom he carries out numerous civic initiatives and formulates long-term state policy proposals for Latin America.