Alicia Castillo Holley is an international author and speaker who coined the term “Wealthing” as a systematic approach to creating wealth. She has been an advocate for change in the way education and businesses are conducted around the world.
Born and raised in Venezuela, she has lived in Boston, US; Nyon, Switzerland; Santiago, Chile; Houston, US; and Perth, Australia, and travels around the world twice a year on speaking engagements.
Castillo Holley has started 9 companies, including Chile’s first Seed Capital Fund. She has navigated through the academic and commercial world as a scientist, entrepreneur, investor, corporate head of product development, and consultant.
She started her professional career as a young scientist, presenting her first paper at 16, becoming class valedictorian and working with plant cells.
In 1989, she entered the corporate world as the head of product development department at Plantagro, a Bayer-Shell Joint Venture.
In 1994, she moved to the USA to study a Master’s Degree in Business Administration at Babson College. Having lost all of her savings to the Venezuelan Bank Crisis, she arrived in Logan airport with two kids, two boxes and two suitcases. Upon completion of her degree, she chose to move out of the US and what started with a list of 140 countries at Babson’s library ended with a decision to move to Chile.
In 1997, she started Chile’s first Center for Entrepreneurship, and in 2000, Chile’s first privately held seed capital fund: Capital Semilla. In 2005 she semi-retired -only lasted a couple of years- to focus on philanthropy.
In 2009, she started a PhD understanding the role of the scientist in the process of wealth creation.
Alicia has started 9 companies and 1 non-profit and consulted and coached hundreds of business owners and scientists. She has written numerous articles and books.
She is married and has two children: Daniel Chapellin – also a global trotter- and Sara Chapellin – also an author.