Meduña’s mission is to drive opportunity in Puerto Rico and elevate Latine voices
On Monday, October 14, 2024, VCFamilia will proudly honor Cyril Meduña’s lifetime of achievements at the Milken Institute in Los Angeles, California, where he will be honored with the Legacy Award. The award recognizes not just his extraordinary contributions to venture capital, but his lifelong dedication to uplifting Latine talent and shaping a brighter future for Puerto Rico. The ceremony will bring together leaders from across the Latine community and beyond, paying tribute to a man who has not only built companies but also empowered a generation of entrepreneurs to dream bigger.
Cyril Meduña’s extraordinary journey from his roots in Chile to revolutionizing Puerto Rico’s venture capital landscape is a tale of resilience, vision, and unwavering dedication. Raised during a time of political upheaval, his family left Chile during the government of Salvador Allende in search of new opportunities. Driven to carve out his own path, Meduña earned a scholarship to study engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, followed by an MBA at George Washington University. However, it was in Puerto Rico that his vision found its true calling.
After starting his career at Chase Manhattan Bank, Meduña recognized the untapped potential and unmet need for equity capital in Puerto Rico. In 1987, he established Meduña & Co. and launched his first venture fund just two years later. His pioneering work led to the establishment of Advent-Morro Equity Partners in 1996, which became Puerto Rico’s first and largest private equity firm. Since then, the firm has invested in over 100 companies across various industries, such as healthcare and technology, generating over $4 billion in annual revenue and creating thousands of jobs. Meduña’s leadership has played a key role in strengthening Puerto Rico’s position in the global economy. However, for Meduña, while financial growth has been important, Meduña’s true motivation has always been to uplift others and expand the realm of what’s possible.
In 2014, he founded Parallel18, a renowned accelerator that has helped over 250 startups find their footing, with an extraordinary 74% still in operation today. This effort laid the groundwork for Morro Ventures, a $20 million fund he co-founded in 2018 to deepen the island’s tech ecosystem. Even amid the challenges of the pandemic, Meduña continued to act, establishing Code Puerto Rico, a coding school that will have graduated 200 programmers by the end of 2024, significantly increasing the island’s tech talent.
Meduña’s commitment extends beyond business; he is also a passionate cultural advocate. His work leading the restoration of Iglesia San José, one of the Western Hemisphere’s oldest churches, underscores his dedication to preserving Puerto Rico’s history for future generations.
As he takes the stage to receive the Legacy Award, Meduña’s story will resonate far beyond the walls of the Milken Institute. It will inspire those who strive for more and remind them that with resilience, vision, and a commitment to others, anything is possible.
For press inquiries or further details, please contact: Cmeduna@adventmorro.com cheryl@lafamiliafoundation.com, Marketing@lafamiliafoundation.com
ABOUT VCFamilia
VCFamilia serves current venture capitalists, general partners (GPs), aspiring venture capitalists, and founders who identify as Latine around the world. Latine professionals are the future in the United States specifically, as some of the most entrepreneurial and fastest growing demographics today.Our community has been responsible for approximately 50% of net new small business growth over the past decade (The State of Latino Entrepreneurship Report 2021) and is projected to account for 78% of the net increase in the U.S labor force from 2020–2030 (U.S. Dept of Labor).Yet Latine founders only get 2% of venture investment. We’re striving to uplift latine founders and funders by creating an authentic and intentional community for latine investors.
