Purpose-Driven Leadership in Business and in Life
Jul 8, 2026
In this session, Luis Fernando Sanabria of Fundación Paraguaya spoke with Raúl Gauto, a Paraguayan forestry engineer, social entrepreneur, environmentalist, and businessman.
Drawing on his experience at Fundación Moisés Bertoni, Fundación Avina, Forestal Sylvis, and the Petricorp biocomplex, Raúl reflected on leadership, sustainability, friendship, artificial intelligence, and corporate responsibility. His career demonstrates that purpose does not belong exclusively to the social sector. It can also guide profitable businesses capable of generating economic, environmental, and community value.
A LIFE SHAPED BY SERVICE
Raúl identified his parents as his greatest influence, particularly his father, who promoted rural cooperatives, helped many people, and cultivated friendships throughout his life.
Although he did not have significant financial resources, he lived happily and dedicated his time to others without expecting recognition.
“My parents taught me that working in the service of others is more fulfilling than earning a great deal of money.”
This lesson shaped his understanding of success. Important achievements are not the result of one person alone, but of teams capable of bringing together knowledge, interests, and efforts around a shared cause.
BOLDNESS AND INNOVATION TO CONSERVE MBARACAYÚ
After completing his studies in the United States, Raúl participated in research to identify the most important areas in Paraguay for biodiversity conservation.
The team assessed 75 areas using environmental, social, and territorial variables. The Mbaracayú forest received the highest rating and was described as a kind of “Noah’s Ark” for Paraguay.
The creation of the reserve faced political and institutional challenges. The country was still under a dictatorship, and there was a risk that groups connected to those in power would take control of part of the territory.
To protect the project, the team invited the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to participate in its governance structure. To this day, the United Nations chairs the Reserve’s Honorary Council.
Raúl emphasized the importance of boldness:
“We were young and did not know what was impossible. If someone told us no, we kept trying.”
The reserve also needed a sustainable financial model. With support from The Nature Conservancy, AES Corporation was invited to offset part of its emissions by conserving the carbon stored in the forest.
In 1991, years before carbon markets became central to international discussions, AES contributed two million dollars. Part of the funding was used to purchase the land, while the rest was allocated to a trust fund linked to the achievement of conservation goals.
Over time, the fund grew to approximately eight million dollars. The experience demonstrated that business and financial instruments could be used to protect nature and generate social impact.
CONSERVING THE ENVIRONMENT REQUIRES FIGHTING POVERTY
Raúl explained that a reserve cannot be protected over the long term when the surrounding communities lack opportunities.
“The only way to protect a reserve is for the people living around it to have better lives.”
This vision led to the development of social, productive, and educational programs, including a school for young people from vulnerable families in the area.
Conservation and poverty elimination should not be addressed as separate objectives. When communities improve their living conditions, they can become the main allies of environmental protection.
THE PARADIGM OF CARE
Raúl contrasted the traditional paradigm of success, based on accumulating possessions, recognition, or superiority over others, with the paradigm of care developed by Colombian thinker Bernardo Toro.
From this perspective, success means that people live better, have opportunities, and feel safe.
Efficiency and profitability remain important, but they must serve three outcomes:
• Economic sustainability.
• Social impact.
• Environmental protection.
A social organization must generate income, manage its resources effectively, and innovate to expand its impact. It should not operate with an “intention to lose money.”
The difference between a social enterprise and a traditional business is not the absence of profitability, but how profits are used. In a social enterprise, resources are reinvested in the mission.
LEADING WITHOUT SEEKING THE SPOTLIGHT
During his 18 years at Fundación Avina, Raúl supported many social entrepreneurs. This experience allowed him to observe what distinguished those who built sustainable organizations from those whose presence was temporary.
He recalled advice from Stephan Schmidheiny:
“You can achieve almost anything you set out to do, as long as you do not insist on taking the credit.”
The leaders who sustained their impact were those who placed the mission above personal recognition.
Raúl also emphasized the importance of giving and letting go. A person must share what they have received, learned, or used in order to make room for new ideas and opportunities.
FROM SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS TO PRIVATE ENTERPRISE
After nearly two decades working with social organizations, Raúl created Forestal Sylvis with the intention of demonstrating that a company could grow while simultaneously generating economic, social, and environmental results.
“I wanted to make money, strengthen the environment, and promote social development at the same time.”
Social organizations are highly valuable for creating models and innovations, but they may face difficulties scaling when they depend on donations.
Private enterprise has an additional driver: profitability. Profit is not negative when it promotes creativity, investment, employment, and sustainability.
At the same time, businesses need to learn from the social sector how to care for people, communities, and the environment. Social organizations, in turn, must incorporate business rigor when managing risks, talent, and resources.
THE POVERTY STOPLIGHT IN FORESTRY COMMUNITIES
Forestal Sylvis uses the Poverty Stoplight with families in communities near its plantations.
One of the main results has been stronger citizen participation. After several years, families began organizing to request roads, vaccines, seeds, and other services from public authorities.
People stopped viewing themselves as passive recipients of assistance and began recognizing themselves as citizens with rights, capabilities, and shared objectives.
The Poverty Stoplight also produced benefits for the company. Forest fires often begin when waste is burned. Because waste management is one of the indicators addressed with families, the practice decreased around the plantations.
This reduced risks and costs for Forestal Sylvis. The company and the community are not on opposing sides. Their well-being is interconnected.
Raúl described this relationship as enlightened self-interest. The company pursues its own benefit while understanding that it also depends on the social and environmental well-being of its surroundings.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITH ETHICAL LIMITS
Raúl expressed optimism about artificial intelligence and compared it to the introduction of computers, which initially created fear but ultimately expanded human capabilities.
He argued that AI should help people work less and have more time for their families, relationships, and personal development.
However, he warned that its use requires ethical limits:
“Artificial intelligence must be useful to human beings, not turn human beings into its slaves.”
Society must define which applications are acceptable and how to protect people’s dignity, autonomy, and diversity.
LEADING BY LISTENING TO CONTRADICTIONS
Another lesson from Bernardo Toro transformed Raúl’s understanding of leadership:
“The leader must be the synthesis of the contradictions around the table.”
Leadership does not mean excluding those who think differently or listening only to those who share the same position.
A leader must understand different interests and build a synthesis in which people recognize that their perspectives have been taken into account.
This requires listening with “an ear for the good,” meaning with genuine attention rather than merely waiting for the opportunity to respond.
The same principle applies to intergenerational leadership. Younger people and those with more experience may have different interests. They do not need to be led in the same way, but rather listened to and understood according to their realities.
PERSONAL CARE AND INSTITUTIONAL SUSTAINABILITY
When considering what advice he would give his 25-year-old self, Raúl said he would follow a similar path but would be more careful with people.
He also emphasized that the paradigm of care begins with oneself. A person who does not protect their health, time, and well-being will struggle to care for others sustainably.
He recommended defining three daily priorities and protecting them from multiple external demands.
For social organizations, he shared two recommendations:
• First, build governance structures capable of managing large institutions, even while they are still small. Growth and financial resources can attract personal or opportunistic interests. • Second, develop independent sources of income. Organizations that only receive and spend donations struggle to ensure their continuity.
“A social organization must think and operate like a sustainable enterprise.”
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM THE AUDIENCE
• What gives you hope when you think about Latin America twenty years from now?
Raúl highlighted the reduction of poverty, scientific progress, and the possibility of more people participating actively in public life.
When a person overcomes basic deprivations, they begin to express new aspirations, demand services, and exercise their rights as citizens more strongly.
He also recommended the book Factfulness, which presents evidence of progress in health, education, and poverty reduction and helps contrast negative perceptions of the world with the available data.
• What have you learned about friendship in service of a greater cause?
A participant asked about Raúl’s relationship with Martín Burt, with whom he has shared projects, ideas, and institutions for several decades.
Raúl noted that a lasting friendship requires respect, affection, and the ability to express disagreements honestly.
The value of such a relationship does not lie in always thinking the same way, but in being able to say “no” and knowing that the disagreement comes from commitment to the cause rather than personal interest.
Trust allows two people to follow different paths while continuing to exchange energy, ideas, and lessons over many years.
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