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Endeavor Miami has a new leader at the helm. Laura Maydón is joining the board.

Nancy Dahlberg
Nancy Dahlberg
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By Nancy Dahlberg
Meet Claudia Durán, Endeavor Miami’s new managing director.
Durán succeeds Laura Maydón, who led the organization the past 5 1/2 years as the founding managing director.  Endeavor Miami also announced Thursday that Maydón is joining Endeavor’s Board of Directors.
“Claudia brings a great wealth of fresh experience and she is the right person to take Endeavor to the next level and scale the organization,” said Maydón. “We are very excited to welcome her to the Endeavor Family.”
Durán was selected by Endeavor Miami’s board, led by the newly anointed co-chairs, Andres Moreno and Ernest Bachrach, to lead the Miami affiliate of the global non-profit organization that selects, supports and accelerates high-impact entrepreneurs. In the next five years, Endeavor Miami’s goal is to double the size of its portfolio of companies, creating over 5,000 jobs.
Durán, who received her MBA from the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Penn State, worked in Central America as a treasury analyst for SAB Miller and later in business development for Taca International Airlines. Then she moved to New York City to work at Deutsche Bank’s Private Wealth Management Group, rising to assistant vice president.
Next she moved into the nonprofit world, and spent six years leading the Brazil arm for Ashoka, one of the world’s leading organizations supporting social entrepreneurs. The founders of Endeavor, Linda Rottenberg and Peter Kellner, were inspired by the Ashoka model when they were developing Endeavor, and there are a number of similarities between the two organizations.  
 “That was a very big challenge,” said Duran. “We had a very small team and a very big region to cover with a large network of 308 entrepreneurs. I feel like it was an experience that prepared me to understand how to maximize the value of my resources and how to build a very strong team of entrepreneurs.”
In addition to her corporate and non-profit experience, Duran has been based here the last couple of years while spearheading the turnover of her family’s business in El Salvador and led the international business development of a Brazilian health organization. “I feel these three components merged perfectly for this opportunity to lead Endeavor Miami.”
Durán is no stranger to Miami. Born in El Salvador, she had been coming to Miami since she was a child and during the civil war in El Salvador, she would spend her summers here while her family stayed behind to work in the family business. “I’ve always had Miami in my heart.”
She has also enjoyed getting to know the new Miami the past couple of years. “It’s vibrant and growing and I’m very excited to see Miami attracting very special talent and entrepreneurs.”
Durán is spending this month with Maydón to ensure a smooth transition. When asked about her plans, she said she plans to meet with all the Endeavor Entrepreneurs, the mentor community and community partners to fully understand the needs and hear their ideas.
“Then I can build a very thorough strategic plan on how to grow our number of partners, our mentor engagement, the services we offer our entrepreneurs and many other ideas I am sure will come up on the table,” she said. “Most important at this point is that I will honor the mission of Endeavor to strengthen the entrepreneurial community.”
Endeavor Miami launched in late 2013 as the first U.S. affiliate of the global nonprofit. With support from the John S. and James L. Knight foundation, Endeavor Miami currently supports 24 companies and 44 founders.  Endeavor Global operates in 34 markets throughout Latin America, Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Last year, Endeavor Miami companies generated nearly $200 million in revenues and 2,000 jobs, according to its impact report released last fall. Last week, it issued a report calling for more community support of high-impact entrepreneurs and identified sectors of the local economy that could continue to be prime breeding grounds for larger entrepreneurial companies that create more jobs with higher wages.
“We are going to continue to support high-impact entrepreneurs in the best possible way and I am very excited to work with the team and Laura and the board to continue this exceptional track record,” said Durán.
Adds Maydón, “At Endeavor we have this quote, ‘once Endeavor, always Endeavor,’ and I am really excited to continue collaborate with the team in a different way.”
Follow @ndahlberg on Twitter and email her at [email protected].
 

Nancy Dahlberg
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