There she was. Raised in the dressing rooms of a stadium; She has been used to the stands since she was little, seeing the fans supporting their teams through thick and thin, but always holding the hand of her father, Germán, at the General Santander stadium in Cúcuta. Her dream then was not to be the journalist, presenter and sports commentator that she would end up being, successfully, years later. She actually wanted something else. A bigger one: to be part, one day, of the football leadership of this country and she knew that to achieve this she had to fight, as her last name seemed to foreshadow it.
According to the criteria of
Here it is today. Andrea is all that, but she has also become the first woman to become president of one of the most watched sports channels in the region: Win Sports. From there he will surely continue doing what he likes most: challenging prejudices and clearing the way for those who come after him. She will make mistakes, she will fall, she will get up, she will mark milestones, she will be criticized and admired at the same time, but she will do, in short, what she truly likes. It is the story of her life. That of a persistent and passionate Colombian woman that the country has heard a lot about in the last two decades and will continue to hear because she, simply, comes for more.
Know? The most difficult interviews are the ones you do with people you love and admire. I record that to begin this dialogue.
Oh, and I feel more pressured by this interview with so much love involved.
You are the new president of a sports channel with enormous influence in this country. Do you feel like you are fulfilling your childhood dreams?
Completely. This position at Win is the closest thing to a perfect combination between the world of journalism that I have liked so much and that desire that I had when I was a 10-year-old girl and I asked my dad to let me be involved in all the administrative issues. of his team in Cúcuta. Obviously I’m fulfilling that girl!
Let’s go back. What was the first job you had and how did you get there?
“I had to get rid of my prejudices towards the press. When you come from the family of a football leader, you have many reservations about journalism.”
I did something very short and fast on Channel 13. When I was studying Social Communication, I felt like I was having too much free time. In the province there was a belief that one had to dedicate oneself to studying and that was it, but after a few months I showed my parents that you could do both and I arrived at RCN Radio, not to a secure position, but things ended up working out for me to stay there.
What, then, was the first obstacle you had to overcome?
I had to get rid of my prejudices towards the press. When you come from the family of a football leader, he has many reservations about journalism. And I said: to break with those things that seemed unfair to me on the other side, I want to practice the journalism that I would have liked to experience under my father’s leadership. That obstacle was difficult. And, of course, the university gaps were different from most. I was going there to look for news and earn the space that was beginning to appear on the radio.
What does RCN mean to you? And here I once again state that we are both part of this journalistic house.
RCN is my family. It has marked and shaped me as a human and professional being. The fact that the channel and the radio have believed in me since I arrived at 21 years old is everything. I, in fact, at some point called the channel’s switchboard and asked to be allowed to speak with the president at the time because I wanted to convince him why I should be part of the channel, ha ha. Of course, I was never able to talk to him at that time, but I didn’t suffer from grief. The opportunity came and I managed to grow in a company that has always believed in the role of women.
“There is machismo in the country in general. There is machismo in society. There is machismo in sports. Until now we are changing the programming that we have. Women themselves speak with clichés that hurt us and that is what we have to change.” .
By the way, the fact of being
woman was a topic in your
life when entering
this world that, many
They would say, it is more reserved
for men?
The fact of being a woman and being able to open a space for myself, but a space of credibility, was very complex. But also I had to deal with the prejudice of people who believed that, because I was part of a family linked to football, I was achieving things by leverage or because they had recommended me and not because I deserved to be there. That vision of people was very difficult for me, at first. One day I understood that opportunities did not come to me for free or easy, but at the perfect time and with the attitude of starting a career that has me here today.
Is there machismo in Colombian sports, Andrea?
There is machismo in the country in general. There is machismo in society. There is machismo in sports. Until now we are changing that programming that we have. We women ourselves speak with clichés that hurt us and that is what we have to change. Spaces do not open because you are a woman, but because of your abilities. But look, many people think that when a woman grows it is for things other than her own merits. Things as small as phrases that say “write like a girl”, “fight like a girl” have to be erased from our minds.
What is the leadership style you believe in? I ask you because you have to deal with people older than you, with more years, with more experience, if you will, and yet, you are their boss.
I believe that today’s leader is more horizontal; that the world is democratized in all aspects and that includes communication in work teams. At Win, what I want is to be an enabler for others. The time has come when I have to make the team shine to move a company forward. Here the “I” does not matter; Here the “everyone” matters.
Don’t you feel pressured to be the best, to always succeed, to not make mistakes, because people judge people like you twice as hard?
Yes. I deal with that pressure permanently. I think I have to be a good journalist, a good woman, a good mother, good in senior management. I feel eyes on me, but you know?, that makes me ponder things like that, on a day like today, I am grateful for every message that has come to me: the beautiful message with good energy and encouragement, and the one that questions the role that is coming. The two things are an engine. I have to prove to the one who is most implacable with me, that it is me, that I can do it.
What is the most painful and harsh criticism you have received in life?
I’m talking to you about two. The first is to receive comments questioning my ability. And it seems unfair to me because I have worked and prepared for this. The other is more specific: dealing with that workhorse with an episode in 2014, where I was pregnant, and they ended up claiming that I was in a state that had not happened and that has nothing to do with who I am as a person, It was very hard.
“I deal with that pressure constantly. I think I have to be a good journalist, a good woman, a good mom, good in senior management. I feel eyes on me.”
Who you admire?
I admire that woman who has dealt with prejudice, but at the same time has made her way in such a difficult world. I admire the woman who is a mother. That is the most challenging role. There are many mothers who go to work with guilt, because we believe that we are indebted to our children, and that thinking has to change, because we have to parent from admiration. I deeply admire that woman, specifically, who lives with the ghost of herself and her guilt for leaving her son to go to work.
What is going to be the most determining challenge in the presidency of Win Sports?
The renewal of Colombian football rights in 2026, without a doubt. The time has come that what was once a girl, the daughter of a leader who is contemporary with the current leaders, is going to want, being an executive woman, to convince them and demonstrate to them the viability of the business that makes it possible for Colombian soccer teams. have a much better income than 12 years ago, when Win was born. And here comes the other big challenge: being able to assertively communicate what our channel represents not only to the leaders, but, above all, to the fans and even to the audiences who do not yet believe in Win’s project. I am ready to convince you all, with evidence and good arguments, but with respect and humility.
Are you aware that, as a woman, we all expect you to do something to really promote women’s football?
Yes. When I came to work at RCN and the boom in women’s football was beginning, I tried to carry that flag for a while, quite alone, and today I see, fortunately, many people carrying that same flag. Women’s football needs that change of mentality on the part of everyone: the press, the fans, the leaders. We need to believe that it is a football in which we must invest, that it represents the equity that we are looking for and that, despite all the difficulties, it has shone abroad and that it has support that is important, but that is still not enough.
“Women’s football needs that change of mentality on the part of everyone: the press, the fans, the leaders.”
We were talking about the 10-year-old girl
years that you were and, today, is you
daughter, Luna, the one who has that
age. What would you say to your
daughter and girls like her?
I always remind Luna of the importance of being a good person; I remind her that she is capable of whatever she sets her mind to and that this does not go hand in hand with gender, but with the capacity of the people. I have reminded her, a million times, that not all jobs are the same, but that there is something in common: that she has to choose what she wants to do and not what she wants to be because it is the only way to enjoy the journey. . That’s what I tell her and those of her generation.
Thank you, Andrea, for what you have done and for what you represent in this country.
Thank you for believing in my work, for giving visibility to this challenging but exciting moment that I am experiencing. Every thought, every energy that comes to me, leads me to think that I have a commitment to those who believe and to those who do not believe. The time has come for women to feel that they have no limits and that they can do it. We have to reduce the gaps that still exist and we have to change the mentality that exists in our country.
More of ‘the 40 under 40’
#Andrea #Guerrero #persistent #passionate