Milei names Alejandro Oxenford as Argentina's new ambassador to the United States

President Javier Milei has named businessman and tech entrepreneur Alejandro Oxenford as his new ambassador to the United States.

Oxenford, 55, succeeds former US ambassador Gerardo Werthein, who was sworn-in as foreign minister last week after the sacking of the portfolio’s former chief, economist Diana Mondino.

The new envoy has a strong track record as an entrepreneur, a career which began more than two decades ago and led him to become one of the pioneers in the development of Latin American e-commerce platforms.

“The Government of the Argentine Republic has the honour to announce that Mr. Alejandro Carlos Francisco Oxenford will be appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America," the Foreign Ministry said in a post on social media.

“His experience and commitment will strengthen bilateral relations and promote fruitful cooperation between both nations,” it added.

“Thank you very much for your confidence, President Milei,” responded Oxenford in a message posted on social media.

“Thrilled by this appointment as ambassador to the US. I am convinced that with dedication and focus, we will make a significant impact,” added the businessman.

Oxenford ended his post with a quote from Nelson Mandela, stating that “public service is not only an honour, it is also a responsibility.”

Argentina’s Embassy in Washington is the nation’s most important ambassadorial post and Oxenford will be expected to forge strong ties with the incoming Republican administration.

Milei, however, is keen to retain a “direct relationship” with US president-elect Donald Trump, who defeated Kamala Harris in the US presidential election earlier this month, according to the reporting by the La Nación daily.

Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States on January 20 in Washington DC.

Milei plans to attend the event in person, according to Foreign Ministry sources.

Oxenford was born and raised in Palermo, Buenos Aires, and studied business administration at the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA) before receiving an MBA from Harvard University. 

A successful businessman and entrepreneur, his first major venture was DeRemate.com, an online auction site that competed fiercely with e-commerce giant MercadoLibre in the early 2000s and was eventually sold to its rival in 2005 for US$40 million.

In 2006, ‘Alec’ (as he is known to his friends) co-founded OLX (Online Exchange), an online classifieds platform that quickly gained popularity in emerging markets such as India and Brazil. In 2014, he launched letgo, a mobile classified ad app in the United States. Both firms went on to be classified as “unicorns” – start-ups whose market valuation exceeds US$1 billion or more.

A known art collector who previously directed the famed arteBA Foundation and arteBA art fair, Oxenford now takes on the challenge of strengthening trade and diplomatic ties with the world’s biggest superpower. 

His experience in the business world and contacts in the international arena will be key as the Milei administration seeks to make Argentina a technology hub for the wider world.

– TIMES/NA/PERFIL