About Us

At Datawheel, we believe data should do more than exist—it should impact and empower decisions, shape policies, and drive economic growth. We build intuitive platforms that transform complex datasets into interactive tools for governments, organizations, and businesses worldwide.

Our expertise in data integration, economic complexity, and visualization makes information accessible, actionable, and impactful.

Our Story

Before founding Datawheel, César Hidalgo, a scientist in complex systems, worked on some of the earliest efforts to make economic data more accessible. He explored ways to visualize trade flows, economic networks, and industrial diversification, bringing together technology and storytelling to make sense of complex datasets.

In 2010, Alex Simoes joined this effort, developing tools that could transform raw data into interactive visualizations. Together, they started to build what would later become the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), a tool that reshaped how policymakers, researchers, and businesses understood economic trends.

Their work laid the foundation for a new approach to data-driven decision-making—one that focused on clarity, accessibility, and actionability.

As demand for better, more intuitive data tools grew, designer Dave Landry joined the team, bringing his expertise in design, user experience and visualization to ensure these platforms were even more engaging and impactful.

By 2013, Datawheel was officially founded—not just to build reports or dashboards but to develop full-scale, dynamic economic intelligence platforms that help organizations integrate, analyze, and share data effortlessly.

Managing Partners

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    César A. Hidalgo

    Co-CEO and Co-founder

    César pioneered the study of economic complexity, combining data science, network theory, and AI to understand how knowledge flows shape economic development. His groundbreaking work has redefined how we measure and visualize the capabilities of nations, firms, and individuals and has changed the global conversation on economic development. Hidalgo is a tenured professor at the Toulouse School of Economics and the founder and director of the Center for Collective Learning (CCL) an interdisciplinary research group with offices at the Toulouse School of Economics and Corvinus University of Budapest

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    Alexander Simoes

    Co-CEO and Co-founder

    Alex is a data entrepreneur and one of the driving forces behind Datawheel's mission to transform the way people interact with data. He has more than fifteen years of experience in the creation of open data solutions such as the OEC, Data USA, and Data Mexico. Simoes has led many of Datawheel’s key innovations, from the creation of its first platforms and software libraries, to recent advances in data gamification (e.g. tradle)

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    Pablo Paladino

    Chief Technology Officer

    Pablo is a veteran web development engineer who has led the creation of several cutting-edge data platforms. At Datawheel, Pablo oversees the development of scalable, user-friendly solutions that integrate diverse data sources into seamless experiences. With over 15 years of experience in software engineering and system architecture, Pablo has been instrumental in building Datawheel's reputation for delivering high-performance, durable platforms that unlock insights for organizations and communities worldwide.

Complex problems are best solved collaboratively

Teamwork is at the heart of everything we do. The challenges we’re facing are too big to solve alone, and we believe we are more powerful together than we ever could be on our own.

Builders

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    Annie Zapata

    Automated Reporting Lead

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    Felipe Figueroa

    Full Stack Engineer

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    Francisco Abarzúa

    Full Stack Engineer

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    Jelmy Hermosilla

    Backend Engineering Lead

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    Alan Ramírez

    Frontend Engineer

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    Samuel Osorio

    Full Stack Engineer

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    Alejandro Lara

    Backend Engineer

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    Nicolás Netz

    Data Engineer

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    Esteban Valenzuela

    Data Engineer

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    Mario Valdivia

    Data Engineer

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    Sebastián Espinoza

    Frontend Engineer

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    Felipe Ramos

    Data Science AI Specialist

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    Cristóbal Vergara

    Junior Data Engineer

  • Bastián Fierro

    Bastián Fierro

    Junior Data Engineer

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    Anahide Nahhal

    Design Lead

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    Gabriela Pérez

    UI Designer

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    Jonatan Rioseco

    Information Designer

Business & Project Development

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    David Anabalón

    Marketing Lead

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    Constanza Pincheira

    Customer Support & Back Office

Partners

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    César A. Hidalgo

    Co-CEO and Co-founder

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    Alexander Simoes

    Co-CEO and Co-founder

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    Pablo Paladino

    Chief Technology Officer

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    Dave Landry

    Co-founder and Partner

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    Sebastián Melin

    Partner

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    Jimmy Mullen

    Partner

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    Jonathan Speiser

    Partner

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    Natalia Prieto

    Partner

Alumni

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    Gilberto García

    Chief Economist

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    Alexandra Bjanes

    Data Analyst

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    Grace Riquelme

    Operations Lead

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    Walter Buczacka

    Senior Developer

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    Natalia Rodriguez

    Project Manager

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    Nicolás Pérez

    Full Stack Engineer

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    Dominique Moenne

    Data Engineer

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    Miguel Castillo

    Full Stack Engineer

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    Mauricio Barbieri

    Data Engineering Manager & Training Specialist

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    Felipe Opazo

    Junior Economist

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    Danae Catalán

    Graphic Designer

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    Eduardo Vásquez

    Full Stack Engineer

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    Full Stack Engineer

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    Ryan Green

    Full Stack Developer

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    Marcos Pérez

    Full Stack Engineer

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    Lidia García

    Full Stack Engineer

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    Carlos Navarrete

    Front-End Developer

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    Márcio Porto

    Back-End Developer

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    Andrea Margit

    Public Sector Solutions

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    Victor Bebo

    Operations Manager

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    James Ferrell

    Product Designer

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    Jay Majithia

    Developer Intern

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    Walker Lambrecht

    Developer Intern

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    Walther Chen

    Lead Back-End Engineer

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    Santiago Soulayrac

    Intern

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    Rashmi Baheti

    Junior Front-End Developer

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    Valerie Hande Tuzel

    Data Scientist

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    Nick Bond

    Front-End Developer Intern

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    Sabrina Kantor

    Front-End Developer Intern

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    Mauricio Vargas

    Noble Data Analyst

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    Manuel Aristarán

    Data Craftsman

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    Alice Zhou

    Curriculum Design Intern

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    Chloe Blazey

    Curriculum Design Intern

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    Eli Munn

    Developer Intern

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    Gena Hong

    UX Designer

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    Matt Rosadini

    Administration

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    Melissa Teng

    Designer

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    Daniel Smilkov

    Algorithm Guru