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

• 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

• 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)

• 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

• Annie Zapata

  Automated Reporting Lead

• Felipe Figueroa

  Full Stack Engineer

• Francisco Abarzúa

  Full Stack Engineer

• Jelmy Hermosilla

  Backend Engineering Lead

• Alan Ramírez

  Frontend Engineer

• Samuel Osorio

  Full Stack Engineer

• Alejandro Lara

  Backend Engineer

• Nicolás Netz

  Data Engineer

• Esteban Valenzuela

  Data Engineer

• Mario Valdivia

  Data Engineer

• Sebastián Espinoza

  Frontend Engineer

• Felipe Ramos

  Data Science AI Specialist

• Cristóbal Vergara

  Junior Data Engineer

• Bastián Fierro

  Junior Data Engineer

• Anahide Nahhal

  Design Lead

• Gabriela Pérez

  UI Designer

• Jonatan Rioseco

  Information Designer

Business & Project Development

• David Anabalón

  Marketing Lead

• Constanza Pincheira

  Customer Support & Back Office

Partners

• César A. Hidalgo

  Co-CEO and Co-founder

• Alexander Simoes

  Co-CEO and Co-founder

• Pablo Paladino

  Chief Technology Officer

• Dave Landry

  Co-founder and Partner

• Sebastián Melin

  Partner

• Jimmy Mullen

  Partner

• Jonathan Speiser

  Partner

• Natalia Prieto

  Partner

Alumni

• Gilberto García

  Chief Economist

• Alexandra Bjanes

  Data Analyst

• Grace Riquelme

  Operations Lead

• Walter Buczacka

  Senior Developer

• Natalia Rodriguez

  Project Manager

• Nicolás Pérez

  Full Stack Engineer

• Dominique Moenne

  Data Engineer

• Miguel Castillo

  Full Stack Engineer

• Mauricio Barbieri

  Data Engineering Manager & Training Specialist

• Felipe Opazo

  Junior Economist

• Danae Catalán

  Graphic Designer

• Eduardo Vásquez

  Full Stack Engineer

• Gonzalo Oportus

  Full Stack Engineer

• Ryan Green

  Full Stack Developer

• Marcos Pérez

  Full Stack Engineer

• Lidia García

  Full Stack Engineer

• Carlos Navarrete

  Front-End Developer

• Márcio Porto

  Back-End Developer

• Andrea Margit

  Public Sector Solutions

• Victor Bebo

  Operations Manager

• James Ferrell

  Product Designer

• Jay Majithia

  Developer Intern

• Walker Lambrecht

  Developer Intern

• Walther Chen

  Lead Back-End Engineer

• Santiago Soulayrac

  Intern

• Rashmi Baheti

  Junior Front-End Developer

• Valerie Hande Tuzel

  Data Scientist

• Nick Bond

  Front-End Developer Intern

• Sabrina Kantor

  Front-End Developer Intern

• Mauricio Vargas

  Noble Data Analyst

• Manuel Aristarán

  Data Craftsman

• Alice Zhou

  Curriculum Design Intern

• Chloe Blazey

  Curriculum Design Intern

• Eli Munn

  Developer Intern

• Gena Hong

  UX Designer

• Matt Rosadini

  Administration

• Melissa Teng

  Designer

• Daniel Smilkov

  Algorithm Guru