An interview with Dr. Luis Rabelo, University of Central Florida (UCF): Co-Chair, IEOM Society Latin American Conference in Panama

The interview with Dr. Rabelo highlighted key moments from this amazing event. The IEOM Society was not aware of the opportunity Panama offered; however, Dr. Rabelo strongly influenced our decision to hold a conference there. He proved to be right! The IEOM Society was fortunate to receive a SENACYT grant to provide scholarships for students and faculty. Dr. Rabelo described the students learning experience in Panama.  It was an overwhelming success due to the commitment of Dr. Rabelo and the other conference co-chairs, Dr. Maximiliano E. Jiménez and Oscar Leon. Highlights included outstanding panel sessions and workshops: Women Leaders in STEM, Logistics and Ports, and AI in Academia. All panel sessions were well planned and featured experienced panelists. Most notably at this event was the participation of two CEOs of companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange – Copa Airlines and Bladex, a major Panama bank. This session was amazing! This is one of the first times two CEOs of publicly traded companies have participated in an IEOM Society conference.  Dr. Rabelo commented on the importance of the IEOM Society student chapter. He was instrumental in establishing the student chapter at UCF and currently serves as its faculty advisor. He emphasized several benefits of joining and actively participating in a student chapter. We spoke briefly about the upcoming South American Conference in Cartagena, Colombia, next April. Dr. Rabelo will be working as a Co-Chair for this conference .