THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Julian Ginzo is a communications professional based in Geneva, Switzerland. For more than two decades, he has worked at the intersection of media, telecommunications, private equity, entrepreneurship, and international affairs across South America, North America, Europe, and Africa.

Through THEY SAID SO, a Swiss nonprofit organization connecting distinguished voices with audiences across generationshe, he has conducted more than 300 in-depth written interviews with ambassadors, judges, academics, CEOs, senior United Nations officials, humanitarian leaders, and other distinguished figures from around the world.

Today, the initiative has two complementary dimensions: The Publication, which brings these conversations to an international audience, and The Schools Programme, which brings selected voices and perspectives from the publication into secondary schools across Switzerland through on-site and online events, creating opportunities for young people to engage directly with real-world perspectives while fostering critical thinking, media literacy, democratic values, and active civic engagement.

SHORT STORY LONG

Julian was born in 1976 in Junín, Argentina, during the country’s military dictatorship. Raised in a family deeply committed to justice, democracy, and human rights, he grew up watching his parents embrace public service as a responsibility rather than a career. His father, a lawyer and later Provincial and National Congressman, worked alongside President Raúl Alfonsín during Argentina’s transition to democracy, while his mother built a distinguished career as a psychoanalyst, academic, author, and member of the International Psychoanalytical Association. Their example instilled in him a lifelong belief in dialogue.

Despite this environment, Julian’s greatest challenge was deeply personal. From an early age, he struggled with severe panic attacks and difficulty expressing himself. Years of therapy provided few answers, and his inability to communicate what he was experiencing often left him feeling misunderstood.

Music became his first language. As a teenager, he began writing songs and performing with a band, discovering that while he could express himself through lyrics, speaking remained a daunting challenge. That experience sparked a fascination with communication itself and eventually led him to study Advertising at the University of Belgrano.

At the age of twenty, he co-founded his first advertising agency with Pablo Miró, now a well-known advertising executive in the United States. Together, they developed campaigns for brands including Canon.

As his interests expanded, he moved into private equity, joining TCW/Latin America Equity Partners, a US$80 billion investment fund with interests in sectors including wine, healthcare, beauty, and financial services. At the same time, he completed an MBA at the University of Business and Social Sciences (UCES), followed by a Certificate in Corporate Finance, Credit Analysis & Management from the Argentine Institute of Finance Executives (IAEF).

Alongside his professional career, he remained committed to public-interest initiatives, supporting projects focused on disability inclusion, entrepreneurship, employment, communication accessibility, and economic development. Over the years, he served in advisory roles with organizations including the Argentine Federation of Athletes with Intellectual Disabilities, the Federal Ministry of Labour, Security and Employment of Argentina, the African NGO Grow Movement, and the Investor Assistance Center of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires.

Following Argentina’s political and economic crisis, he emigrated to Canada in 2004. There, he continued his career in banking and telecommunications, holding managerial positions at National Bank of Canada and Scotiabank before assuming a senior management role at Bell Canada. During this period, he also completed executive studies in Business Strategy at the University of Toronto.

Between 2010 and 2015, he returned to Argentina to take over and manage his family’s agribusiness operations, including cattle ranching, horse breeding, and the cultivation of soybeans, wheat, and corn. At the same time, he served as a Business Consultant for the Canadian firm Threeofus Inc.

In 2016, he settled in Geneva, Switzerland, where he co-founded Monada, a public relations platform, together with Swiss entrepreneur Cécile Hofmann. The company connected Geneva’s international community through cultural and networking events, including several hosted at five-star-hotels and United Nations premises. While developing this venture, he completed a Master’s in International Negotiation and Policy-Making at the Graduate Institute of Geneva.

Although Monada experienced rapid growth, working with international brands and expanding to other cities, the business came to an abrupt halt during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ironically, that setback became the bridge to the next chapter of his career.

Soon afterwards, he joined the Editorial Team of UN Today, the official magazine of the United Nations in Geneva and New York, at the invitation of Editor-in-Chief Prisca Chaoui and the Editorial Board. Initially contributing to editorial coordination, partnerships, and author relations, he was eventually encouraged to conduct interviews despite having no previous experience. The opportunity proved transformative. The child who had once struggled to find his own voice became someone driven to ask the questions that had always filled his mind—a curiosity that eventually led to his appointment to the Editorial Board of UN Today.

Those conversations, combined with his growing involvement in international organizations—including a consulting role with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and his work on the brand development of the Frontiers Planet Prize—deepened his conviction that education should expose young people to diverse perspectives rather than predetermined conclusions.

By 2025, Julian had launched his own interview platform, THEY SAID SO. He believed that society—especially young people—needed authentic role models, and that these should be presented not only through stories of success, but also through the challenges, failures, and personal journeys that shape a person’s character.

In 2026, after conducting more than 300 interviews, he founded THEY SAID SO – Association Suisse pour l’Éducation et la Pensée Critique, a Swiss nonprofit dedicated to promoting critical thinking and democratic education.

Through interviews, educational programs, and dialogue with international leaders, the association encourages young people to question assumptions, engage respectfully with different viewpoints, and develop the curiosity and independent thinking that have shaped Julian’s own life.

Julian currently serves as President of THEY SAID SO and is also a member of the Organizing Committee of the Bal Viennois de Genève, held under the patronage of the City of Vienna, which celebrates Austrian heritage while strengthening ties between Austria and Geneva’s international community.