She is the president and chief operating officer of Flag Luxury Group, a New York-based real estate development company that she co-founded with her husband in 1997.

[1] When Olarte de Kanavos was nine years old, her mother enrolled as a graduate student at Barnard College, relocating the family to New York City.

[1] Olarte de Kanavos' parents later separated, and she returned to Bogotá with her sisters, Gloria and Norma, and father while her mother stayed in the United States.

[1] During one summer vacation, Olarte de Kanavos brought Roberta Petruzzi, an Italian-Mexican woman and fellow Cornell student, home to Bogotá.

[1] Olarte de Kanavos moved to Manhattan after finishing college, working as a real-estate consultant and as a waitress at the restaurant Canastel's on Park Avenue.

[1] Through Imperiali, she became acquainted with a group of Italian expatriates who involved her with the Junior International Club, an event-promoting network of wealthy Europeans and South Americans.

[3] Since 1997, Olarte has served as the president and Chief Operating Officer of Flag Luxury Group, a New York City-based real estate development company she co-founded with her husband.