Investments

César Cañedo-Arguelles Montes

Origination Analyst

César Cañedo-Arguelles Montes

Origination Analyst

Ramon Candia

Chief Investment Officer

Ramon Candia is an investment banking professional with over 20 years of experience and is CIFI’s Chief Investment Officer. In recent years he has focused on the infrastructure and cleantech sectors. He has been actively involved in financing, structuring, developing, negotiating, creating business strategies and managing portfolios on several continents.

He has represented his employers as a board member in several companies. In 2003 he earned an MBA in Finance from Purdue University. And set out to advance professionally with exposure to various industries, he is fluent in English, Spanish, German and has a basic level of Portuguese, skills that have allowed him to thrive in the industry internationally.

Ramon Candia

Chief Investment Officer

Nicolás Giancola

Origination Manager

Nicolás Giancola began his career in the financial industry at Banco Hipotecario SA in Argentina. He served as a Capital Markets Analyst, supporting the process of issuing debt instruments for the institution’s founding, and he later became responsible for Investor Relations. In 2017 he joined Banco de Inversión y Comercio Exterior SA (the country's local development bank) as a Structured Finance Officer, where he had the challenge of managing the origination, structuring, negotiation, and approval of financing transactions for investment projects in infrastructure and energy, including the coordination of syndicated loans. In May 2019, he was appointed Head of Structured Finance. In February 2021, he joined CIFI, currently in the role of Origination Manager. Nicolás holds a degree in Economics, a Master's degree in Finance, and an Executive MBA.

Nicolás Giancola

Origination Manager

Augusto Beruti

Origination Officer

Augusto Beruti is an Origination Officer at CIFI with experience in credit risk and structured finance. In recent years, he led the financing of several energy and infrastructure projects at Banco de Inversión y Comercio Exterior (Argentina). He holds a degree in Business Administration from Universidad Católica Argentina and an MBA from Universidad del Cema.

Augusto Beruti

Origination Officer

Fernando Rosario

Origination Analyst

University graduate in international business, including two international exchanges at Pace University-New York and London School of Economics.
After completing his undergraduate degree in 2018, Fernando was hired by a financial technology company in Hong Kong as an analyst and later as a project manager. During his three-year residency in Hong Kong, he worked with the world's largest investment banks developing financial reporting and trading solutions. He was temporarily relocated to Munich for four months to assist the European team in its expansion process. This allowed him to gain first-hand experience with financial products and develop an extensive professional network.
Since 2021, Fernando has been part of CIFI's origination team. He assists the team with analyzing financing opportunities, maintaining client relationships, and conducting market research.

Fernando Rosario

Senior Origination Analyst

Antonio Araúz

Investment Director Structured and Corporate Finance

Antonio is a seasoned investment professional with over 16 years of international track record in commercial banking, structured corporate finance, project finance, private equity and investment management. As part of his investment management responsibilities, he has served as Board Director in multiple companies and has taken an interim CEO role for a successful turn-around, capital raising and exit strategy.

Antonio joined CIFI in 2016, where he serves as an Investment Director and leads the financing process of infrastructure projects across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Before joining CIFI, he began his professional career as a regional manager in commercial banking to later specialized in corporate banking and private equity investments in companies and projects throughout Latin America within the cleantech, sustainable forestry, energy efficiency and renewable energy space.

He earned an MBA from the INCAE Business School and was awarded with a 12- month Post Graduate Fellowship Program in Sustainable Energy Policy by the German Federal Government. He also has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with Minors in Finance and Management and is fluent in English and Spanish, and proficient in German and Portuguese.

Antonio Araúz

Investment Director Structured and Corporate Finance

Jorge Palomeque

Investment Officer of Structured and Corporate Finance

Jorge Palomeque

Investment Officer of Structured and Corporate Finance

Fabricio Marenberg Friedman

Senior Associate Structured and Corporate Finance

Fabricio Marenberg Friedman joined CIFI in 2022 as Sr. Portfolio Officer. He has over 15 years of financial experience as Head of Corporate Credit at Banco Itau Argentina Credit Specialist at ICBC Argentina. Previously, he had worked at Fitch Ratings as an Associate in the Corporate Credit Department. In his career, he has participated in numerous structured loans such as acquisition finance, leverage buyouts, infrastructure projects, and margin loans. Fabricio has a degree in Economics from the National University of Córdoba and a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of San Andrés.

Fabricio Marenberg Friedman

Senior Associate Structured and Corporate Finance

Vittorio Crovari

Associate Structured and Corporate Finance

Vittorio Crovari joined CIFI in 2021 as a Structured Finance Senior Analyst. He works with the Investment Officers to structure customized debt financing solutions for infrastructure and energy projects in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Vittorio has spent the majority of his career in the finance industry. He worked for five years at KPMG. He worked as a financial advisor in deal advisory and corporate finance, performing M&A services related to modeling financial projections, corporate valuations, market studies, project financing, and financial due diligence.
Vittorio holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, specializing in finance and accounting, and a Master in Finance from the EADA Business School in Barcelona, Spain.

Vittorio Crovari

Associate Structured and Corporate Finance

Martín Miranda

Analista de Estructuración de Finanzas Estructuradas y Corporativas

A finance graduate from Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Martin holds over 5 years of experience in investment banking. With a proven track record, he have participated in over 30 deals, with a cumulative value exceeding 300 million dollars, showcasing a nuanced understanding of the financial intricacies across diverse sectors such as Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Insurance, Automotive, Technology, and Logistics.

Since joining CIFI in September 2023, Martin is part of the structuring team, contributing with financial modeling, due diligence and risk analysis but also currently developing a position of Project Manager for a production company based in Chile.

Martín Miranda

Analista de Estructuración de Finanzas Estructuradas y Corporativas

Maria Alejandra Castro

Senior Analyst of Structured and Corporate Finance

María Alejandra Castro is an industrial engineer with an emphasis in finance and organizations from Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. She joined CIFI in 2022 as a Structured and Corporate Finance Analyst and works with investment directors and officers in project finance for infrastructure and energy sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Maria has developed her career in the financial industry, starting in investment banking and working for three years at PricewaterhouseCoopers Colombia in mergers and acquisitions consulting. Her role involved advising foreign and local clients on projects in multiple sectors, such as infrastructure, technology, retail, and healthcare, focusing on financial due diligence and enterprise valuations.

She is fluent in Spanish and English and has an intermediate level of French.

Maria Alejandra Castro

Senior Analyst of Structured and Corporate Finance

Christopher Krause

Senior Analyst of Structured and Corporate Finance

Christopher Krause is a Public Accountant from UADE (Universidad Argentina de la Empresa) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Additionally, he holds a Master's degree in Finance from UCEMA located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and has completed a Master's exchange program at EBS Universität in Wiesbaden, Germany. His professional career began at EY Argentina in the International Tax sector. Afterward, he joined Banco Ciudad de Buenos Aires and was part of the Investment Projects Team within the Corporate Banking area. Throughout 6 years, he participated in the bilateral and syndicated financing of investment projects in Argentina within the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors (industrial and commercial). In September 2022, he joined CIFI's team as a Senior Analyst of Structured Finance. He collaborates with the Directors and Investment Officers in structuring the financing of energy and infrastructure projects within Latin America.

Christopher Krause

Senior Analyst of Structured and Corporate Finance

Ricardo Mesa

Investment Officer of Structured and Corporate Finance

Ricardo Mesa is an Investment Officer of Structured and Corporate Finance at CIFI. A Colombian national, with 14 years of experience in private equity and highly structured debt financing, he combines excellent analytical and financial qualifications with demonstrated achievement in delivering multi-million-dollar transactions. He has structured and financed infrastructure related projects and transactions in Latin America. Ricardo holds an Economics degree from the University of Florida, USA and a Master of Business Administration with a focus in finance from Universidad CEU San Pablo, Spain.

Ricardo Mesa

Head of Portfolio

Joel Sánchez

Portfolio Analyst

Joel Sánchez joined CIFI in 2022 as a Portfolio Analyst, supervising part of the portfolio of assets in the development and operation phase.

Joel has spent most of his career in the financial industry. He has broad experience as a corporate credit analyst looking at different sectors locally and in Latin America, performing quantitative and qualitative evaluations of credit quality through sensitivity analysis, scenario modeling, and financial projections.

Joel has a bachelor's degree in Financial and Corporate Management from the Universidad Latina de Panamá and a Master's in Finance from the University of Chile. In addition to this, he is certified as a Valuation and Financial Modeling Analyst by the Corporate Finance Institute.

Joel Sanchez

Portfolio Analyst

Yetzibel Pardo

Portfolio Analyst

Yetzibel Pardo works as a Portfolio Analyst at CIFI, where she is responsible for managing client relationships and monitoring loans, with a special focus on financial performance.

Before joining CIFI, she worked in both the public and private sectors. In the public sector, she was an Investment and Concessions Analyst at the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Panama (MEF). In the private sector, she held the position of Account Executive for Government and Large Corporates at Bancolombia Group. Throughout her career, she specialized in complex financial structures for infrastructure project financing, particularly in energy, transportation, and telecoms.

Yetzibel holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad Latina de Panamá and a master’s degree in economics and finance from INCAE Business School, with a scholarship for academic and professional excellence granted by the MEF. She is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Yetzibel Pardo

Portfolio Analyst

Andrea Isaza Roquebert

Portfolio Analyst

Andrea holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and an MBA from INCAE Business School. With nearly a decade of experience in corporate banking, her expertise lies in effectively managing client relationships and credit portfolios. She has a proven track record in the analysis, structuring, and formalization of corporate loans across various industries in Latin America.

Joining the CIFI team in 2023 as a Portfolio Analyst, Andrea was entrusted with the responsibility of portfolio management and client relations, placing a strong emphasis on supervising the operational and financial performance of projects within the portfolio. Her educational background, coupled with years of hands-on experience, enables Andrea to contribute effectively to the success and growth of our endeavors at CIFI.

Andrea Isaza Roquebert

Portfolio Analyst

Ramon Candia

Chief Investment Officer

Ramon Candia is an investment banking professional with over 20 years of experience and is CIFI’s Chief Investment Officer. In recent years he has focused on the infrastructure and cleantech sectors. He has been actively involved in financing, structuring, developing, negotiating, creating business strategies and managing portfolios on several continents.

He has represented his employers as a board member in several companies. In 2003 he earned an MBA in Finance from Purdue University. And set out to advance professionally with exposure to various industries, he is fluent in English, Spanish, German and has a basic level of Portuguese, skills that have allowed him to thrive in the industry internationally.

Ramon Candia

Chief Investment Officer

Nicolás Giancola

Gerente de Originación

Nicolás Giancola began his career in the financial industry at Banco Hipotecario SA in Argentina. He served as a Capital Markets Analyst, supporting the process of issuing debt instruments for the institution’s founding, and he later became responsible for Investor Relations. In 2017 he joined Banco de Inversión y Comercio Exterior SA (the country's local development bank) as a Structured Finance Officer, where he had the challenge of managing the origination, structuring, negotiation, and approval of financing transactions for investment projects in infrastructure and energy, including the coordination of syndicated loans. In May 2019, he was appointed Head of Structured Finance. In February 2021, he joined CIFI, currently in the role of Origination Manager. Nicolás holds a degree in Economics, a Master's degree in Finance, and an Executive MBA.

Nicolás Giancola

Origination Manager

Augusto Beruti

Oficial de Originación

Augusto Beruti is an Origination Officer at CIFI with experience in credit risk and structured finance. In recent years, he led the financing of several energy and infrastructure projects at Banco de Inversión y Comercio Exterior (Argentina). He holds a degree in Business Administration from Universidad Católica Argentina and an MBA from Universidad del Cema.

Augusto Beruti

Origination Officer

Fernando Rosario

Senior Origination Analyst

University graduate in international business, including two international exchanges at Pace University-New York and London School of Economics.
After completing his undergraduate degree in 2018, Fernando was hired by a financial technology company in Hong Kong as an analyst and later as a project manager. During his three-year residency in Hong Kong, he worked with the world's largest investment banks developing financial reporting and trading solutions. He was temporarily relocated to Munich for four months to assist the European team in its expansion process. This allowed him to gain first-hand experience with financial products and develop an extensive professional network.
Since 2021, Fernando has been part of CIFI's origination team. He assists the team with analyzing financing opportunities, maintaining client relationships, and conducting market research.

Fernando Rosario

Senior Origination Analyst

Maria Alejandra Castro

Senior Analyst of Structured and Corporate Finance

María Alejandra Castro is an industrial engineer with an emphasis in finance and organizations from Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. She joined CIFI in 2022 as a Structured and Corporate Finance Analyst and works with investment directors and officers in project finance for infrastructure and energy sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Maria has developed her career in the financial industry, starting in investment banking and working for three years at PricewaterhouseCoopers Colombia in mergers and acquisitions consulting. Her role involved advising foreign and local clients on projects in multiple sectors, such as infrastructure, technology, retail, and healthcare, focusing on financial due diligence and enterprise valuations.

She is fluent in Spanish and English and has an intermediate level of French.

Maria Alejandra Castro

Senior Analyst of Structured and Corporate Finance

Christopher Krause

Senior Analyst of Structured and Corporate Finance

Christopher Krause is a Public Accountant from UADE (Universidad Argentina de la Empresa) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Additionally, he holds a Master's degree in Finance from UCEMA located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and has completed a Master's exchange program at EBS Universität in Wiesbaden, Germany. His professional career began at EY Argentina in the International Tax sector. Afterward, he joined Banco Ciudad de Buenos Aires and was part of the Investment Projects Team within the Corporate Banking area. Throughout 6 years, he participated in the bilateral and syndicated financing of investment projects in Argentina within the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors (industrial and commercial). In September 2022, he joined CIFI's team as a Senior Analyst of Structured Finance. He collaborates with the Directors and Investment Officers in structuring the financing of energy and infrastructure projects within Latin America.

Christopher Krause

Senior Analyst of Structured and Corporate Finance

Antonio Araúz

Investment Director Structured and Corporate Finance

Antonio is a seasoned investment professional with over 16 years of international track record in commercial banking, structured corporate finance, project finance, private equity and investment management. As part of his investment management responsibilities, he has served as Board Director in multiple companies and has taken an interim CEO role for a successful turn-around, capital raising and exit strategy.

Antonio joined CIFI in 2016, where he serves as an Investment Director and leads the financing process of infrastructure projects across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Before joining CIFI, he began his professional career as a regional manager in commercial banking to later specialized in corporate banking and private equity investments in companies and projects throughout Latin America within the cleantech, sustainable forestry, energy efficiency and renewable energy space.

He earned an MBA from the INCAE Business School and was awarded with a 12- month Post Graduate Fellowship Program in Sustainable Energy Policy by the German Federal Government. He also has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with Minors in Finance and Management and is fluent in English and Spanish, and proficient in German and Portuguese.

Antonio Araúz

Investment Director Structured and Corporate Finance

Jorge Palomeque

Investment Officer of Structured and Corporate Finance

Jorge Palomeque

Investment Officer of Structured and Corporate Finance

Fabricio Marenberg Friedman

Senior Associate Structured and Corporate Finance

Fabricio Marenberg Friedman joined CIFI in 2022 as Sr. Portfolio Officer. He has over 15 years of financial experience as Head of Corporate Credit at Banco Itau Argentina Credit Specialist at ICBC Argentina. Previously, he had worked at Fitch Ratings as an Associate in the Corporate Credit Department. In his career, he has participated in numerous structured loans such as acquisition finance, leverage buyouts, infrastructure projects, and margin loans. Fabricio has a degree in Economics from the National University of Córdoba and a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of San Andrés.

Fabricio Marenberg Friedman

Senior Associate Structured and Corporate Finance

Vittorio Crovari

Associate Structured and Corporate Finance

Vittorio Crovari joined CIFI in 2021 as a Structured Finance Senior Analyst. He works with the Investment Officers to structure customized debt financing solutions for infrastructure and energy projects in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Vittorio has spent the majority of his career in the finance industry. He worked for five years at KPMG. He worked as a financial advisor in deal advisory and corporate finance, performing M&A services related to modeling financial projections, corporate valuations, market studies, project financing, and financial due diligence.
Vittorio holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, specializing in finance and accounting, and a Master in Finance from the EADA Business School in Barcelona, Spain.

Vittorio Crovari

Associate Structured and Corporate Finance

Martín Miranda

Analista de Estructuración de Finanzas Estructuradas y Corporativas

A finance graduate from Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Martin holds over 5 years of experience in investment banking. With a proven track record, he have participated in over 30 deals, with a cumulative value exceeding 300 million dollars, showcasing a nuanced understanding of the financial intricacies across diverse sectors such as Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Insurance, Automotive, Technology, and Logistics.

Since joining CIFI in September 2023, Martin is part of the structuring team, contributing with financial modeling, due diligence and risk analysis but also currently developing a position of Project Manager for a production company based in Chile.

Martín Miranda

Analista de Estructuración de Finanzas Estructuradas y Corporativas

Ricardo Mesa

Head of Portfolio

Ricardo Mesa is an Investment Officer of Structured and Corporate Finance at CIFI. A Colombian national, with 14 years of experience in private equity and highly structured debt financing, he combines excellent analytical and financial qualifications with demonstrated achievement in delivering multi-million-dollar transactions. He has structured and financed infrastructure related projects and transactions in Latin America. Ricardo holds an Economics degree from the University of Florida, USA and a Master of Business Administration with a focus in finance from Universidad CEU San Pablo, Spain.

Ricardo Mesa

Head of Portfolio

Joel Sánchez

Joel Sánchez

Joel Sánchez joined CIFI in 2022 as a Portfolio Analyst, supervising part of the portfolio of assets in the development and operation phase.

Joel has spent most of his career in the financial industry. He has broad experience as a corporate credit analyst looking at different sectors locally and in Latin America, performing quantitative and qualitative evaluations of credit quality through sensitivity analysis, scenario modeling, and financial projections.

Joel has a bachelor's degree in Financial and Corporate Management from the Universidad Latina de Panamá and a Master's in Finance from the University of Chile. In addition to this, he is certified as a Valuation and Financial Modeling Analyst by the Corporate Finance Institute.

Joel Sanchez

Portfolio Analyst

Yetzibel Pardo

Portfolio Analyst

Yetzibel Pardo works as a Portfolio Analyst at CIFI, where she is responsible for managing client relationships and monitoring loans, with a special focus on financial performance.

Before joining CIFI, she worked in both the public and private sectors. In the public sector, she was an Investment and Concessions Analyst at the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Panama (MEF). In the private sector, she held the position of Account Executive for Government and Large Corporates at Bancolombia Group. Throughout her career, she specialized in complex financial structures for infrastructure project financing, particularly in energy, transportation, and telecoms.

Yetzibel holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad Latina de Panamá and a master’s degree in economics and finance from INCAE Business School, with a scholarship for academic and professional excellence granted by the MEF. She is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Portfolio Analyst

Yetzibel Pardo

Andrea Isaza Roquebert

Portfolio Analyst

Andrea holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and an MBA from INCAE Business School. With nearly a decade of experience in corporate banking, her expertise lies in effectively managing client relationships and credit portfolios. She has a proven track record in the analysis, structuring, and formalization of corporate loans across various industries in Latin America.

Joining the CIFI team in 2023 as a Portfolio Analyst, Andrea was entrusted with the responsibility of portfolio management and client relations, placing a strong emphasis on supervising the operational and financial performance of projects within the portfolio. Her educational background, coupled with years of hands-on experience, enables Andrea to contribute effectively to the success and growth of our endeavors at CIFI.

Andrea Isaza Roquebert

Portfolio Analyst

Environmental, Social, and Governance

Carla Chízmar

Head of Environmental, Social, and Governance

Carla Chizmar is the Head of the ESG department at CIFI, in charge of developing and implementing an ESG strategy in line with the company’s business plan. She holds a BS degree in Biology, specialized in botany from the University of Panama, a master’s degree in Environmental Sciences from Yale University and is Certified in Financing and Deploying Clean Energy from a joint program of Yale School of the Environment and the School of Management.

She has 18 years of experience in scientific research, applied sciences for global problems, sustainable development, clean energy, climate change, green lending, and impact investment. Prior to CIFI, Carla worked extensively in Latin America and the Caribbean with scientific research organizations (Smithsonian), the academia (Yale University), and multilateral organizations (United Nations).

At CIFI, oversees managing E&S risks and impacts prior to investments, supervises ESG performance of the portfolio, compliance with CIFI’s policy framework, stakeholder engagement, identification of green business opportunities and funding, development of tools, and reporting with transparency. Carla is currently developing a Decarbonization Strategy to align CIFI’s investment portfolio to a 1.5°C economy, is responsible for the Gender Equality Strategy of the company, and commitments towards Human Rights in all our investments.

She was part of the team that issued the first Green Bond Programme in Panama for $200MM, designed of an ESG Software, a Key Risk Indicator, and a Scoring System to manage ESG risks. Carla is an Equator Principles Association Steering Committee member, and Lead of the Regional Network for Latin America.

She has strong technical expertise, is results oriented, has great networking skills, creative-analytical thinking, outstanding organizational and communication skills, is proactive, and an excellent researcher with knowledge management. She is fluent in Spanish, English and proficient in Portuguese.

She has been with CIFI since 2016, joined the management team of the company in 2018, and became a shareholder in Valora in 2019.

Carla Chízmar

Head of Environmental, Social, and Governance

María A. Vega

Senior Environmental, Social, and Governance Officer

Maria is a Senior ESG specialist at CIFI, in charge of conducting and evaluating environmental & social impact due diligence assessments of prospective projects. She holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering, from the Simon Bolivar University, and a master’s business administration degree from Metropolitana University.

She has 20 years of experience in Environmental, Social Management, Climate Change, IFC’s Performance Standards implementation, leading the development and implementation of Environmental and Social Impact Assessments and Environmental and Social Action Plans of several infrastructure projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to CIFI, Maria worked extensively in Latin America and the Caribbean with an International inspection, verification, and certification company, and a global building materials company.

At CIFI, she conducts and evaluates environmental & social due diligence assessments of prospective projects, oversights and manages client’s E&S consultants, establishes E&S management frameworks for new projects, and contributes to the ESG impact measurement, policies development and ESG organizational knowledge. She was part of the team that designed an ESG Software and a Scoring System to manage ESG risks.
She has excellent analytical skills, strong technical expertise, is results oriented, outstanding organizational and communication skills, is proactive, and excellent understanding of strategic ESG matters. She is fluent in Spanish and English.

María A. Vega

Senior Environmental, Social, and Governance Officer

Verónica Villacis

Environmental, Social, and Governance Officer

Veronica Villacis is an ESG specialist at CIFI, in charge of conducting environmental & social due diligence processes of s prospecting financing, E&S monitoring of credits, and contributing to the ESG Team to develop new sustainability assessment tools.

She is an Environmental Engineer from the International University SEK in Ecuador and holds a Master's Degree in Environmental Management and Audits from the Universitad Politècnica de Catalunya in Spain. She has a proven history of working applying environmental, social, quality, and international technical standards in different industrial sectors such as oil&gas, energy, mining, telecommunications, manufacture, and in several E&S management areas such as climate change, chemicals, hazardous materials, waste to energy and co-processing technologies, environmental policies, clean energy, energy efficiency, ecosystem and biodiversity conservation.

As a highly experienced environmental engineer with more than 14 years of working in the field, she has an excellent understanding of the unique challenges of sustainable development in both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations in the private and public sectors. This wealth of experience and her personal qualities and engagement will help CIFI reach and generate new institutional goals facing the green, climate, and sustainable financing opportunities. She is also fluent in Spanish, English and proficient in German.

Verónica Villacis

Environmental, Social, and Governance Officer

Environmental, Social, and Governance

Carla Chízmar

Head of Environmental, Social, and Governance

Carla Chizmar is the Head of the ESG department at CIFI, in charge of developing and implementing an ESG strategy in line with the company’s business plan. She holds a BS degree in Biology, specialized in botany from the University of Panama, a master’s degree in Environmental Sciences from Yale University and is Certified in Financing and Deploying Clean Energy from a joint program of Yale School of the Environment and the School of Management.

She has 18 years of experience in scientific research, applied sciences for global problems, sustainable development, clean energy, climate change, green lending, and impact investment. Prior to CIFI, Carla worked extensively in Latin America and the Caribbean with scientific research organizations (Smithsonian), the academia (Yale University), and multilateral organizations (United Nations).

At CIFI, oversees managing E&S risks and impacts prior to investments, supervises ESG performance of the portfolio, compliance with CIFI’s policy framework, stakeholder engagement, identification of green business opportunities and funding, development of tools, and reporting with transparency. Carla is currently developing a Decarbonization Strategy to align CIFI’s investment portfolio to a 1.5°C economy, is responsible for the Gender Equality Strategy of the company, and commitments towards Human Rights in all our investments.

She was part of the team that issued the first Green Bond Programme in Panama for $200MM, designed of an ESG Software, a Key Risk Indicator, and a Scoring System to manage ESG risks. Carla is an Equator Principles Association Steering Committee member, and Lead of the Regional Network for Latin America.

She has strong technical expertise, is results oriented, has great networking skills, creative-analytical thinking, outstanding organizational and communication skills, is proactive, and an excellent researcher with knowledge management. She is fluent in Spanish, English and proficient in Portuguese.

She has been with CIFI since 2016, joined the management team of the company in 2018, and became a shareholder in Valora in 2019.

Carla Chízmar

Head of Environmental, Social, and Governance

María A. Vega

Senior Environmental, Social, and Governance Officer

Maria is a Senior ESG specialist at CIFI, in charge of conducting and evaluating environmental & social impact due diligence assessments of prospective projects. She holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering, from the Simon Bolivar University, and a master’s business administration degree from Metropolitana University.

She has 20 years of experience in Environmental, Social Management, Climate Change, IFC’s Performance Standards implementation, leading the development and implementation of Environmental and Social Impact Assessments and Environmental and Social Action Plans of several infrastructure projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to CIFI, Maria worked extensively in Latin America and the Caribbean with an International inspection, verification, and certification company, and a global building materials company.

At CIFI, she conducts and evaluates environmental & social due diligence assessments of prospective projects, oversights and manages client’s E&S consultants, establishes E&S management frameworks for new projects, and contributes to the ESG impact measurement, policies development and ESG organizational knowledge. She was part of the team that designed an ESG Software and a Scoring System to manage ESG risks.
She has excellent analytical skills, strong technical expertise, is results oriented, outstanding organizational and communication skills, is proactive, and excellent understanding of strategic ESG matters. She is fluent in Spanish and English.

María A. Vega

Senior Environmental, Social, and Governance Officer

Verónica Villacis

Environmental, Social, and Governance Officer

Veronica Villacis is an ESG specialist at CIFI, in charge of conducting environmental & social due diligence processes of s prospecting financing, E&S monitoring of credits, and contributing to the ESG Team to develop new sustainability assessment tools.

She is an Environmental Engineer from the International University SEK in Ecuador and holds a Master's Degree in Environmental Management and Audits from the Universitad Politècnica de Catalunya in Spain. She has a proven history of working applying environmental, social, quality, and international technical standards in different industrial sectors such as oil&gas, energy, mining, telecommunications, manufacture, and in several E&S management areas such as climate change, chemicals, hazardous materials, waste to energy and co-processing technologies, environmental policies, clean energy, energy efficiency, ecosystem and biodiversity conservation.

As a highly experienced environmental engineer with more than 14 years of working in the field, she has an excellent understanding of the unique challenges of sustainable development in both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations in the private and public sectors. This wealth of experience and her personal qualities and engagement will help CIFI reach and generate new institutional goals facing the green, climate, and sustainable financing opportunities. She is also fluent in Spanish, English and proficient in German.

Verónica Villacis

Environmental, Social, and Governance Officer

Jose Salaverria

General Counsel

Jose H. Salaverria T. is a seasoned corporate, finance and transactional attorney, with extensive experience in cross-border transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean.

He is a member CIFI’s founding team, since 2002 when he joined the company as Legal Advisor. He became General Counsel in 2012, where he is responsible for directing all legal affairs of the company and managing its legal department.

During his tenure at CIFI he has led and overseen the structuring, negotiation, closing and monitoring of more than $1.5 billion worth of assets, all its liabilities in both the syndicated loan and capitals markets, while leading CIFI’s corporate and regulatory matters (including advising on audit, budgeting, compliance, employment, governance, investor presentation, litigation, securities and tax planning matters). Since January 2021, he is a member of its Credit Committee. Prior to joining CIFI, between 1996 and 2001, he was an Associate at Torres, Plaz & Araujo, a well-known corporate and tax law firm in Caracas, Venezuela, where he advised multinational corporations doing business in the country. In 1998 he was seconded as in-house legal counsel to EPIC, Exploración & Producción, Entidad de Inversión Colectiva, an affiliate of PDVSA, to lead its legal department in the initial public offering of shares valued at $450 million in the capital market in Venezuela and New York (then the largest IPO in Venezuela).

He holds a Master of Business Administration (2003) from Kogod School of Business, American University, Washington, DC.; a Master in International Commercial Law (LL.M) (1995) from the George Washington University, School of Law, Washington, DC.; and a Juris Doctor (1992) from Universidad Central de Venezuela, School of Law, Caracas, Venezuela.

Jose Salaverria

General Counsel

Javier Balbotín

Lead Counsel

Javier Balbontín is lead counsel at CIFI, providing legal assistance to the origination, business, and portfolio teams in connection with potential and ongoing transactions.

He has more than 10 years of experience working in internationally recognized law firms, in corporate and project financing in Latin America, leading the structuring, negotiation and implementation of complex legal transactions, and supervising legal teams in due diligence processes covering the legal analysis of offtake agreements, PPP contracts, PPAs and other types of offtake agreements, supply agreements EPC/O&M and other project contracts, corporate, real estate, environmental, mining law, regulatory issues, etc., and preparing and negotiating the relevant financing documentation.

Before joining CIFI, he worked as a senior associate Morales & Besa, a renowned law firm in Chile (2009-2015; 2017-2021), where he represented and coordinated legal teams to assist local and international financial institutions, investors, developers and issuers in a variety of projects and financing structures, with emphasis in PPPs and renewable energy, including urban toll roads, highways, airports, hospitals, wind, solar, and hydro power and transmission projects, in project financing, acquisition financing, project bonds, restructurings, VAT financings and mezzanine loans. He has also been involved in financings for mining projects, vessels and in the food industry.

Mr. Balbontín also worked as foreign associate in the Latam project finance team at Mayer Brown LLP (D.C.), being involved in a variety of project finance transactions in Latin America (2016-2017).

During his time at Morales & Besa, Mr. Balbontín was recognized as an associate to watch by Chambers and Partners Latin America, in Banking and Finance (Chile) (2015), and in Projects (Chile) (2021), and by The Legal 500 as Rising Star in Projects and Infrastructure (Chile) (2021).

He holds a LLM at The University of Chicago Law School (2016), a Law Degree at Universidad de Chile Law School (Highest Distinction) (2010) and is admitted to the Chilean Bar (2011).

Javier Balbontín

Lead Counsel

Martha Pastor

Senior Corporate Attorney

Lawyer with 10 years of professional experience and substantial knowledge of commercial, corporate, banking and securities law. Focused on negotiating and drafting contracts for commercial, finance, B2C, B2B, global suppliers and related parties.

As in-house counsel, she has provided expert legal advice in relation to corporate governance, securities, asset management, corporate funding and regulatory compliance matters. Former Legal Counsel for the Panamanian Securities and Exchange regulator.

She holds a master’s degree in Banking Law from USMA Panama; a master’s degree in International Business Law with emphasis on Capital Markets from the University Carlos III of Madrid, School of Law; a Legal English Certification from the same academic institution, and a Bachelor of Laws and Political Sciences from USMA Panama.

Certified Public Translator (English and Spanish) and licensed to practice Law in Panama.

Martha Pastor

Senior Corporate Attorney

Cristina De Roux

Senior Project Attorney

Cristina De Roux is a transactional and corporate lawyer, member of CIFI's legal department, where she serves as a project attorney, providing legal advice for infrastructure project finance in Latin America, as well as in certain corporate and capital markets matters.

Prior to joining CIFI, she worked as an associate lawyer at Morgan & Morgan, the largest law firm in the Republic of Panama, where she regularly advised national and international clients in matters related to project finance, mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, securities and capital markets regulation, antitrust and corporate law.

Cristina has also been involved in pro bono activities, advising various NGOs and representing clients for the defense of their human rights in local and international courts.
Cristina holds a Bachelor's Degree in Law and Political Science, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Santa Maria La Antigua University in Panama. She then obtained her Master of Laws degree with honors of distinction from Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana, on a scholarship as a member of the Panamanian Alumni Association of Tulane University. Ms. De Roux is admitted to practice law in the Republic of Panama.

Cristina De Roux

Senior Project Attorney

Cira Ugas Martínez

Project Attorney

In her professional experience she has worked as Senior Lawyer for C.A Electricidad de Caracas (AES) and Corpoelec, an integrated electric utility serving more than one million users in Caracas- Venezuela, metropolitan area as a corporate, commercial, planning, and regulatory affairs attorney.

Rendering consulting services for private and public sector (Venezuelan and Ecuadorian Ministries of Trade and Commerce) as competition policies specialist, covering goods, commodities, and services as well as highly regulated markets. She has worked as investigating and substantiating officer at the antitrust agency Procompetencia in Venezuela.

She obtained a double degree in Official Master in Economy, Regulation and Competence of Public Services, Specialist in Energy Services and Telecommunications (2014); Universitat de Barcelona (España), Administrative Law Specialization Degree (2005) Universidad Central de Venezuela (Venezuela), Training on Commercial Policy & International Economic Negotiations Degree (2001) Universidad Simón Bolívar (Venezuela), Lawyer Degree (1998) Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Venezuela).
Venezuela).

Cira Ugas Martínez

Project Attorney

Legal

Jose Salaverria

General Counsel

Jose H. Salaverria T. is a seasoned corporate, finance and transactional attorney, with extensive experience in cross-border transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean.

He is a member CIFI’s founding team, since 2002 when he joined the company as Legal Advisor. He became General Counsel in 2012, where he is responsible for directing all legal affairs of the company and managing its legal department.

During his tenure at CIFI he has led and overseen the structuring, negotiation, closing and monitoring of more than $1.5 billion worth of assets, all its liabilities in both the syndicated loan and capitals markets, while leading CIFI’s corporate and regulatory matters (including advising on audit, budgeting, compliance, employment, governance, investor presentation, litigation, securities and tax planning matters). Since January 2021, he is a member of its Credit Committee. Prior to joining CIFI, between 1996 and 2001, he was an Associate at Torres, Plaz & Araujo, a well-known corporate and tax law firm in Caracas, Venezuela, where he advised multinational corporations doing business in the country. In 1998 he was seconded as in-house legal counsel to EPIC, Exploración & Producción, Entidad de Inversión Colectiva, an affiliate of PDVSA, to lead its legal department in the initial public offering of shares valued at $450 million in the capital market in Venezuela and New York (then the largest IPO in Venezuela).

He holds a Master of Business Administration (2003) from Kogod School of Business, American University, Washington, DC.; a Master in International Commercial Law (LL.M) (1995) from the George Washington University, School of Law, Washington, DC.; and a Juris Doctor (1992) from Universidad Central de Venezuela, School of Law, Caracas, Venezuela.

Jose Salaverria

General Counsel

Javier Balbotín

Lead Counsel

Javier Balbontín is lead counsel at CIFI, providing legal assistance to the origination, business, and portfolio teams in connection with potential and ongoing transactions.

He has more than 10 years of experience working in internationally recognized law firms, in corporate and project financing in Latin America, leading the structuring, negotiation and implementation of complex legal transactions, and supervising legal teams in due diligence processes covering the legal analysis of offtake agreements, PPP contracts, PPAs and other types of offtake agreements, supply agreements EPC/O&M and other project contracts, corporate, real estate, environmental, mining law, regulatory issues, etc., and preparing and negotiating the relevant financing documentation.

Before joining CIFI, he worked as a senior associate Morales & Besa, a renowned law firm in Chile (2009-2015; 2017-2021), where he represented and coordinated legal teams to assist local and international financial institutions, investors, developers and issuers in a variety of projects and financing structures, with emphasis in PPPs and renewable energy, including urban toll roads, highways, airports, hospitals, wind, solar, and hydro power and transmission projects, in project financing, acquisition financing, project bonds, restructurings, VAT financings and mezzanine loans. He has also been involved in financings for mining projects, vessels and in the food industry.

Mr. Balbontín also worked as foreign associate in the Latam project finance team at Mayer Brown LLP (D.C.), being involved in a variety of project finance transactions in Latin America (2016-2017).

During his time at Morales & Besa, Mr. Balbontín was recognized as an associate to watch by Chambers and Partners Latin America, in Banking and Finance (Chile) (2015), and in Projects (Chile) (2021), and by The Legal 500 as Rising Star in Projects and Infrastructure (Chile) (2021).

He holds a LLM at The University of Chicago Law School (2016), a Law Degree at Universidad de Chile Law School (Highest Distinction) (2010) and is admitted to the Chilean Bar (2011).

Javier Balbontín

Lead Counsel

Martha Pastor

Senior Corporate Attorney

Lawyer with 10 years of professional experience and substantial knowledge of commercial, corporate, banking and securities law. Focused on negotiating and drafting contracts for commercial, finance, B2C, B2B, global suppliers and related parties.

As in-house counsel, she has provided expert legal advice in relation to corporate governance, securities, asset management, corporate funding and regulatory compliance matters. Former Legal Counsel for the Panamanian Securities and Exchange regulator.

She holds a master’s degree in Banking Law from USMA Panama; a master’s degree in International Business Law with emphasis on Capital Markets from the University Carlos III of Madrid, School of Law; a Legal English Certification from the same academic institution, and a Bachelor of Laws and Political Sciences from USMA Panama.

Certified Public Translator (English and Spanish) and licensed to practice Law in Panama.

Martha Pastor

Senior Corporate Attorney

Cristina De Roux

Senior Project Attorney

Cristina De Roux is a transactional and corporate lawyer, member of CIFI's legal department, where she serves as a project attorney, providing legal advice for infrastructure project finance in Latin America, as well as in certain corporate and capital markets matters.

Prior to joining CIFI, she worked as an associate lawyer at Morgan & Morgan, the largest law firm in the Republic of Panama, where she regularly advised national and international clients in matters related to project finance, mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, securities and capital markets regulation, antitrust and corporate law.

Cristina has also been involved in pro bono activities, advising various NGOs and representing clients for the defense of their human rights in local and international courts.
Cristina holds a Bachelor's Degree in Law and Political Science, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Santa Maria La Antigua University in Panama. She then obtained her Master of Laws degree with honors of distinction from Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana, on a scholarship as a member of the Panamanian Alumni Association of Tulane University. Ms. De Roux is admitted to practice law in the Republic of Panama.

Cristina De Roux

Senior Project Attorney

Cira Ugas Martínez

Project Attorney

In her professional experience she has worked as Senior Lawyer for C.A Electricidad de Caracas (AES) and Corpoelec, an integrated electric utility serving more than one million users in Caracas- Venezuela, metropolitan area as a corporate, commercial, planning, and regulatory affairs attorney.

Rendering consulting services for private and public sector (Venezuelan and Ecuadorian Ministries of Trade and Commerce) as competition policies specialist, covering goods, commodities, and services as well as highly regulated markets. She has worked as investigating and substantiating officer at the antitrust agency Procompetencia in Venezuela.

She obtained a double degree in Official Master in Economy, Regulation and Competence of Public Services, Specialist in Energy Services and Telecommunications (2014); Universitat de Barcelona (España), Administrative Law Specialization Degree (2005) Universidad Central de Venezuela (Venezuela), Training on Commercial Policy & International Economic Negotiations Degree (2001) Universidad Simón Bolívar (Venezuela), Lawyer Degree (1998) Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Venezuela).
Venezuela).

Cira Ugas Martínez

Project Attorney

Operations and Risks

Finance

Fabio Arciniegas

Chief Operating Officer

Fabio Arciniegas, as COO, oversees all business level risks (credit, market, liquidity, compliance, reputational, operational, legal and E&S), including distressed assets. He is also in charge of day-to-day operations support, including back-office, accounting and IT.

He is a member of the Pipeline, ALCO and Credit Committees, and secretary of the CIFI Risk Committee.

Fabio is a decisive, action-oriented and results-driven senior executive with over 25 years of experience in multi-diverse environments, including banking, infrastructure, energy and manufacturing industries.

He is a team leader with a proven ability to effectively achieve objectives through sound management, effective leadership and analytical skills, with proven success in mitigating risks in companies with leverage issues in Latin America.

He holds a PhD in Statistics and a Master's degree in Operations Research and Infrastructure Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Universidad de los Andes (Colombia).

He is certified as a Financial Risk Manager (FRM) by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), and as a PMP by the Project Management Institute. He was also a member of the Risk Committee at the Panama Banking Association (2012-2015), where the Committee oversaw the analysis, discussion and negotiation of the new Agreement No. 4-2013, which established all regulation related to credit risk management, from origination to credit reserves and credit risk models, following Basel II.

Joined CIFI in 2016 and became a shareholder of Valora in 2019.

Fabio Arciniegas

Chief Operating Officer

Janet Sánchez

Risk Director

Janet Sanchez is responsible for managing the risks inherent to CIFI's activity. She has 15 years of experience in credit risk management, investment structuring and portfolio management.

His experience is focused on the infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, real estate and mining sectors. She has worked at CIFI since 2007 and previously worked at an investment fund manager focused on Latin America and at a risk rating agency.

Janet holds an economist degree from Universidad del Pacífico (Lima, Peru), and an MBA from George Mason University (VA, USA).

Janet Sánchez

Risk Director

Ricardo Rico

Director de Fondos de Inversión

Mr. Ricardo Rico has more than 25 years of working experience in asset management, capital markets, and project/corporate finance. Ricardo joined CIFI Group in 2021 as Head of Funds. Mr. Rico´s other previous positions include Head of Investments at AIIB in Beijing, China, Head of Capital Markets at CABEI in Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Head of Asset Management at the Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR) in Bogota, Colombia; and Investment Officer at the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IADB) in Washington DC, USA; born in Colombia, Ricardo Rico has academic training in Economics from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota and has an MBA in Finance from the University of Wollongong in Sydney, Australia.

Ricardo Rico

Director de Fondos de Inversión

Neila Urriola

Treasury Director

Neila Urriola has been CIFI's Treasurer since November 2016. She has extensive experience in treasury management, relationship with financial institutions and risk rating agencies, implementation of processes and procedures in the financial area, management of investments and issuance of securities in the capital markets. She is responsible for organizing and following up on CIFI's "ALCO" committee, to monitor liquidity needs and compliance with the obligations established in the Liquidity Policy; in addition to managing the delivery of financial reporting to third parties.

She previously served as Treasury and Finance Team Leader at Celsia Central America and Engie. She was Treasury Officer at BNP Paribas Panama Branch and Global Bank Corporation.

She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Finance from Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigüa, Magna Cum Laude. A Postgraduate and a master’s degree in Economics for the Formulation, Evaluation and Administration of Projects from the University of Panama. And a Postgraduate Degree in Financial Markets from Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigüa.

Neila Urriola

Treasury Director

Operations and Risks

Fabio Arciniegas

Chief Operating Officer

Fabio Arciniegas, as COO, oversees all business level risks (credit, market, liquidity, compliance, reputational, operational, legal and E&S), including distressed assets. He is also in charge of day-to-day operations support, including back-office, accounting and IT.

He is a member of the Pipeline, ALCO and Credit Committees, and secretary of the CIFI Risk Committee.

Fabio is a decisive, action-oriented and results-driven senior executive with over 25 years of experience in multi-diverse environments, including banking, infrastructure, energy and manufacturing industries.

He is a team leader with a proven ability to effectively achieve objectives through sound management, effective leadership and analytical skills, with proven success in mitigating risks in companies with leverage issues in Latin America.

He holds a PhD in Statistics and a Master's degree in Operations Research and Infrastructure Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Universidad de los Andes (Colombia).

He is certified as a Financial Risk Manager (FRM) by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), and as a PMP by the Project Management Institute. He was also a member of the Risk Committee at the Panama Banking Association (2012-2015), where the Committee oversaw the analysis, discussion and negotiation of the new Agreement No. 4-2013, which established all regulation related to credit risk management, from origination to credit reserves and credit risk models, following Basel II.

Joined CIFI in 2016 and became a shareholder of Valora in 2019.

Fabio Arciniegas

Chief Operating Officer

Janet Sánchez

Risk Director

Janet Sanchez is responsible for managing the risks inherent to CIFI's activity. She has 15 years of experience in credit risk management, investment structuring and portfolio management.

His experience is focused on the infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, real estate and mining sectors. She has worked at CIFI since 2007 and previously worked at an investment fund manager focused on Latin America and at a risk rating agency.

Janet holds an economist degree from Universidad del Pacífico (Lima, Peru), and an MBA from George Mason University (VA, USA).

Janet Sánchez

Risk Director

Finance

Ricardo Rico

Director de Fondos de Inversión

Mr. Ricardo Rico has more than 25 years of working experience in asset management, capital markets, and project/corporate finance. Ricardo joined CIFI Group in 2021 as Head of Funds. Mr. Rico´s other previous positions include Head of Investments at AIIB in Beijing, China, Head of Capital Markets at CABEI in Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Head of Asset Management at the Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR) in Bogota, Colombia; and Investment Officer at the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IADB) in Washington DC, USA; born in Colombia, Ricardo Rico has academic training in Economics from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota and has an MBA in Finance from the University of Wollongong in Sydney, Australia.

Ricardo Rico

Director de Fondos de Inversión

Neila Urriola

Treasury Director

Neila Urriola has been CIFI's Treasurer since November 2016. She has extensive experience in treasury management, relationship with financial institutions and risk rating agencies, implementation of processes and procedures in the financial area, management of investments and issuance of securities in the capital markets. She is responsible for organizing and following up on CIFI's "ALCO" committee, to monitor liquidity needs and compliance with the obligations established in the Liquidity Policy; in addition to managing the delivery of financial reporting to third parties.

She previously served as Treasury and Finance Team Leader at Celsia Central America and Engie. She was Treasury Officer at BNP Paribas Panama Branch and Global Bank Corporation.

She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Finance from Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigüa, Magna Cum Laude. A Postgraduate and a master’s degree in Economics for the Formulation, Evaluation and Administration of Projects from the University of Panama. And a Postgraduate Degree in Financial Markets from Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigüa.

Neila Urriola

Treasury Director