Quienes Somos

Arturo Aguilar
Executive Director
Seattle International Foundation

Jose Arturo Aguilar is an internationally-renown human rights’ defender, investigator and political strategist with over 20 years championing justice and democracy in Latin America.

Most recently, he served as Senior Political Officer to Commissioner Ivan Velasquez, head of the UN-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). The commission has been a driving force in a series of investigations against top government officials, and it even helped inspire a nationwide protest movement in 2015 that led to the resignation and eventual imprisonment of president Otto Perez Molina and at least 40 others for public corruption.

Prior to his work at CICIG, Aguilar was Secretary of Strategic and Private Affairs to Guatemala’s first woman Attorney General, Claudia Paz y Paz, named by Forbes as one of the “five most powerful women changing the world” and a leading candidate for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. A key member during her tenure, Aguilar built key alliances with regional governments in Latin America, Europe and across all levels of the U.S. government. He was also instrumental in developing a large network of political contacts and allies across different sectors of society. The team made strides in the prosecution of organized crime resulting in a significant drop in impunity rates. They also made world history in the prosecution of Efrain Rios Montt, the first former head of state to be convicted of genocide by a court in his own country.

His passion for service began while his home country of Guatemala was still at war. At just 18 years old, Arturo was instrumental in solving the murder of Bishop Gerardi in Guatemala—one of the first landmark cases against the military in the post-civil war era, as an investigator and later Coordinator of the Legal Area of the Office of Human Rights the Archbishop of Guatemala (ODHAG).  The case was immortalized by American novelist and New Yorker contributing writer Francisco Goldman in “The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?” Aguilar went on to champion other cases, eventually landing a key position as the coordinator for strategic litigation at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Guatemala (OHCHR), where he trained and advised large groups of indigenous peoples’ NGOs on strategic constitutional litigation before being recruited by Attorney General Paz y Paz in 2011.

INCAE

Enrique Bolaños is the current rector of INCAE, following a distinguished career in international business. He is the first non-academic rector in the history of the institution and the second Nicaraguan rector. Enrique has a degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Michigan and is a graduate of the INCAE MBA. Enrique joined INCAE in 2012 as Executive Vice-president to lead the institution’s organizational and financial transformation. In two years he put together an excellent executive team, who helped him to increase financial sustainability of the institution, as well as to initiate other important projects. Before his return to INCAE, Enrique was President and CEO of Flexsys in Brussels, Belgium. He successfully led the company in a challenging business environment, substantially increasing its market share. Under Enrique’s direction, Flexsys generated a great deal of value for shareholders, improved its relation with stakeholders and achieved excellent financial results. These strategic and financial successes eventually helped the company achieve a high price. Before this, Enrique was Vice-president of Flexsys for the Americas, a post he held while based in the U.S.A. Currently, as well as leading INCAE, he collaborates with the Enrique Bolaños Foundation, an initiative started by his father who was President of Nicaragua until 2007. The aim of the foundation is the creation and maintenance of a virtual library open to the public, which holds the largest archive of documents on Nicaraguan history and politics. At the same time, Enrique is a board member of FUNIDES, the Nicaraguan foundation for social and economic development. Enrique is married to Lourdes Chamorro César; he has five children and seven grandchildren.

Fusion Venture Partners

Stace Lindsay is president of Fusion Venture Partners, a firm he started in order to bring together: people of great vision who inspire change, engender trust, and are moved deeply to make a difference; insights that have the power to improve our quality of life, protect that which is in danger, or to fix what is broken in our world; and capital that can be deployed with foresight, patience, and commitment to finding ways to be leveraged for economic and social good. In 2014 and 2015 he was the director of strategic initiatives for the Aspen Global Leadership Network, a role he assumed in 2014 to help broaden and deepen the collective impact of the work being done by its 1,800 alumni. He has also been a strategic advisor to senior business, government, and nonprofit leaders throughout the world, having held senior positions at both Monitor Company and the OTF Group, where he worked closely with Michael Porter to adapt his work to emerging markets. He also has significant start-up, turnaround, and operating experience with companies, having been CEO of New England Portable Storage and vice president of business development for Merrimack Pharmaceuticals. He has also been a managing partner in the Latin American-focused venture capital firm Explorador.net. Stace is the co-founder of the Central American Leadership Initiative, part of the Aspen Institute’s Global Leadership Network. Stace has served on the executive committee of the Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs and on the board of directors of TechnoServe, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building competitive businesses in rural Africa and Latin America. He has also been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Business School and the University of Adolpho Ibanez Business School in Chile. He is the co-author of Plowing the Sea: Nurturing the Hidden Sources of Growth in the Developing World and author of the chapter “Culture, Strategy and Prosperity” in the book Culture Matters. Stace earned his degrees in international relations from Georgetown University and Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He and his family make their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Stace is a 2002 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, as well as a member of and a senior moderator for the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

El Salvador

María Eugenia “Mayu” Brizuela was appointed Regional Head for the non-existing Corporate Sustainability function in Latin America for HSBC in 2007. On August 11, 2004 she had been elected President of Banco Salvadoreño becoming the first woman president of a private bank in El Salvador. When Banco Salvadoreño and Banistmo, the biggest regional bank, forged a strategic alliance, she was elected CEO and Board member, keeping those positions also when HSBC acquired a controlling majority in 2006, becoming one of the few female CEO´s in HSBC. She has actively participated in socially oriented service institutions such as Patronato del Hogar del Niño; FUDEM, Junior Achievement Americas, Vital Voices for women development, FEPADE foundation of the private sector for education and FUSADES the most prestigious private sector think tank in El Salvador. She is the first Latin American member of the International Board of PLAN, an NGO with presence in 70 countries. She has a solid academic background in Law, Insurance, and Art, with a Master in Business Administration. She loves teaching and has done so in Universities in El Salvador, and INCAE Business School in Costa Rica. She´s always been breaking female glass ceilings, for example in 1999 she became the first woman to be designated Minister of Foreign Affairs in her country El Salvador. She had been the first female president of an Insurance company too. She received La Palma de Oro, the most prestigious private sector recognition for her lifetime achievements.

Honduras

Ricardo Maduro Joest graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. He was elected President of Honduras and served his term from 2002 to 2006. Mr. Maduro, a noted reformer, promoted many improvements in the judicial system, worked toward increased transparency and reducing crime. During his term, the economy showed an increasing growth trend, while inflation was reduced and the exchange rate remained stable for the first time in many years. Sound economic and social policies set the groundwork for an unprecedented 57% reduction of the nation’s foreign indebtedness. The newly available resources will help accelerate implementation of the country’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. As a public servant he previously held the offices of President of the Central Bank of Honduras, Economic Cabinet Coordinator and Governor for Honduras before the International Monetary Fund, the Interamerican Development Bank, the World Bank and the Central American Bank of Economic Integration. Additionally, he was elected to the Central American Parliament. He has also been significantly involved in the political arena. His political career includes several positions held within the National Party of Honduras. He successfully led his party as campaign director on two occasions and occupied the position of President of this political organization. Mr. Maduro has an outstanding entrepreneurial track record beginning in 1967 as General Manager in Xerox Honduras, and as Executive Director for “Inversiones La Paz”, an investment company which has substantial holding in the shrimp farming, automotive, appliance, retail and hotel industries. He has obtained various awards including “Entrepreneur of the Year” from the Honduras-American Chamber of Commerce; “Outstanding Entrepreneur” from GEMAH (a major business organization); “Man of the Year” from “El Heraldo”, a leading national newspaper and the Ruben Dario Grand Collar Ordainment – Nicaragua’s highest honor for a dignitary, national or foreign. He is also founder and former president of FEREMA, an educational non-profit foundation which seeks to improve the quality of and access to public education in Honduras. Mr. Maduro is a permanent member of the Advisory Board of the University of Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Mr. Maduro’s track record in both the public and private sector make a frequent speaker at many conferences in Honduras and abroad.

TECHNOSERVE

Originally from El Salvador, but living in Chile and Nicaragua for the last 10 years, Oscar Artiga is the Entrepreneurship Program Director for TechnoServe’s Central American programs, which includes business accelerators in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama. He has more than 9 years of experience working in the development sector. In this role, he oversees entrepreneurship programs implementation across Central America, runs fundraising activities and keeps a constant communication with donors, entrepreneurship and SME developing stakeholders in the region. He also leads the entrepreneurship practice in Central America representing TechnoServe´s work in important conferences and events such as ANDE Annual meeting, SOCAP and FLII. Since 2015, serves as an ANDE´s CAM Chapter board member providing advice for the development of the SME and entrepreneurship environment in the region. Oscar has managed projects in West Africa (Burkina Faso) and Chile where he started his work with TechnoServe in 2008. Previous to his work with TechnoServe, Oscar worked in Banco Salvadoreño as process analyst and Operational Risk Officer working in organizational processes, fraud prevention and project evaluation. Between 2016 and 2017 he worked as Project Leader/MIS in Grupo Financiero Uno where he developed commercial projects and market analysis strategies for the operation in El Salvador. He is a passionate educator and has worked as main professor and instructor in DUOC-UC and UAI (both in Chile) and Universidad Thomas More in Nicaragua. He holds an MBA from the Universidad Adolfo Ibanez in Chile, and a BS in industrial engineering from the Universidad Centroamericana in El Salvador.

Guatemala

Karla Menocal is an Entrepreneur in the logistics and transportation business. CPS has been in the market for 27 years. It currently operates in Central America, Miami and Panama, creating more than 200 direct jobs and connecting thousands of local companies and individuals in the world through logistics, transportation, Ecommerce cross border, first and last mile deliveries. Karla understands the importance of an agile, transparent and ethical business environment, so she worked in close cooperation with the Guatemala Tax Administration Superintendence (SAT) in the modernization of customs’ processes. In 2010 and 2017 she received a Merit Certificate from the World Customs Organization based in Brussels, for offering exceptional service to the international customs community through this work. Karla believes that a large part of our current problems are rooted in the way girls are growing up, so by offering them a healthy, safe and fair life we can create a better country. This conviction led her to actively participate in the Board of Directors of Asociación La Alianza, a shelter home for girls who are victims of sexual violence and human trafficking; and the Board of Directors of Vital Voices, global organization dedicated to empowering women and girls. Karla carries her message and reflection to all the spaces she participates in the private sector: Director of the council of FUNDESA (Fundacion para el Desarrollo), founding member of Fundación Guatemala sin Corrupción (Guatemala without Corruption Foundation), Aspen Institute Global Leadership Network member, Central American Leadership Initiative fellow and 2018 Alumna of The Fortune-U.S. Department of State Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership.

Costa Rica

Harry Strachan is Managing Director of Mesoamerica Investments (1998-Present) whose three divisions serve the major business groups of Central America and Panama. Harry was a partner of Bain & Co from 1979 to 1998 and continues active part time with Bain and Bain Capital in their New Partner training and Mexico / C.A. activities. Harry was a business school professor at INCAE and the Harvard Business School from 1970-1979 and Rector of INCAE in the 1981/2 transition. A significant portion of Harry’s time is devoted to pro bono boards, activities and teaching. He is President of the Strachan Foundation he established in honor of his parents and grandparents. Harry has a D.B.A. from Harvard Business School (1972), a J.D. Harvard Law School (1966), and a B.A. Wheaton College, Ill. (1963).

Costa Rica

“Mr. Luis Javier Castro is a Founding Partner and current President at Mesoamerica, a firm that invests consciously for an abundant Latin America by transforming businesses in the region and creating value for investors and society alike. He is also director of several companies in Mesoamerica’s portfolio, such as Mesofoods, Globeleq Mesoamerica Energy, Zuma Energía, among others.
Luis Javier began his career as associate in Bain and Company; working in strategic cases for several of the region’s largest companies. In 1996, 3 partners and himself founded Mesoamerica and raised the region’s largest private equity fund at the time.
His experience in Bain and Mesoamerica include a large variety of sectors, such as financial services, retail, beverages, airlines, hotels, tourism, and agribusiness. In 2015, Mesoamerica partnered with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, a Canadian leading pension fund, to invest in spanish-speaking Latin America.
He devotes a significant amount of time to social impact initiatives through several foundations, education institutions and associations. He instituted the Mesoamerica Foundation, which invests in four strategic areas, all of which he is greatly involved, including quality education, advocacy of Sustainabilty in the region through United Way and Asociación Empresarial para el Desarrollo (AED), entrepreneurship, through Yo Emprendedor and regional leadership and institutionalism, through the Central America Leadership Initiative (CALI) and the Aspen Institute.
Luis Javier is the President of AED and also sits on the board of directors of United Way Worldwide, the largest non-profit organization of the world that seeks to mobilize communities to advance the common good. He is a member of the G-50, a select group of business leaders of the Americas, and Young Presidents Organization (YPO), among others.”

Panamá

Stanley Motta is president of the Board of Copa Holding (NYSE CPA), Grupo ASSA, and Inversiones Bahia, Ltd., diversified holding company with investments in finance, media, trade and distribution sectors in Central America. He is director of Banco General, Televisora Nacional, and several other companies. During the last three decades has expanded its organization throughout Latin America with emphasis on corporate social responsibility. He is president of Sumarse, an organization that promotes CSR. Founding member of ANCON, nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity, and the Ciudad del Saber (City of Knowledge) in Panama. Founder and trustee of Central America Leadership Initiative (CALI). Member of the Advisory Board of EGADE Business School (ITESM) and IESE Business School (Barcelona, Spain). He is a member of the Board of the Trust for the Americas, associated with the Organization of American States, and distinguished by the Americas Society Gold Medal in 2010. Mr. Motta was President of the Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica (Inter-Oceanic Region Authority), the government body responsible for receiving and managing the assets of the Panama Canal as a result of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties between the United States and Panama. Stanley completed his undergraduate studies at Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Panamá

Gisela Alvarez de Porras held several positions in the Executive Cabinet (2004-2009), from Director General of the Internal Revenue Services and Vice Minister of Finance in the Ministry of Economy and Finance, to Minister of Trade and Industry. Whilst in government, she represented the Republic before the Interamerican Center of Tax Administration and led the negotiation of International Treaties to Avoid Double Taxation. She has been a member of the Presidential Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering, representing the private sector.
As a lawyer specialized in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions and international finance, she was partner of Patton Moreno & Asvat and later founded the Panamanian office of Arias & Muñoz, leading it for its first 5 years. As a tax and estate practitioner, she was managing director of Assets Trust & Corporate Services. She has now established G. Porras & Associates, a boutique law firm specializing in taxation, cross border finance and M&A’s.
Mrs. Porras has received several recognitions for her practice – especially that of promoting women at law (2015) and in 2009 was granted The National Order of the Legion of Honor (France).
Gisela is the current Chairwoman of Vital Voices Panama, an NGO working to empower women, especially teen mothers. She is one of the 7 experts appointed by the President of the Republic of Panama to advise on the adoption of best practices to strengthen the financial plataform. She is also a member of the Panamanian Association of Executives and a Fellow of the third class of the Central America Leadership Initiative and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
A native of Panama, of Cuban ascend, Gisela is a Sigma Lambda graduate of the Faculty of Law of the National University of Panama and holds a master of science from the Swiss Business School (SBS).

Honduras

Luis Atala is Executive Vice President of Ficohsa Financial Group (GRUPO FINANCIERO FICOHSA), which provides banking, insurance, and credit cards services in Central America. He joined the Group in 1996 as General Manager for the insurance branch of the group: Interamericana de Seguros, now Ficohsa Seguros. Under his guidance and administration Ficohsa Seguros has significantly grown its market share to become the current leader in the insurance market in Honduras, and among the largest in the region. Luis is currently President of the local Board of Insurance Companies (Cámara Hondureña de Aseguradores, CAHDA), member of the Board of Directors of COHEP (Honduran Council of Private Company ) Additionally, he serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for Assets Business Holding Company, a group of businesses in the commercial, real estate development, and health services industries. He participates in various foundations as a board member, most importantly: Fundación Ficohsa para la Educación Infantil, dedicated to providing access to preschool education to underprivileged children, HonduFuturo: Credit Program – Scholarship, it allows to study master’s, doctoral and specialization in the field of Health and Fundación Amigos del Hospital Maria, a public Children’s Hospital. Luis is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, TX, with a degree in Business Administration, 1993. He lives in Tegucigalpa, Honduras with his wife and three daughters.

FUNDEMAS
El Salvador

Is the President of the Board of Directors of Hidroexpo, an agricultural operation that grows and exports greenhouse-grown vegetables. He is Managing Director at REGPA, a family business which manages coffee farms and a coffee mill in Santa Ana, El Salvador. He sits on the board at CASSA (Compañía Azucarera Salvadoreña), which operates two sugar mills in El Salvador. Within his business endeavors, Tomás is committed to deepening the culture of social and environmental responsibility in the agricultural sector, and with this ideal in mind, he participates actively in civil society organizations, such as FUNDAZUCAR, the foundation of the Asociación Azucarera de El Salvador (Sugar Association of El Salvador), which is dedicated to strengthening the sustainability of the sugar industry’s value chain. He is also on the board of Directors of FUNDEMAS (Fundación Empresarial para la Acción Social), a nonprofit that disseminates the culture of social responsibility and sustainability in the Salvadoran private sector. For 10 years, he was the chef / owner of Alo Nuestro, a gourmet Salvadoran restaurant. He has a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from The Edmund A. Walsh School at Georgetown University and an MBA from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He is married and has three children.

El Salvador

Is CEO of Banco Agrícola, one of Central America’s largest banks and part of Grupo Bancolombia, where he had previously been on the Board of Directors. An economist by training, he served eight years as provost of the Escuela Superior de Economía y Negocios (ESEN), the leading undergraduate institution of El Salvador in the business, economics, engineering and law fields. He was president of the country’s Central Bank from 1999 to 2002 during the country’s successful move towards dollarization. Former governor at the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, IADB and CABEI, he is currently on the board of directors for FUSADES (the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Growth). He holds a BA from Rice University in computer science and a Licenciatura and Master’s degrees in Economics from Pontíficia Universidad Católica de Chile. His interests lie in economics, banking, education and politics and he enjoys gastronomy and technology. He is a Fellow of the second class of the Central America Leadership Initiative and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Nicaragua

Mercedes Deshon is director of Deshon & Cia, a Nicaraguan automobile distributor, as well as a Nominee Director of the International Finance Corporation in commercial banks in Honduras and Costa Rica. She previously worked at Grupo Financiero Uno, where she served as executive director and general manager of Banco Uno (Nicaragua) and was involved in new product development, investments in the energy industry, and social responsibility programs. She began her career at the International Finance Corporation in Washington, D.C. as a financial analyst in Latin American capital markets. Mercedes is also co-founder and director of Vital Voices Nicaragua, an organization that identifies emerging women leaders and empowers them with training, mentorships and access to networks. Mercedes earned a Bachelor’s degree in finance from Georgetown University and a Master’s degree in Management from Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Mercedes is a member of INCAE s National Committee in Nicaragua and is a Fellow of the third class of the Central America Leadership Initiative and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.