Puerto Rico Financial Services Forum

Join leading experts from Puerto Rico’s fast-growing international financial
services sector for a comprehensive conference covering the latest developments
in Banking, Insurance and Specialty Financial Services.

Speakers

Luis Fortuño
Former Governor
of Puerto Rico
Steptoe

Craig Lemasters
GXG

George Joyner
Commissioner of
Financial Institutions
OCIF

Walter Keenan
Advantage Insurance

Former Governor of Puerto Rico Luis G. Fortuño is a partner in Steptoe's Washington office, where he heads the Corporate, Securities & Finance Group. He is also a member of the Government Affairs and Public Policy Group. Mr. Fortuño has represented Fortune 500 companies in regulatory, financial, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate matters throughout Latin America.

Under Mr. Fortuño’s leadership as governor, between 2009 and 2013, Puerto Rico implemented the largest tax cut in the territory’s history, right-sized its government, reined in deficit spending, and developed new sources of government revenue resulting in a year and a half long period of economic growth.

He currently has served on the Board of Directors of several companies, Georgetown University’s Latin American Board, and the Board of Directors of the Republican State Leadership Committee among others. Additionally, Mr. Fortuño was a fellow at Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service in the Fall 2015 semester.

Craig Lemasters, former CEO of a Fortune 500 subsidiary, is an entrepreneur, investor, advisor, and board member with more than two decades of success in executive leadership positions. When Craig took over Atlanta-based Assurant Solutions in 2005, it was a $2 billion purely domestic business focused almost entirely on a dying industry: Credit Insurance. Today, Assurant (NYSE: AIZ) is a high growth, digitally-astute global provider of protection products and other innovative digitally-focused risk management solutions.

Before taking early retirement in 2016, Craig led Assurant through two remarkable transformations and the global financial crisis. The company is now focused on Connected Living and what Craig calls, “the four most important square inches of real estate in the world”—the consumer’s smart phone screen. Craig reinvigorated the culture while focusing on growth—both internationally and through new businesses, expanding from a solely B2B to include B2C business and establishing Assurant in 25 new markets around the world.

Craig currently leads GXG, a learning firm that facilitates strategic conversations between experts and clients to help them get past the “hard stuff” and accelerate change in their organizations.

Gorge Joyner has worked in a variety of senior leadership roles within the Puerto Rico banking industry for over 35 years, specializing in all aspects of the finance industry.

Prior to his appointment as Commissioner of Financial Institutions, Mr. Joyner had an active consulting practice in the Financial and Technical Arena under George Joyner Consulting LLC with customers in both Puerto Rico and the U.S.

His professional experience includes Vice President for Corporate and Public Finance at Citibank, President of Santander Mortgage Corporation, Senior Vice President of the Mortgage Division of Oriental Bank & Trust and Executive Vice President, and Chief Financial Officer & Chief Information Officer at Reliable Financial Services Inc., a unit of Wells Fargo, among others.

George Joyner has a Master's in Business Administration from University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and a Bachelor's in Mathematics from the University of Puerto Rico. He also has a designation as a certified PMI Project Management Professional and is currently in the process of finishing the testing requirement necessary to become a licensed CPA (FAR, AUD and BEC passed, REG remaining).

Walter Keenan is Chief Executive Officer of Advantage Insurance Inc., the leading company operating within Puerto Rico’s International Insurance Center. Advantage underwrites or administers over $2 billion of insurance assets for private placement life insurance policies, captive insurance companies and other re/insurance programs.

Prior to leading Advantage’s recapitalization and headquarters relocation to Puerto Rico, Mr. Keenan was a private equity investment professional in San Francisco and New York focused on financial services investments. He began his business career as a financial analyst with Morgan Stanley in 1989.

Agnes Suárez
AIG

Louis Ferreira
30 year OCC
Regulator/FIU

Héctor G. Martínez
GM Sectec

Alberto Bacó
Partnership for
Puerto Rico

CPA Suárez Méndez is currently president and CEO of AIG Insurance Company Puerto Rico, the world's leading property and casualty insurance organization. She has served as Senior Vice President of Financial Lines for HUB International / CLC Insurance Services, and was regional vice president of Financial Lines for American International Insurance Company (AIG).

Agnes B. Suárez served as Deputy Mayor, in charge of the administration of the Municipality of San Juan, and president of the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Community Financial Advisors and of the Consultative Board of the Tina Hills Award of the Angel Ramos Foundation, and is an International "senior" member of AIESEC International. She has received the recognition of Women who Lead and Caribbean Business’s Women who Rule.

A native of San Juan, she is the youngest of five siblings, and mother of four: Ronnie, José Manuel, Ronald Alexander, and Andrés.

Louis (Lou) Ferreira is founder and principal of Lou Ferreira and Associates, LLC, a boutique a bank regulatory and risk consultancy dedicated to providing specialized service to domestic and international financial institutions. Mr. Ferreira has over 30 years of commercial banking experience as a credit and risk executive and a federal banking regulator, with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

He served in senior and executive management positions for top tier community, mid-size and large global financial institutions (City National Bank, Banesco USA, Santander Central Hispano, National Westminster Bank). He is a proven Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) executive working with credit risk, operational risk, BSA/ AML/ OFAC and consumer compliance, corporate governance, fraud detection, physical security, loan review and audit management.

Mr. Ferreira is a member of the Board of Directors of Eastern National Bank in Miami, Florida, and a founding member of the Board of Directors of Our Community Bank (in formation) in Hialeah, Florida. He is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and a Certified International Risk Manager (ARIES).

Hector G. Martinez is President at GM Sectec, a company that creates innovative tailored solutions that help accelerate business breakthroughs in the areas of managed detection and response services, multi-tenancy, business continuity, information security, automation and process orchestration with the goal of ultimately delivering outstanding cost efficiencies. With 2018 revenues in excess of $100 million and approximately 3000 employees, the GM companies are a global Cybersecurity500 listed company, a Top 100 MSSP Listed organization and a member of the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST.org).

Prior to GM Sectec, Hector G. was based in Singapore leading EMC Corporation’s security practice across the Asia Pacific region. With over 20 years in business development, security & safety platform integration and cross-jurisdictional law enforcement, Hector G. has been involved in project implementation, development, and investigations in the United States, Israel, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.

He is PCI-QSA certified and an ISO 27001 Lead Implementer. Mr. Martínez has an MBA from CUNY, Zicklin School of Business and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School.

Bacó-Bagué currently directs a think-and-do tank named Partnership for Modern Puerto Rico and is Partner and Managing Director of RE Capital Funds. He served as Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce during the tenure of Governor Alejandro García Padilla, and Chairman and President of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico. Bacó has held several positions in law firms, international accounting firms, and top-level policy making government agencies.

His prior experience includes serving as President of the Economic Development Bank, CEO of Marvel and Bohío International. During his career, Bacó Bagué has distinguished himself as an active supporter of the development of the venture capital and private equity industry in Puerto Rico.

He is an active member of the YPO international organization and participates in important boards of directors. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from the University of Puerto Rico, a CPA license and finished a Juris Doctor degree.

Hugo Córdova
Advantage Insurance

Ken Kotch
Ryan’s Federal
Income Tax

Rubén Gely, Sr.
IICG

Eduardo Colón
PRIBA

Hugo Cordova joined Advantage in March 2018 to serve as a Client Services Manager. Hugo is responsible for all aspects of our Life Insurance policy issuance as well as for client relationship management and business development in Puerto Rico. Hugo started his career at Banco Santander in Puerto Rico in the Management Trainee program. He worked in the Commercial Lending Department and as a Branch Manager. In 2010 he was hired by Aon to provide Insurance Management Services to international insurers in Puerto Rico.

Hugo is a licensed CPA in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. He earned his BBA in Accounting from the University of Sacred Heart in Puerto Rico. He currently serves as the President of the Puerto Rico International Insurers Association.

Ken Kotch is a Principal in Ryan’s Federal Income Tax practice, specializing in asset protection, risk management, and tax planning strategies. Mr. Kotch is a recognized tax and insurance expert, and has represented companies across multiple industries and jurisdictions focusing on tax planning best practices, as well as Captive Insurance Company structuring. Ken has served as a research analyst with the Arizona House of Representatives' Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee, and is certified as a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) specialist via the University of Houston Law Center.

Ken lectures on various tax topics for Ryan clients and the Ryan Professional Development Program. Additionally, he has appeared as a speaker for the World Captive Forum, Financial News Network, Financial Planners Association and "Top of the Table" Estate Planning Associations, Society of Certified Public Accountants, among others.

Ken is a member of the US Federal Bar, Officer of the U.S. Supreme Court, US Federal Bar, American Bar Association and Arizona Bar Association.

Gely has over 25 years experience in the insurance industry. He started his career in the Insurance Industry as an Agent, and was appointed Executive Aide to the Commissioner at the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of Puerto Rico (OCI), later becoming an Examiner’s Supervisor in charge of the Financial Analysis Unit at the Office. In 2006, Mr. Gely was appointed as Director for the International Insurers and Reinsurers Division, and later Deputy Commissioner of Supervision and Compliance. In 2010 he was appointed as liaison with the Department of Economic Development of Puerto Rico. He has participated in Economic Missions of the Government of Puerto Rico to China, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, Spain and the United States. He served at the OCI as the Director of the International Insurers and Reinsurers Division until 2018, then starting the Chairman position at International Insurer’s Consulting Group, Puerto Rico.

The American Institute granted Mr. Ruben Gely the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), the Accredited Adviser in Insurance (AAI) and the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) certifications for CPCU.

Eduardo Colón is President of Advantage International Bank Corp., (“AIBC”), a private commercial bank intended to serve the needs of specialty insurance companies and their private clients. AIBC commenced operations on January 1, 2016.

Mr. Colón has over 30 years of experience with leading banking, securities and non-bank financial services companies. Prior to joining Advantage in 2015, HE was the Chief Operating Officer of Citi International Financial Services, a broker dealer subsidiary of Citibank. He has also been First Vice President of Corporate Banking of SunTrust Bank, Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Head of Corporate and Commercial of Scotiabank Puerto Rico, President of BBVA Securities Puerto Rico, Senior Vice President and Head of Capital Markets and Trading of Santander Securities and Vice president and General Manager of Chase Securities Puerto Rico. Eduardo is also the current President of the Puerto Rico International Banks Association.

Eduardo earned his BBA from the University of Puerto Rico, Cum Laude and his MBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Pedro Vidal
VNB Legal

Roxana Cruz
VNB Legal

Iván Garcés
Kaufman, Rossin

Aixa Maldonado
Zek Law

Pedro I. Vidal-Cordero is a corporate law attorney with over 25 years of professional experience and a deep understanding of the Puerto Rico business environment. Vidal's practice covers regulatory, transactional and compliance matters related with the establishment and operations of insurance companies, captives, international insurers, and reinsurers operating under the Puerto Rico International Insurance Center, as well as other entities engaged in the sale of insurance and other regulated financial institutions. He has ample experience in representing and counseling international and domestic and international clients doing business in Puerto Rico, and regularly advises clients in corporate reorganizations, re-domestications, conversions, mergers and purchase and sale transactions.

Vidal has represented clients in major transactions including establishing operations under the “Puerto Rico International Insurance Center” and procuring tax-exemption grants for international insurers, and Act 20 service export companies, among many others.

Ms. Cruz-Rivera is a JD-educated business strategist with an LLM in taxation and more than 20 years’ experience practicing law in Puerto Rico. She has experience is providing counsel to government and business leaders and is an innovative counselor specializing in tax and tax incentives with a strong understanding of Act 20 and 22 of 2012 and Act 73 of 2008.

For the last two years Cruz served as Deputy Secretary of the Puerto Rico Treasury Department where she managed all tax policies related to tax credits; set in place rules on income tax collections for businesses, manufacturers and large global NGO’s. Cruz Initiated the first comprehensive catalog of Puerto Rico’s Special tax incentives acts and inventoried all available tax credits.

Cruz is also the former Director of the Tax and Legislation Affairs Office of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (“PRIDCO”), where she negotiated tax exemption grants with Fortune 500 companies on behalf of the Government of Puerto Rico -- mostly in the pharmaceutical and medical devices fields -- and was one of the main advisors to the Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce.

Ivan Garcés is a senior advisory principal, Chair of Kaufman Rossin's risk advisory services practice, co-leads the firm's banking practice and serves as a member of the Firm's Management Committee. He has public accounting experience, and provides risk management, governance, forensic accounting and regulatory compliance consulting services to companies and financial institutions throughout the United States, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

Garcés has experience evaluating risk management programs, internal controls, anti-fraud and anti-money laundering programs, USA PATRIOT Act, Bank Secrecy Act, Office of Foreign Assets Control and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance programs. Ivan has conducted internal investigations into alleged asset misappropriation, financial reporting, money laundering and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.

A frequent speaker at industry events and panels, Ivan has been quoted in financial news and trade publications including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, South Florida Business Journal, American Banker and Compliance Week. Ivan is a board member of the Florida International Bankers Association’s executive committee, past president of the South Florida Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

He is a Certified Public Accountant in Florida, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified in Financial Forensics and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist.

Aixa Maldonado is a Partner at ZEK's Washington, D.C. and New York City Offices and a member of the firm's Anti-Money Laundering/Financial Crime, White Collar Defense and Government Investigations groups.

For over 22 years, she served as a federal prosecutor with both the U.S. Department of Justice's Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and U.S. Attorney's Offices. She has served as lead counsel in money laundering, asset forfeiture and Bank Secrecy Act criminal and civil, multi-district and international investigations, litigation and initiatives focusing on financial institutions, gatekeepers and kleptocrats.

She has received numerous awards, including Assistant Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Services, the Executive Office of U.S. Attorney's Director's Award for Superior Performance as Assistant U.S. Attorney, and multiple law enforcement awards.

Maldonado is a frequent speaker on money laundering, BSA, asset forfeiture, criminal procedure and financial investigations.

José Merheb
Popular Insurance

Javier Mercado
Popular Insurance

Milton Méndez
Anti Money Laundering & Certified Fraud Examiner

Orlando Grinage
Global Outsource

José A. Merheb Emanuelli is Vice President and Branch Manager at Popular Insurance. Previously, José was head of Business Development at Popular Life Re. Prior to joining Popular, José was Special Aide to the Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce, specializing in the International Insurance Center and the International Financial Center, as well as the suite of tax incentive laws available for doing business in Puerto Rico.

José has over 15 years of experience in Banking and Insurance, both in Puerto Rico and in Latin America. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business from Fairfield University in Connecticut, and an MBA from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico.

Javier Mercado joins us from Adaptiv, the new MGU by Popular Insurance. Adaptiv is a Lloyds Coverholder MGU focusing in the Latin America market, including Puerto Rico. Adaptiv is currently underwriting Cyber Liability and will add Financial Lines risks soon, with additional lines of business to be added in due time.

Prior to Adaptiv, Javier was COO for Starr Latin America, out of their regional office in Miami, and was responsible for the development and performance of the Financial Lines and Liabilities portfolio for Starr Latam. Prior to Starr, Javier spent over 10 years in multiple positions with AIG, lastly being Head of Liabilities for Latin America. In that position, he was responsible for managing the largest Financial Lines portfolio in Latin America and the deployment of innovative products, including Cyber and M&A insurance.

Prior to that, he held various positions in the banking and private equity industry in Puerto Rico, including Citibank. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Insurance Counselor and has an MBA in Finance from the University of Central Florida.

Bio coming soon.

A 25 year career in banking, relationship sales and sales management. Orlando served as Vice President with Citibank at the Headquarters in New York City and a Vice President in Florida for Chase Bank. After his time with the major banks he changed directions and joined Diebold Nixdrof and began selling hardware, software and services to small and midsized banks and credit unions. Orlando now serves and Vice President of Sales for Global Outsource Services a Core Banking solutions provider in the US and around the world.

Ileana Fernández
DLA Piper

Víctor Rodríguez
AML Advisory

Joaquín Castrillo
CFO Evertec

Jairo Namur
CSMB

Jairo Namur is the Managing Director for Sales and Business Development at CSMB International Inc, Miami and is also the founder of Intelligence for Action LLC, a Florida based consulting firm focused on helping financial institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean to introduce and apply innovative technology to support payments and regulatory compliance initiatives.

With over 30 years of banking experience, his expertise includes domestic and international cash management, correspondent banking, Regulatory Compliance, Global Custody, and Payment/Securities systems development. As a specialist in payment and securities market infrastructures Mr. Namur has worked with many private and government run entities throughout Latam and the Caribbean in establishing or modernizing payment and securities settlement systems.

Mr. Namur has held a variety of senior level positions at some of the world’s largest global transaction banks including VP Global Transaction Banking for HSBC Bank USA based in NY and Mexico City and The Bank of New York.

Ileana Fernández-Buitrago focuses her practice in local and federal regulatory matters involving depository, non-depository and international financial institutions, as well as on general corporate and commercial law. Ms. Fernández-Buitrago's experience includes over 25 years as Special Counsel at a major law firm in San Juan, and Vice President, Secretary of the Board of Directors and Director of the Legal Division of BanPonce Corporation and its banking and non-banking subsidiaries.

She has been lead counsel in connection with diverse and complex bank mergers and acquisitions. She also handles matters related to relevant legislation affecting the financial services industry. Ileana is a frequent lecturer on matters related to the financial industry in Puerto Rico. She has been selected as one of the Most Distinguished Professional Women in Puerto Rico by the Office of the Governor of Puerto Rico and was included in the 2020 Best Lawyers in Latin America for Banking and Finance Law in Puerto Rico.

Víctor M. Rodríguez is the President & Chief Executive Officer of the Firm AML Advisory Expertise Consulting L.L.C. in San Juan, company that provides specialized, Anti-Money Laundering and Global Economic Sanctions Programs professional services that helps local and international clients take control of their financial industry regulatory compliance future.

Prior to this, he served as Global Sanctions Manager / AML Corporate Senior Compliance Officer/ Corporate Compliance Division at Popular, Inc. and at Banco Santander Puerto Rico as the Corporate Compliance Manager.

Mr. Rodriguez' experience includes having served for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), New York Regional Office) / San Juan, Puerto Rico as a Investigations Specialist Examiner / Liquidation and Investigation Unit and was assigned by the FDIC to perform financial criminal investigations, such as Operation Greenback related to the White Collar Crime & Money Laundering unlawful activities in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Region.

Joaquín Castrillo is the Chief Financial Officer of Evertec since September 6, 2018. He previously served as Vice President of Finance.

Joaquin has been instrumental in strengthening Evertec’s solid position in the market working closely with the investor community. Joaquin has led Evertec’s key strategic growth initiatives from the Company’s IPO in XXXX to the continued expansion of Evertec in Latin America. Also, Castrillo played a pivotal role in Evertec’ s successful acquisitions of Paygroup, Processa, and Tech to Fly.

Prior to joining Evertec in 2012, he worked for PwC in Banking and Capital Markets group in New York and Puerto Rico.

Castrillo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a double concentration in Finance and Accounting from Villanova University in Pennsylvania. He is also a Certified Public Accountant and was recognized by the Caribbean Business in 2019 as a “40 under 40” executive to watch.

Kurt Pfluger
Celeres Capital

Luis Raúl Padilla
Sun West Mortgage

Julio Carbonell
Facebank

Juan Mendoza
Ocean Systems

Kurt Pfluger is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Celeres Capital. Prior to Co-founding Celeres, Kurt was the founder of Tikivation LLC blockchain investment and advisories and delivering strategy, partnerships, business development, and compliance.

He was Co-founder and CEO 4DS Memory (ASX: 4DS), Co-founder CEO Apogee Power and has over 20 years experience in software services, and technology companies where he developed partnerships and supporting networks in Europe, Asia, and Australia. Kurt was founder and CEO of IN Electronics, acquired by PartMiner and served as Managing Director for PartMiner Inc.’s Silicon Valley division which became the fastest growing and most profitable division. He was founder and CEO of Big Wave Technologies and has served on the Board of Directors for multiple Companies. He has a BA from Indiana University.

Luis Raúl Padilla is the Executive Vice-President and Head of Retail at Sun West Mortgage Company, for the United States and Puerto Rico. As member of financial institution’s management team, he has played a leading role in the creation and development of new mortgage bank in Puerto Rico. He has built and led a team of sales managers and Loan Originators for the expansion of the retail business across 48 states and oversees the Process, Junior UW and Senior UW teams, and wholesale business.

Prior to Sun West Mortgage, Mr. Padilla serves as Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Reliable Mortgage, a Wells Fargo subsidiary in Puerto Rico, and as New Construction and Mortgage Sales Manager in Scotiabank Puerto Rico.

Luis Raúl is a Board Member of Mortgage Bankers Association since 2008, and a Board Member and past president of Mortgage Loan Officers Association of PR, since 2006. He is also a Member of National Association of Hispanics real Estate Professionals, and part of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Citizens Academy since 2014.

Julio Carbonell is the General Manager of FACEBANK International Corp. in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Director of its wholly owned subsidiary, Florida Home Trust Mortgage Inc. in Weston, Florida. Mr. Carbonell has been instrumental in creating a horizontal delivery customer service platform that caters to foreign nationals, whether abroad or while visiting. In addition, Mr. Carbonell has implemented the “Business Development Facilitator” model, a Banking Agent program, by which the institution transfers its fixed cost branch structure to vetted independent contractors. Mr. Carbonell has been featured by Hispanic Executive Magazine, and other related publications.

Juan M. Mendoza is founder and president of Ocean Systems, Inc. a developer and provider of software solutions to financial institutions. The company specializes in Electronic Funds Transfer and Compliance applications with installations, both domestic, Latin America, and Europe. As president, oversees the direction of the company and supervises the areas of product development and technical fulfillment of non-standard turn-key installations.

Ocean System provides key services including Payment Automation Systems via Fedwire, SWIFT, and FX Providers, OFAC / EDD Compliance products and BSA / AML Monitoring and Compliance products.

Ralph Matheu
Global Outsource

Ella Woger
Invest PR

Manuel Laboy
Secretary of Economic Development & Commerce

John Fitzpatrick
AIG, Inc.

Mr. Matheu’s career spans over 30 years in the Financial Services industry, specializing in Information Technology. He has a track record of successfully aligning IT services with corporate strategies, along with effectively managing large technology infrastructures and service organizations – within sound governance programs.

He has held executive level positions for various banks, Global technology companies and charitable organizations and is currently responsible for the Governance, Risk & Compliance program for Global Outsource Services, a Datapro related company. He is a member of various banking, financial services and professional organizations, including the South Florida Banking Institute and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA).

He holds degrees/certifications in Computer Science and the ABA Graduate School of Banking in Operations & Technology from Florida International University and Vanderbilt University, respectively.

Ella Woger-Nieves is the Chief Operating Officer of InvestPR, a non-profit organization tasked with attracting new businesses and capital investment to the Island. A born and raised Puerto Rican, Ella brings 20 years of experience in strategic marketing and management consulting to the table, having counseled an array of leading public and private sector clients and worked with Fortune 500 companies in strategic sectors like financial services and life sciences.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Economics, Ella began her career at multinational corporations with marketing and strategy consulting roles at Ernst & Young and Johnson & Johnson; moving on to Vision-to-Action, a management consulting firm in San Juan and Miami where she worked with Puerto Rico’s main economic development agencies.

Ella recently moved back to the Island to take on this role after leading the consulting practice at a consulting firm in Washington D.C. and is thrilled to be a part of the rebuilding of the Puerto Rico economy.

Eng. Manuel A. Laboy Rivera is the Secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DEDC) and Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) with the mission to attract new investment, promote the creation of new jobs and strengthening of small and medium enterprises. He is responsible for the formulation and strategic implementation of the Puerto Rico economic development plan, including competitiveness-related reform, infrastructure projects and instrumentalities that include agencies and public corporations.

He served in the administration of former Governor Luis Fortuño as an Assistant Secretary of the DEDC. He is a licensed professional engineer with 20 years of experience in various industries and sectors, including manufacturing, chemical production, life sciences (pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical devices), construction, public utilities, export services, renewable energy, infrastructure, technology and project management.

Secretary Laboy Rivera has a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez Campus, and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Turabo. He is also a member of the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico and holds a Certified Safety Professional certification from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals.

Bio coming soon.

Rafael Cestero
Chief Deputy
Insurance Commissioner

James Walker
J.A. Walker & Associates

Ángel Zamora
CIMA FRC

Daniel Gutiérrez
Ocean Bank

Rafael Cestero-Lopategui has been actively involved in the insurance industry for more than 20 years, assuming various roles and executive positions. Before being appointed as Chief Deputy Insurance Commissioner of Puerto Rico in February 2017, he advised many clients, including various local and multinational companies, in the investigation and negotiation processes of insurance claims, mostly property and casualty, as well as counseled and participated in the risk-management decision-making, coverage issues, and insurance brokerage.

Mr. Cestero-Lopategui labored as an Executive in the International Unit at Marsh Saldaña, Inc. and later as an Independent Insurance Broker. He has been a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) since 2003. He is a member of The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research, The Society of Certified Insurance Counselors, the American Bar Association, and the Notary Association of Puerto Rico. He has offered lectures and seminars regarding various insurance matters.

Jay is the founding partner of JA Walker & Associates, Inc., a law firm specializing in international insurance, re-insurance and finance matters. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia with honors (member of the Omicron Delta Epsilon International Honors Society in Economics) and his law degree Cum Laude from the University of Georgia (member Georgia Law Review).

Jay is a nationally recognized expert on international life insurance and annuities and a frequent speaker on insurance topics. He is a contributing author to the textbook International Life Insurance published by Chancellor Publications and has been actively involved in drafting insurance related legislation for the State of Georgia, Puerto Rico and The Cayman Islands. He is a founding member of the Puerto Rico International Insurers Association (PRIIA).

His global insurance expertise and experience allows Jay to effectively co-ordinate with (Rexach & Picó) the Puerto Rico legal counsel of US Commonwealth Life and other legal, insurance and tax experts at firms used by US Commonwealth Life in the US, Canada, Europe, Israel, Mexico, and Latin American, including Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Colombia, and Venezuela.

Mr. Zamora is a Senior AML/CFT & Regulatory Compliance executive with 25+ years of experience reviewing, overseeing and directing AML/CFT Programs in the US and internationally, and has had an extended exposure to AML/CFT regimes of more than 30 countries. He has occupied leadership positions at local, regional and international financial institutions in governance and execution roles, including Director AML/CFT & Regulatory Compliance, The Bank of Nova Scotia Dominican Republic; VP Compliance & AML/CFT International Banking, Head Office Toronto, The Bank of Nova Scotia; SVP General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Scotiabank de Puerto Rico; Chief AML/CFT & Consumer Compliance Officer, Doral Financial Corporation; Deputy General Counsel & Compliance Officer, Doral Financial Corporation.

He was also General Counsel for the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, its Legal, Enforcement and Claims Divisions for over 5 years.

Daniel Gutierrez is the Vice President & BSA Manager at Ocean Bank in Miami, Florida. Prior to his employment at Ocean Bank Daniel worked in other large Financial Institutions in Miami, including Standard Chartered Bank, American Express Bank International, Banco de Credito de Inversiones and The International Bank of Miami, N.A. in various BSA/AML/OFAC capacities including Managerial and supervisory positions.

His experience in BSA is focused on leading BSA teams to complete Bank-wide risk assessments, Foreign Correspondent Banking reviews, PEP, PIC/IBC, 314(a), 314 (b) and subpoena and High Risk reviews, OFAC/AML investigations, and other anti-money laundering and regulatory compliance matters including providing training courses.

Daniel has extensive experience in anti-money laundering, USA PATRIOT Act, Bank Secrecy Act, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and compliance matters. He currently speaks and provides frequent trainings on these before Government Officials, Local and International professionals as well as academic audiences. He is currently the Chair for the BSA/AML Committee for FIBA, the Florida International Bankers Association. He is a Certified Professional in AML (FIBA/ Florida International University Certification); and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).

Tom Paar
Crowe, LLP

Arleen Taveras
Spot On Insurance

Ted Taveras
Spot On Insurance

Erick Negrón
Rexach & Picó

Tom is a Senior Manager in Crowe’s Financial Services Consulting practice and serves as a practice leader in financial crimes risk management including BSA/AML/OFAC related audit and internal control testing efforts. Tom assists Crowe’s financial services clients with Financial Intelligence Unit consulting and enforcement action remediation management. His financial institution experience and understanding of business needs allow him to effectively bring efficiency into a financial crime risk management program while complying with regulatory mandates.

Ted and Arleen Taveras are the founders and owners of Insurance Licensing Services of America, Inc. ("ILSA"), the premier regulatory compliance provider to the insurance industry established in 1997. They started ILSA after successful New York City careers with Minet and Aon and today currently serve some of the world’s largest insurance carriers and agencies and about 15-20,000 agents and brokers annually.

Ted and Arleen are also the founders and hosts of the interview style podcast, Spot On Insurance (“SOI”). This podcast brings knowledge, advice, and insight to insurance professionals around the world through weekly episodes. Guests have included, insurtechs, insurance regulators, attorneys, agency principals, compliance officers, authors and licensing specialists.

Erick G. Negrón first joined Rexach & Picó as an associate in 1986. After serving as legislative advisor at the Puerto Rico House of Representatives and the Puerto Rico Senate for several years, he returned to the firm in the 1990’s as Special Counsel.

During his career, Atty. Negrón has amassed considerable experience in the areas of corporate practice, administrative law, taxation and insurance regulation, representing clients in a wide range of issues. He has been a speaker at numerous industry events, and has assisted the Puerto Rico Government in the drafting of important aspects of insurance and tax legislation and regulation. He has served on the board of two insurance companies, and is a board member of the Puerto Rico International Insurers Association. Atty. Negrón was also a member of the Constitutional Development Committee of the Puerto Rico Bar Association from 1998 to 2006. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Yale University (1982), and a J.D. from Harvard Law School (1985).

Dennise Flores
PriceWaterhouseCoopers

Gabriel Caballero
Holland & Knight

Francisco Luis
Kevane Grant Thornton

Ernesto Mayoral
McConnell Valdés, LLC

Denisse Flores-Caldera is a partner at PwC US and leader of the San Juan Tax Practice. Denisse is a proven leader and highly respected member of the Puerto Rican business community. She has experience in Puerto Rico, US and international tax matters and advises clients spanning in an array of industries, including private equity, alternative investments, manufacturing, and financial services. Denisse focuses on both inbound and outbound Puerto Rican and US federal income tax matters and has experience in cross border tax structuring issues. She advises in various PR incentives Acts, including the Export Services Act (Act 20), the Individual Investors Act (Act 22), the International Insurance Center Act and the International Financial Center Regulatory Act, as well as US Incentives Programs such as the Opportunity Zones.

Denisse began her career in PwC Mexico and later moved within PwC to San Juan and New York City focusing on global cross-border tax matters for multinationals and asset management clients. She is a CPA and former president of the Puerto Rico CPA State Society. She also is the Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico.

She earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Puerto Rico and a Masters in Tax (MST) from Bentley University.

Gabriel Caballero is a partner in Holland & Knight's Miami office and member of the firm's Financial Services practice group. Mr. Caballero concentrates his practice on the representation of domestic and multinational organizations (including banks, broker dealers, money services businesses, other financial institutions, investment companies, fund managers and private equity groups) on a broad range of business, licensing, regulatory and compliance matters. Prior to joining the firm, he served as an associate general counsel for the U.S. private banking subsidiary of one of the world's largest banks (as measured by market capitalization).

He regularly advises clients on issues relating to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), anti-money laundering, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), financial privacy, consumer protection, virtual/digital currencies (including Bitcoin), and enforcement actions by various federal and state regulatory authorities (e.g., the Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, CFPB, OFAC, FINRA, SEC and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation). Mr. Caballero has also counseled lenders and borrowers on issues relating to commercial lending, private banking, secured transactions, creditors' rights, letters of credit and negotiable instruments.

Francisco Luis is a Tax Partner at Kevane Grant Thornton, with over twenty-eight years of experience in public accounting, including the “Big Four” and private consulting practice.

Francisco engages in the design and development of tax planning and consulting strategies, including mergers and acquisitions, business reorganizations, partnership transactions, tax incentives and exemptions, individual and corporate tax issues, and others. He has participted in multiple international and global business transformation engagements, including post-acquisition implementation and executing strategies focused on reducing global effective tax rates, mostly interplaying with Puerto Rico's tax incentives.

Francisco has significant experience assisting clients before the Internal Revenue Service and the Puerto Rico Treasury Department, and possesses extensive tax compliance knowledge.

Francisco is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, major in accounting. He obtained his JD degree from the University of Puerto Rico Law School. He is a member of the Puerto Rico State Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is also former president of the San Juan Chapter, and past member of the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rico State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Mr. Mayoral acts as lead counsel in a wide range of banking, securities, and insurance acquisitions, and on regulatory applications to federal and Puerto Rico banking agencies. His practice is concentrated in banking, financial, and insurance regulatory matters, as an advisor for banks and other financial institutions (including international banking entities doing business in Puerto Rico), and insurance companies and producers. Mr. Mayoral was the Director of the Legal Division of Popular, Inc. Prior to this he served as Legal Counsel to Banco de Ponce until its merger with Banco Popular in 1990.

Mayoral was a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Examination Board and an Associate Professor on Banking Law at the Interamerican University School of Law in 1993 and 1994. He has consistently been ranked as one of Puerto Rico’s Leading Attorneys in the Corporate/Commercial field by the renowned international publication Chambers & Partners in its Latin America Guide. He is also ranked in the Corporate and M&A field of The Best Lawyers in Puerto Rico guide.

Ivelisse Suárez
Federal Reserve Bank
of New York

Charles Carson
Promotory Financial
Crimes Prevention

Claudia Huesmann
FICO

Heidy Duarte
Morrison Brown

Ivelisse Suarez is an Institutional Supervision Senior Associate at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and has worked at the Fed in numerous capacities within the Supervision Group since 1996.

She is from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and began her career as a bank examiner working in the island's Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. In her nearly 24 years at the New York Fed, she has been responsible for the supervision program of various banks and bank holding companies, which mostly fall under $50 billion in assets. For the past 11 years she has been directly involved in the supervision of the banks in her native Puerto Rico.

She is an active member of the FRBNY Puerto Rico Working Group, a cross-bank group that gathers and shares information on all legal, regulatory and economic issues relevant to Puerto Rico in order to identify gaps for potential focus. She is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico (Rio Piedras Campus), where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting.

Chad is Promontory’s Deputy Head for Latin America and the Caribbean and a specialist in Promontory’s Financial Crimes Prevention practice focusing on anti-money laundering and sanctions program design, risk assessments, and correspondent banking. He has worked extensively with Latin American and Caribbean institutions seeking to align their financial crimes prevention programs with the expectations of correspondent banks. Chad has advised financial institutions in Puerto Rico as well as in Mexico, Colombia, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, the U.S., and Canada. Chad has a B.S.F.S in International Economics from Georgetown University and holds an AML for Correspondent Banking Certification from FIBA.

Claudia B. Huesmann joined the FICO team in 2018. She is a compliance and risk professional, whose insight is based on more than 26 years of experience in the financial services sector, specializing in Banking and consulting. At FICO, she is responsible for developing and fostering existing business relationships and creating new ones, as well as promoting the strategic expansion of business activities in North America for FICO Compliance Solutions.

Claudia has held various positions in the private sector, including Managing Director (“Managing Director”) at KPMG LLP in New York (2004-2018), where she successfully delivered projects related to the Bank Secrecy Act / Against the Money Laundering (“BSA / AML”) and sanctions regulations (in particular, Office of Foreign Assets Control) “OFAC”) for bank and non-bank clients of global financial institutions. She began her career in banking at the regional headquarters for Latin America of Barclays Bank PLC in Miami, Florida, where she served as and has experience as a manager of relations with corporate clients in Central America.

Heidy Duarte, CPA, CAMS, CFE, CFS, AMLCA, is a director in the Audit Department and the Regulatory Risk Solutions practice at MBAF. She has been in the financial services industry for more than ten years with a focus in assessing risks for clients. Heidy has extensive experience with BSA/AML/OFAC, IFRS, COSO, GAAP, GAAS and SOX (“Sarbanes-Oxley”). Her knowledge in forensic accounting has enabled her to develop and strengthen fraud prevention and detection procedures for a wide-variety of clients.

Heidy’s experience includes helping financial institutions prepare for and respond to regulatory examinations including compliance with remediation requirements of regulatory enforcement actions and monitoring activities. Prior to MBAF, Heidy was the BSA/AML/OFAC Officer and the head of Corporate Financial Fraud of a national bank where she was responsible for promoting and implementing compliance standards throughout the institution as well as minimize fraud exposure through the implementation of preventing controls. Additionally, she previously worked in a Big Four firm where she performed assurance work for several financial institutions, and participated in multiple compliance and financial statement audits for public and private companies.

Roberto Valdez
Kauffman, Rossin

Carlos González Stawinsky
CIMA FRC

Antonio Ramírez
McConnell Valdés, LLC

Luz Ruiz
Assistant Special Agent
in Charge, FBI

Roberto Valdez specializes in cybersecurity and automation services, leveraging technology to help businesses mitigate risk, protect their information, and achieve their strategic objectives. He oversees services that help organizations defend against cyber threats such as phishing and ransom ware and services that enable organizations to increase efficiency and quality through process engineering and robotic process automation (RPA).

Rob's engagements balance business needs with requirements of compliance frameworks such as SOC 1,2,3; HIPAA; SOX; FINRA; and FFIEC. In addition, he oversees PhishNet by Kaufman Rossin, a security education training and awareness program delivered through simulated phishing attacks. Clients frequently include banking and non-banking financial services providers, healthcare organizations, and technology developers.

Rob has been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Tech Republic, and the South Florida Business Journal. He holds a CPA license in Florida and is the current president of ISACA's South Florida chapter.

Carlos González-Stawinski is an Attorney with a Masters of Law (LLM) in Financial Services Law from Kent College of Law and with over 20 years of experience in financial services laws and regulations. He started his career as a Legal Counsel for the Puerto Rico Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions where he led enforcement cases against registered representatives and broker/dealers, as well as developed securities and capital markets regulation for the Commonwealth.

His experience includes Popular, Inc. where he served as Chief Compliance Officer for Popular Securities, Inc., and Chief Compliance Officer for Citi International Financial Services, LLC. During his tenure at CIFS, he was Head of the Offshore Wealth Services Program for the Citi International Personal Bank a program that governs the business’ international framework and footprint. He was part of the leadership team that led the CIFS Latin America expansion for the opening of 15 FINRA registered branches throughout Latin America. He later became Head of Investments Supervision for the Citi International Bank a regional role that included direct business oversight of the Supervisory Program for the CIFS Business and the Citi Personal Investments International business.

Bio coming soon.

Luz Ruiz has served as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of San Juan Division’s Administrative and White Collar, Public Corruption, and Money Laundering Branch since December 2019. Previously, Ms. Ruiz served as the Unit Chief in the Domestic Terrorism Section in HQ. She entered on duty with the FBI in 2007. After graduating from the FBI Academy, Ms. Ruiz was assigned to El Paso Division where she worked Violent Crimes and International Terrorism. She transferred to San Juan Division and worked in the Fajardo Resident Agency, later became the Senior Team Leader for the Evidence Response Team (STL ERT), and Supervisory Special Agent for the Domestic Terrorism and International Terrorism Squads.

Ms. Ruiz earned her Doctorate Degree in Arts in Administration and Supervision from the University of Puerto Rico, and a Post Master’s Degree in National Security, Terrorism Studies from the American Military University of Virginia.

Justin Kittelstad
Homeland Security Investigations

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent (SA) Justin Kittelstad began his career in law enforcement in 2008 when he joined Homeland Security Investigations. Prior to his federal career Mr. Kittelstad worked on Wall Street at UBS Financial Services in wealth management and Oppenheimer & Co. on an equity trading desk where he held a Series 7 and Series 55 financial license. SA Kittelstad began his federal service with his appointment as a Special Agent in September of 2008. Prior to his current assignment with The El Dorado Task Force (EDTF) as the Group Supervisor of the Securities Investigations (SIG) Group SA Kittelstad served as a Special Agent in the Cornerstone Group for approximately 9 years running multiple successful federal investigations resulting in seizures and arrests.