Latin America, the United States, and Spain in the Global Economy Forum

Nacho Abia

Mr. Jose Ignacio (Nacho) Abia Buenache serves as board member of Grifols, S.A. since 26 February 2024, and he is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Previously, and for over 10 years, he has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Olympus Corporation of the Americas based in Pennsylvania. Concurrently he has also served as Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at Olympus Corporation, a publicly traded company in the Tokyo stock exchange. Mr. Nacho Abia has accumulated more than two decades of experience in Medical technology and Life Sciences industries, with half of that time spent in the United States and the other half in Europe. At Olympus he also dedicated a significant amount of time to developing the business in the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to joining Olympus, he held several positions in the IT and Consumer Electronics industries working for a variety of technology companies, including Sony and Techdata. In the academic field, Nacho holds a Bachelor's Degree in Telecommunications and Electronics Engineering from the Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya (UPC), he holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the business school (EAE) of Barcelona, and has completed the Senior Management Program (PADE) at IESE (University of Navarra). Mr. Nacho Abia also serves in the Board of Directors of the US-Spain Chamber of Commerce and is also member of the Board of Trustees of the Lehigh Valley Health Network, a hospital system composed of 13 hospitals and multiple care centres in Pennsylvania. In the past, he was member of the Board of Directors of Evident Corporation, a company in the field of life sciences and industrial solutions.

Luis Briz

Luis Briz is President, Professional Health at Nestlé Health Science U.S. In his role, he oversees the Pharma and Nutrition organization and leads a dedicated team of commercial and medical professionals who deliver pharmaceutical and nutritional technologies with a human-centered focus. Most recently, Luis was the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance. He brings over two decades of Nestlé business expertise, unparalleled passion — especially for the “why” behind our HCP-driven businesses — and strong people leadership into his current role. Before his tenure at NHSc, Luis held finance-focused positions at diverse Nestlé subsidiaries across different countries around the world. Having traversed the globe with Nestlé, the various cultures he encountered and experiences he gained profoundly influence both his work and leadership style, placing a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Luis earned several business degrees from prestigious institutions including Universidad de Oviedo, University of Sunderland, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, and The National University of Distance Education (UNED). Balancing his responsibilities as a father to five children, he still carves out time for personal activities and interests, including staying active and catching a Real Madrid match.

Francisco Cerezo

Francisco serves as Chair of DLA Piper's US-Latin America Practice, leads the firm's Iberian Americas initiative, and is a member of the firm's Global Policy Committee. He focuses his practice on corporate and international matters, advising US and foreign companies, private equity funds, family groups and sovereigns doing business globally and with a focus in the Americas and the Caribbean. He has extensive experience in corporate and financial services, cross-border transactions, strategic corporate counseling, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity, and public-private partnerships. He regularly counsels global companies and private equity funds doing business in the Americas on matters ranging from complex transactions and market entry issues to compliance and general corporate strategic counsel. Francisco also serves as principal outside counsel to several significant family groups on matters ranging from corporate governance and succession planning to representing their underlying portfolio companies in billions of dollars of transactions, ranging from banking and energy to telecom and retail. Chambers Global recognized him for Corporate/M&A work and cited for "his impressive client list including leading Latin American companies in industries as diverse as financial services, telecoms and tourism, and he has enjoyed notable highlights." The Legal 500 United States recognized him in the area of mergers and acquisitions and referred to him as "an excellent lawyer and strategic thinker. His roots and experience in the region and his capacity to foster relations set him apart from his peers." Hispanic Business Magazine recognized him as one of the "50 Influentials," which profiles 50 of the most influential Hispanics in the United States across industries. Latinvex recognized him as one of Latin America's Top 100 lawyers, and he was further recognized by the Global M&A Network as one of the Top 50 of Americas M&A Dealmakers in the South America and Latin America Dealmakers categories.

Ilan Goldfajn

Ilan Goldfajn was elected IDB president on November 20, 2022. Goldfajn served as Director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the International Monetary Fund in 2022, where he helped countries implement IMF-supported programs to address an unprecedented array of challenges. He also contributed to the region’s policy dialogue on climate change with the IMF and oversaw the first Resilience and Sustainability Facility of the institution. Earlier in his career, he worked as an economist at the IMF (1996-1999). Goldfajn previously served as governor of the Banco Central do Brasil (2016-2019) and deputy governor (2000-2003). He led the BCB in a period of unprecedented decline in inflation and interest rates in Brazil. He championed the structural “BC+“ agenda and oversaw changes that opened the door to new players in the financial services industry, spurred innovation and digitalization, and started developing the widespread fast-payment system, all of which bolstered efficiency and more inclusion in Brazil’s financial sector. In 2017, he was elected Central Banker of the Year by The Banker magazine. The year after, Global Finance magazine named him Best Central Banker. Goldfajn’s private-sector experience includes key positions at Brazil’s financial institutions: chief economist and partner of Itaú Unibanco, founding partner of Ciano Investimentos, partner and economist at Gávea Investimentos and chairman of Credit Suisse Brazil’s Advisory Board. He has also had several roles as a consultant at top public-sector institutions, including the World Bank, the United Nations and the IMF. He has an extensive academic career. He taught graduate and undergraduate economics at universities in Brazil and the United States, has worked as an editor of various publications, and has written and published numerous articles and books. Goldfajn holds a doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and master’s degree in economics from the Pontificia Universidade Católica and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Universidade Federal, both in Rio de Janeiro. He is fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Hebrew. He took office at the IDB on December 19, 2022.

Daniel Ilundain

Mr. Ilundain joined Palladium in 2005 and serves as President and Co-Head of Funds. Previously, he was an Investment Manager in the private equity division of BBVA. He began his career as an investment professional in the venture capital division of BBVA. Mr. Ilundain currently serves on the Board of Directors of Palladium portfolio companies Accupac, Health Connect America, Quirch Foods, and Superior Environmental Solutions. He has previously served on the Board of Directors of Palladium portfolio companies Aconcagua, Capital Contractors, Castro Cheese, Del Real Foods, Envoy Global, GoodWest, Jordan Health Services, Paragon, Taco Bueno, Teasdale, Trachte and TransForce. Mr. Ilundain also serves on the Board of Directors of the Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC). He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and earned a B.S. in Industrial and Mechanical Engineering from Universidad Pública de Navarra (Spain), a B.S. in Engineering from Staffordshire University (UK), a Leadership Development diploma from Harvard Business School, a Management Development Program (PDD) diploma from IESE Business School (Spain) and a Master in Finance from BBVA Escuela de Finanzas (Spain).

Emmanuel Lagarrigue

Emmanuel Lagarrigue (New York) joined KKR in 2022 and is a Partner. He is the Global Co-Head of KKR’s Climate Transition Strategy and Head of Sustainability, leading KKR's global investments in value added decarbonization. Mr. Lagarrigue also serves as the firm’s Head of Sustainability, working with business leaders across the firm to align sustainability with capital protection and value creation for our investors and shareholders. He has considerable experience in sustainability, the energy transition, and the transformation of large businesses. Before joining KKR, he was a founding partner of BeyondNetZero, a General Atlantic fund focusing on growth equity opportunities in decarbonization technologies. Before that, Mr. Lagarrigue held various leadership positions at Schneider Electric for over 20 years, including chief strategy, chief sustainability, and chief innovation officer, as well as P&L and general management roles in Europe, South America, Asia, and the United States. Additionally, he serves as the Chairman of the board of trustees of Menorca Preservation, an NGO dedicated to environmental causes in the Balearic Islands.

Jacinto Monge

Jose Jacinto Monge is Chairman & CEO of Indra Group USA, where he leads the company’s business and operations across the United States. He is responsible for driving growth in defense, air traffic management, and mobility technologies, and oversees strategy, customer engagement, and institutional relations. Jacinto has more than 25 years of global leadership experience in the aerospace and defense industry. Before joining Indra, he served in executive roles at Bell Textron, including Managing Director for Europe and Managing Director for Asia Pacific, where he led the commercial aircraft business across China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Earlier in his career, he was President Director of Airbus Group in Indonesia and CEO of Airbus Defense and Space in the country, leading corporate strategy, government engagement, and industrial partnerships. He also held regional leadership roles in Airbus Military supporting the company’s growth in Asia-Pacific. He holds a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, an MBA from the Collège des Ingénieurs in Paris, and completed executive education at IESE Business School, as well as the CFA program.

Nathan Sheets

Nathan Sheets, Ph.D., is Global Chief Economist at Citi Research. In this role, Nathan leads Citi’s surveillance and forecasting of the global economy and directs the analysis of the firm’s economics team. He interacts closely with Citi’s major institutional clients and internal risk takers and publishes research on cross-cutting themes shaping the global economy and financial markets. Most recently, Nathan was Chief Economist and a member of the senior investment team at PGIM Fixed Income. He also has served as Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for International Affairs, representing the U.S. government on international economic issues. Previously, he held positions with Citigroup, as Global Head of International Economics, and with the Federal Reserve Board, as Director of the Division of International Finance and FOMC Economist. In addition, Nathan was a senior advisor to the U.S. Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund and a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He joined Citi in October 2021.

Ambassador Alan D. Solomont

Alan D. Solomont is Dean Emeritus of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, where he served as Dean from 2014 to 2021. He was the United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra from 2009 to 2013 and has chaired the Board of Directors of the Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce since 2013. Earlier, he chaired the Corporation for National and Community Service, overseeing programs such as AmeriCorps and VISTA. Solomont has also held leadership roles in healthcare and philanthropy and served on numerous nonprofit and corporate boards. He holds a B.A. from Tufts University and a B.S. in nursing from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.