The Infrastructure Symposium

José Luis Ábalos

Diputado de la IX, X, XI, XII, XIII y XIV legislaturas. Maestro. Consultor Cooperación Internacional. Doctor Honoris Causa por la Universidad de San Pedro (Perú). Secretario de Organización del PSOE. Jefe de Gabinete del Delegado del Gobierno CV (1983-1988). Jefe de Gabinete del Conseller de Trabajo GV (1988-1991). Responsable del Programa de Cooperación Internacional GV (1989-1992). Asesor del Ayuntamiento VLC (1992-1999). Concejal del Ayuntamiento de Valencia (1999-2009). Diputado Provincial (2003-2007).

Marco Antonio Achón

Marco Antonio Achón is Head of Santander Corporate & Investment Banking US, CEO of Santander Investment Securities Inc. and General Manager of Banco Santander, S.A. New York Branch. He joined Santander US in October 2017 after serving as Global Head of Financial Solutions & Advisory (FSA) in Madrid. Marco has held various roles with Santander Group since 2005, including Global Head of Loan Markets, European Head of Credit Markets, and European Head of Corporate & Investment Banking. Marco brings with him more than two decades of experience with large U.S. and international financial institutions. Prior to joining Santander, Marco served as Head of Debt Capital Markets and Loan Syndications for the Americas for BBVA Securities, Inc. in New York and Vice-President of the Latin America Group at Argentaria. He holds Board memberships at AS/COA, Spain-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce; He is a member of the Colin Powell School Board of Visitors, and of the Economic Club of New York. Marco has a BA in Business Administration and a BA in Law from Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Madrid, Spain. He also received an MBA from Columbia University in New York.

Luis Barreto

Luis Barreto is a Managing Director in Brookfield’s Infrastructure Group, responsible for leading the sourcing and execution of new investments in South America, and in particular, Mexico. Mr. Barreto joined Brookfield in 2010 and has since played a key role in expanding our operations in both Peru and Mexico. Mr. Barreto was instrumental in opening our Peru office, and in 2015, he relocated to Mexico to establish our presence in the country. In addition to driving our geographic expansion in South America, Mr. Barreto has also played an important leadership role on many significant transactions in the region. Prior to joining Brookfield, Mr. Barreto was a Director in the Financial Institutions Group at Citi, based in New York and London. Mr. Barreto holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BBA from Florida International University.

Stephen C. Beatty

Steve serves as the Global Chairman for the Infrastructure practice and the Head of Global Cities Center of Excellence for KPMG. He has over 35 years’ experience with KPMG. In a private capacity, Steve sits on advisory boards relating to the infrastructure programs at the Stanford University Business School and the Cornell University Program in Infrastructure Policy. Steve is well-recognized as an expert in public infrastructure projects and has worked on engagements across six continents. During his career, Steve has been involved in numerous negotiations on complex infrastructure projects and has been instrumental to his clients in delivering large infrastructure projects. Steve has advised both public and private sector clients extensively in infrastructure privatization strategy, real estate development, transportation planning, public-private partnership (PPP) policy development and project financing. He has assisted public sector clients in project scoping, process design, process execution, and negotiation with private developers. For private sector clients, his assistance has included business strategies, financing approaches, and preparation of bids related to mega-infrastructure projects.

Dr. Morteza Farajian

Prior to his Bureau appointment, Morteza Farajian, Ph.D., served as acting Deputy Secretary of Transportation and was Director of Public-Private Partnerships (P3) at the Virginia Department of Transportation. There, he headed procurement, financing, and contract negotiation for multiple multi-modal transportation projects totaling $10 billion. He led reform of the VDOT P3 program to promote competition, engage stakeholders, and increase accountability; and, he established the first strategic program to manage a portfolio of P3 contracts post-procurement, totaling $14 billion in project value. Dr. Farajian is also an entrepreneur and co-founded a crowd-financing platform that provides local and small investors the opportunity to invest in infrastructure projects as equity or subordinate debt. He received his Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees in Project Management from the University of Maryland. He also has a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering. He currently serves as a board member on ARTBA’s P3 Division and TRB’s Revenue and Finance committee.

Patrick J. Foye

Patrick J. Foye became Chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in April 2019, overseeing critical agency priorities and the agency’s day-to-day management. Previously, he served as President of the MTA from August 2017 through April 2019, providing leadership on modernization initiatives and strategic opportunities, including: leading the push for Central Business District Tolling to fund investment in the transit system, attracting private capital to the MTA, and ensuring the agency remains financially viable by leading cost reduction initiatives. He also served as a member of the MTA Board from 2010 to 2012. Prior to joining the MTA, Foye led the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as Executive Director for six years, from November 2011 to August 2017. At the Port Authority, he managed day-to-day operations at the bi-state agency and guided the development of the agency’s ten year, $32.2-billion Capital Plan, while overseeing some of the nation’s most significant P3 transactions, including the redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport and the building of a new Goethals Bridge. Foye also served as Deputy Secretary for Economic Development for Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, the downstate Chairman of ESDC, and Vice Chair and board member of the Long Island Power Authority. He was a Mergers and Acquisitions partner at Skadden Arps and managing partner of the firm’s Brussels, Budapest and Moscow offices, and served as Executive Vice President of AIMCO, a leading multi-family REIT and a component of the S&P 500.

Inmaculada Gutiérrez

Inmaculada Gutiérrez is the Director for the International Business of Grupo Renfe and CEO of Renfe of America. She also a member of the Board of Elipsos. Inmaculada has extensive professional experience in both the public and private sectors. She has worked for the Ministry of Economy in Spain and has held different positions of responsibility related to economic policy, intellectual property, competition advocacy and removal of trade barriers. She has also been appointed to different posts by the Spanish Government in antitrust and intellectual property institutions and has represented Spain before the Trade and Competition OECD´s Committee. She held the position of Trade Commissioner of the Embassy of Spain for the Southeast United States from 2014 to 2019. Her knowledge of economic tools for market analysis led her to develop her professional career working for American economic consulting firms, advising clients from a wide range of industry sectors such as the retail, financial (credit cards), energy, telecommunications or infrastructures. Inmaculada has actively taken part in the development and management of non-profit organizations in support of people with disabilities, particularly children on the autistic spectrum. Mrs. Gutiérrez holds a degree in Economics by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and in 1992 officially gained the position as Economist and Trade Expert for the Government of Spain.

Marianna Koval

Marianna Koval is the Director of the Invest NYC SDG Initiative at the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, where she manages a team that is engaging the private sector to drive financing toward creating a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient New York City. Together, using the UN SDGs as a guiding framework, the team is developing investable projects to advance NYC’s sustainability goals in waste, food and health, climate resilience, renewable energy, the built environment, and sustainable mobility. A lawyer, with more than 30 years of experience working in environmental sustainability, public policy, and government in New York City, Marianna has successfully taken on complex multi-stakeholder projects, difficult policy challenges, and brought conflicting interests together to create concrete projects. She served as the senior advisor to the Commissioner of NYC Environmental Protection, building green infrastructure policy and partnerships in a $2.4 billion stormwater management program. She created the first NRDC-DEP partnership to develop a private market for green infrastructure, a project that she later managed from NYU Stern, Center for Sustainable Business, which produced an influential report, "Catalyzing Green Infrastructure on Private Property: Recommendations for a Green, Equitable, and Sustainable New York City." Marianna was president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy for more than a decade, where she helped develop the vision, attract the initial $280 million in funding, and construction of this major city park. She holds an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a JD from Fordham University Law School, and an AB from Princeton University.

Belen Marcos

Belen Marcos is a Civil Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and holds a postgraduate degree in transportation infrastructure from the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées. She has for 20 years held various positions within the Ferrovial Group, in particular in North America, where she had been assigned since 2005. She most recently held the presidency of CINTRA in the United States.

Diego Marin

Diego Marín is currently CEO of Acciona’s Concessions business. Acciona currently manages 17 concession projects in the transportation, social infrastructure and sustainability sectors in Australia, Canada, Spain, Mexico and Brazil, and is actively looking for new opportunities specifically in Latam. Before joining Acciona, Diego was Global Head of Financial Sponsors and Infrastructure clients at BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking, where he spent 8 years. Prior to that, Diego held different managerial positions at Ferrovial (and its affiliate, Cintra) in the corporate development and business development areas. At Cintra he ended up being CEO of its SH130 toll road concession in the US. Diego joined Cintra in 2003 after several years in Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. Diego has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain) and an International MBA from Instituto de Empresa (Spain) and Manchester Business School (UK). He is married and has three daughters.

José Antonio Morán

José Antonio Morán is a partner of the Firm's Banking, Finance & Major Projects Practice Group. He represents clients in numerous high-value deals, including one recognized by Thomson Project Finance International as “the largest merger and acquisition deal in Latin America.” José is ranked as a Foreign Expert for Spain in USA - Projects by Chambers USA 2017 and 2018. The Legal 500 United States also recognized him from 2011 to 2016 in the area of project finance and in prior years in the areas of corporate & finance and real estate & construction. José has been trained as a lawyer under a civil law system and a common law system. José is a lecturer at Loyola University School of Law's comparative law seminar on legal systems in the Americas, and a visiting professor at Northwestern Law School as a lecturer in the project finance class. He was the vice chair of the Banking and Financial Services committee of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolutions. Mr. Morán concentrates primarily on transactions in the US, Spain and Latin America. He has assisted major US banks and institutional lenders in negotiating and drafting documents regarding loan syndications for Latin American borrowers, as well as US and European-based oil and gas companies in Latin America in acquisitions. He has also represented contractors in connection with ground-up, design/build projects, bulk fuels, and construction and renovation projects in military environments pursuant to NATO and Status of Forces Agreements in Spain, Portugal, Korea, Japan, Jordan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Qatar.

Javier Pérez Fortea

Mr. Perez Fortea joined GLOBALVIA in 2011 as Corporate Managing Director and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in 2013. He is a Member of UNECE PPP Business Advisory Board since April, 2016 and Member of the Advisory Board of Cornell University's Program in Infrastructure Policy (CPIP) since October, 2016. He is a Civil Engineer with over thirty years’ experience who started his professional career in the world of construction. He worked firstly in Spain and then in the USA, Indonesia, The Philippines and Jamaica as Country General Manager for several Spanish construction companies. He has worked in the transportation infrastructure PPP world having been involved in the world's largest projects of this nature. He worked for Cintra (1999-2011) as Highways Director for Spain, Europe and South America and handled a total investment of over €8 Billion worldwide having participated in the successful refinancing of H407ETR after award. Prior to that in Acciona (1996-1999) he managed a US $ 2.5 billion railroad PPP project in Manila (Philippines). As a Country Manager for OHL in Indonesia (1993-1996) he built a river cargo wharf and a US $500 Million New Town in the rainforest of Irian Jaya with 3,500 local workers in only 18 months. Mr. Perez Fortea has been responsible for the financing, construction and operation of infrastructure projects in 14 countries in 3 different continents.

Andrés Sacristán

Mr. Sacristan has over 20 years of global experience in the construction, car-park and transportation industries and is currently President of Cintra US – the infrastructure investment arm of Ferrovial, a global international infrastructure conglomerate. Mr. Sacristan remains also as Director of 407 ETR International Board of Directors and is also a Board member in all Cintra projects in the US. In his current role as President at Cintra US, he leads all Cintra US operations, an $11bn investment portfolio of Infrastructure assets in Texas, Virginia and North Carolina. He is also involved in the commercial and institutional relationships of the company with different stakeholders in the US market. Mr. Sacristan started his career as a construction manager in the late 1990’s, developing his first managerial skills in that position. He soon moved to the concession business joining Cintra in 2001 where he progressed through several positions with different roles and worked in a variety of markets and asset classes. In particular, he has been the head of Cintra asset management in markets such as the UK, Europe, Australia and Colombia. Most recently he led 407 ETR in Toronto, as president and CEO, a unique Infrastructure PPP asset with a substantial B2C retail operation aside from the more traditional operation of a toll highway. His leadership in areas such as Data Analytics and Pricing along with a digital and mobile transformation have helped 407 to enhance his focus on customer value. Mr. Sacristan holds an MS in Civil Engineering and Structural Design.

Lysa Scully

Prior to starting her own advisory firm, Lysa had a distinguished 33-year career as an innovative leader at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. As former CEO of LaGuardia, 20th largest airport in the U.S., Lysa led a team of 400 people in delivering unprecedented positive change to the customer experience for its 30 million annual passengers. Under Lysa’s leadership, airport passenger volumes grew to record levels, investment in the airport reached historic highs, and regulatory compliance remained flawless. Lysa led the airport through its transformative $9 billion redevelopment program and was a founding partner in the largest airport Public Private Partnership and construction project in U.S. airport infrastructure history. Before her role at LaGuardia, Lysa spent more than ten years as a senior executive in aviation headquarters, directing programs for customer excellence, landside and parking, concessions, and strategic planning for the Port Authority’s five airport system. She also served as Corporate Secretary for The Port Authority, an elected officer of the Agency. Lysa holds an MBA in Finance from Pace University – Lubin School of Business, a BS in Accounting from Rutgers University, and is an Airport Certified Employee in Operations and Security through the American Association of Airport Executives. Lysa is a member of the Board of Trustees of Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology and is a member of the Critical Infrastructure Strategic Advisory Board of Parsons Corporation.

Antonio Silveira

He has a PhD in Economics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He was the Deputy Chief of Economic Advice of the Ministry of Planning, Secretary of Economic Monitoring of the Ministry of Finance and Minister of the Secretariat of Ports of the Government of Brazil. He participated in Directories of public and private companies, which include Caixa Económica Federal, Vale S.A. (Fiscal Council) and Banco do Nordeste. He worked as Executive Director for Brazil at the World Bank and the IDB.

Ambassador Alan D. Solomont

Alan D. Solomont, former United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra and a lifelong social and political activist, serves as the Pierre and Pamela Omidyar Dean of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. Before his posting to Madrid, Solomont chaired the bipartisan board of directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that oversees such domestic service programs as AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, VISTA and Senior Corps. He was first appointed to the board by President Clinton in 2000, reappointed by President George W. Bush in 2007 and elected chair in 2009. Like President Obama, who nominated him for the ambassadorship in the summer of 2009, Solomont as a young man worked as a community organizer, in the city of Lowell, Mass. Throughout his career, Solomont has embraced the ability of political activism and public service to benefit society. After graduating from Tufts with a B.A. in political science and urban studies, Solomont made his first trip to Spain on a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship for postgraduate study and travel abroad. He returned to his native Massachusetts to work as a community organizer in Lowell. His mother was a nurse at Boston City Hospital, and he earned a B.S. in nursing from the University of Lowell (now the University of Massachusetts Lowell) in 1977. Solomont spent much of his professional career in the health- and elder-care arenas. He built a network of elder-care facilities in New England as chair of Solomont Bailis Ventures. He invested in early-stage health-care companies and cofounded HouseWorks, a home-care company that helps seniors remain independent. He was also the founder and managing director of Angel Healthcare Investors. A longtime leader in the Democratic Party, Solomont got his first exposure to national politics as an undergraduate in 1968, when he worked as a page during the tumultuous Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Later, he served as the party’s national finance chair from 1997 to 1998, and he was an early supporter of Barack Obama’s bid for the presidency. He played key roles in the presidential campaigns of John Kerry, Al Gore, Bill Clinton and Michael Dukakis. Through the years, Solomont has remained deeply involved in Tufts. A trustee emeritus of the university, Solomont was the founding chair of the Tisch College board of advisors. To mark the 10th anniversary of the college in 2011, his friends and colleagues endowed the Alan D. Solomont Lecture in recognition of his leadership as an active citizen. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, the first woman speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, gave the inaugural lecture. Other speakers have included United States Congressman and civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis.

Jennifer Trock

Jennifer leads the Firm's unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) focus team and is a member of the firm's Future Mobility Taskforce. She serves as the Chair of the ABA's Forum Air & Space Law. Jennifer has been recognized by Chambers USA, Aviation Regulatory – National (2007-2020) and has received honors from Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Aviation Lawyers, Infrastructure Journal and The Washingtonian. Jennifer routinely advises airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers, travel distribution clients, OEMs, and corporate entities on complex transportation and aviation-related regulatory, aviation safety, commercial, litigation, enforcement, restructuring, and financing matters. She has also handled all types of transportation-related regulatory issues, including with respect to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements, transportation of hazardous materials, motor carrier licensing, and transportation security matters. Jennifer has extensive experience in airline licensing, airline restructuring and citizenship requirements, UAS requirements, automated vehicles, airline route proceedings, appellant matters, international aviation (including IATA and ICAO requirements and bilateral air service agreements), public-private partnerships (including for US airports and infrastructure), corporate aviation, airport grant assurance and compliance, travel distribution and global distribution systems, rulemakings, M&A transactions, Part 77 obstruction evaluation, aviation safety and accident investigations. In addition to traditional commercial aviation matters, Jennifer focuses a substantial portion of her practice on UAS. She has extensive experience representing all areas of the drone sector on a range of regulatory and commercial matters, including manufacturers, small drone operators and contractors, as well as emerging technology in the areas of High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) applications and passenger carrying self-piloted aircraft.