Georgetown Americas Institute

Created in 2006, the Georgetown University Latin American Board (LAB) supports the University’s engagement across the region. Composed of influential leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors, the LAB serves as an advisory board to the president and provost. The only regional board of its kind at Georgetown, the LAB assists in the development of strong ties between the University and its alumni, parents, and other collaborators across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Antonio Ardila - Colombia: Ardila serves as vice-chairman of Organización Ardila Lülle, which along with its subsidiaries, operates in the beverages, agro-industry, textiles, telecommunications, media, and financial services sectors. Ardila is also chairman of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Committee of Postobón, and a member of the Board of Directors of Peldar, Crown Colombiana, and Cervecería Central de Colombia (CCC).

Manuel J. Balbontin, P’19, P´25 - Chile: Balbontin is partner and founder of Compass Group, executive chairman of Compass Group Holdings, and senior investment strategist. He served previously as a managing director and founder of New World Investments Group of Banco Santander in New York and as director of capital markets and co-director of sales and trading of Citicorp Emerging Markets Group in New York, London, and Tokyo. He has over 30 years of experience in asset management, investment banking, and private capital investments in Latin America and other emerging markets.

Francisco Barriocanal, G’94 - Paraguay: Barriocanal serves as executive chairman at Cementos Concepcion S.A.E., the largest producer of cement, concrete, and agricultural lime in Paraguay. He has served on several boards of directors and has experience spanning diverse businesses in sectors including food and beverage, fuel distribution and retail, hospitality, personal care, real estate development, and tobacco. 

Alberto Beeck, P’15, P’17, P’18 - Peru (Chariman): Beeck serves as managing partner of Cranley Investments Holdings and on the boards of Industria Works, DB Andean Towers, WE Family Offices Holdings, and Endeavor Miami. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Memorial Sloan Kettering and of Project Liberty. A former member of the Board of Trustees of Georgetown University, Beeck is founder and chairman of Georgetown’s Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation. He was the founding chairman of Georgetown’s Latin American Board.

Claudia Blum - Colombia: Blum served as minister of foreign affairs from 2019 to 2021 and was senator of Colombia from 1991 to 2006, elected over four consecutive terms. As minister, she promoted an international agenda focused on the defense of democracy, environmental issues, international cooperation in human rights and development, and assistance to migrants. The first woman appointed as president of the Colombian Congress in 2005, Blum also served as ambassador of Colombia to the United Nations from 2006 to 2010. The recipient of several major awards, Blum is the author of six books related to her work in the Congress, as well as an autobiography.

Mati Bonetti de Buccini, C’94 - Dominican Republic: Bonetti de Buccini is partner and director of Atelier Delaware, a fine art preservation and storage facility. Previously she worked for MTV Networks International as the director of the International Marketing for MTV, Nickelodeon, and VH-1. Bonetti de Buccini received her B.A. in history and art history from Georgetown University in 1994 and an MBA from Columbia University in 1998.

Claudia Cisneros, P'23 - Venezuela: Cisneros is an accomplished telecommunications veteran with a depth of expertise encompassing project management, branding, data collections and analysis, as well as technology development and integration. She is a current member of the board of Digitel Venezuela. A committed social entrepreneur, Cisneros is the founder and president of Digisalud, a philanthropic organization that promotes health advances for children in Latin America. She is a former director and current member of the Cisneros Fontanals Foundations (CIFO), an institution that promotes Latin American art and artists globally. 

Miguel Dueñas, B’66, P’99, P’99 - El Salvador: Dueñas is founder of Hermanos Ltda and a member of the conglomerate Dueñas Hermanos y Compañia and Roberto Dueñas Limitada, which along with its subsidiaries, operates in a variety of industries in El Salvador ranging from real estate and cement to retail.

Alejandra Fernandez, P’26 - Nicaragua: Fernandez is managing director of Grupo Ayucus. Before joining Grupo Ayucus, she served as an associate with Deloitte. She is a graduate of Williams College and received her MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Irma Frank, P’91, P’94, P’96, P’97, P’99 - Colombia/USA. Irma Frank is the senior associate dean for international programs at Georgetown University School of Medicine. She chairs the International Programs Committee, which oversees all Medical School International Programs. Frank received the Patrick Healy Award in 2015, the highest honor that the Georgetown University Alumni Association gives to non-alumni but who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service to Georgetown. She was also the recipient of the highest honors of “Orden de Comendador” and “Orden de Dama” from Javeriana University in Bogota, her alma mater.

Enrique García - Bolivia: García is a former executive president of CAF - Development Bank of Latin America from 1991 to 2017. He serves as the president of the Council of International Relations of Latin America (RIAl) and is a member of several boards and advisory councils internationally. Previously, he served as minister of planning and chief of the Economic and Social Cabinet of the Bolivian Council of Ministers, and as treasurer of the Inter-American Development Bank. 

Rolando Gonzalez-Bunster, C’68, P’00, P’05, P’14, P’16 - Argentina: Gonzalez-Bunster serves as chairman and chief executive officer of InterEnergy Holdings. He previously founded and managed InterEnergy’s predecessor, Basic Energy Ltd. (Bahamas), a holding company that owns and operates electrical generation and distribution assets in the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Jamaica. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Clinton Foundation, the Energy and Climate Committee of the Clinton Global Initiative, and the Institute of the Americas.

Dionisio Gutierrez - Guatemala: Gutierrez is a Guatemalan philanthropist, sociologist, and president of the Fundación Libertad y Desarrollo. He is also a former president and current board member of Corporación Multi Inversiones (CMI), as well as founder and trustee of the School of Government and former president of the Chamber of Free Enterprise in Guatemala. 

Diego Herrera, B’94 - Guatemala: Herrera is chief executive officer of The Pantaleon Group, Inc., a family held corporation founded in 1848 with interests in sugar production, energy, and shopping malls, which currently operates in Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Brazil. Prior to joining Pantaleon, Herrera served as managing partner with Atlas Vivienda, a Mexican real estate development company, where he remains a board member, and worked in the investment banking group of Paribas in New York City. 

Miguel Mendoza, P’23 - Venezuela: Mendoza is the founder and chief executive officer of Power Infrastructure. He has over 20 years’ experience in the energy and infrastructure industries including oil and gas, power generation, distribution, and renewables with a special focus on emerging markets. Mendoza holds an MBA from the Columbia Business School, a Masters in Finance from the London Business School (LBS), and several advanced law degrees. He is a member of the Board of Junior Achievement in Argentina and a member of the Acquisition Committee of the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano (Malba) in Buenos Aires.

Christian Mürrle, B'80, P'24 - Colombia: Mürrle is managing director and principal of PanAmCap, LLC, a company he founded that sources investment and merchant banking opportunities in the United States and Latin America. From 2002 to 2016, Mürrle was a principal at PanAmerican Capital, LLC. Mürrle sits on the Board of Directors of Grupo Nutresa and of the Colombian American Association, a 93-year-old organization that promotes investment and commerce between the United States and Colombia, and for which he served as president for over a decade. He is a past board member of AID FOR AIDS and past Honorary Consul of Sweden in Cali, Colombia. 

Alejandro Poma, P'24 - El Salvador: Poma is director of Grupo Poma, a Salvadoran based Multilatina with interests in automotive retail, parts, service and finance; hospitality; real estate development; construction materials and architectural products and investments. Poma is also a board member of Fundacion Salvadoreña para la Salud y Desarrollo Human (FUSAL) and INCAE Business School, and serves as president of the Salvadoran National Committee of INCAE. Poma has for many years has been a member of the Salvadoran chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). In 2010 he was honored by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader.

Philippe Stiernon, B’03, MBA’15 - Colombia: Stiernon is founder, CEO, and managing partner of ROAM Capital, one of Latin America’s leading placement agents. He also serves as CIO of Hoya Capital, a family investment vehicle. Before founding ROAM, Stiernon served as the co-head of investor relations for a Latin American private equity fund and a hedge fund in London. Prior to that, he spent five years working for Merrill Lynch, starting in the firm’s investment banking division in New York and transitioning to the private wealth management division in Miami.

Andrés Tesak, B’95 - El Salvador: Tesak is an executive at Bocadeli, a snack producer that operates in almost all countries in Central America, the United States, and the Dominican Republic. He was named honorary consul of El Salvador to Hungary by the national Congress in 2012. The Tesak family are the patrons of the Cultural Center Pablo Tessak, which promotes social unity and child development through educational and cultural initiatives.

Alessandro Zema, P'28 - Brazil: Zema is Brazil country head for Morgan Stanley, where he also serves as co-head of Investment Banking for Latin America. Before joining Morgan Stanley in 2008, Zema was an executive director at Lehman Brothers and a director at Credit Suisse in London. He is a member of the Brazil-U.S. Business Council Board of Directors.