Rachel Robboy is an experienced international development banker with core expertise in financial and non-financial risk management, portfolio management, deal structuring and business development with a focus on Latin America.
As Chief Risk Officer of IDB Invest, Ms. Robboy oversees credit, market, and operational risk along with the environmental and social risk and special assets teams. Ms. Robboy chairs and votes on multiple senior management bank committees, and is a leader of sustainability; diversity, equity and inclusion; and corporate ethics at IDB Invest.
Over the past two decades, Ms. Robboy has held senior-level positions at the Inter-American Development Bank Group including Chief of the Portfolio Management Division and advisor to the Vice President for Private Sector and Non-Sovereign Guaranteed Operations, as well as other leading roles in the Infrastructure Division and the Special Operations Unit.
Ms. Robboy holds an MBA in international finance and a master’s in international affairs from The George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, both in Washington, D.C.
Women have demonstrated ample evidence of strong leadership. Furthermore, from positions of leadership, we have successfully taken and successfully managed risks time and again. As entrepreneurs, we save more and pay better as an asset class. However, there is still much to do to achieve gender parity.
While International Women’s Day allowed for reflection on progress towards gender equality, it is also an opportunity to discuss the alarming rates of gender-based violence in Latin America and the Caribbean, aggravated by the pandemic. The private sector has an important role in evaluating and addressing risks of gender-based violence, which is paramount to achieving equality.
By Rachel Robboy Many aspects of the Panama Canal expansion make it stand out. The 7-year project to add a third lane to accommodate giant ships with triple the cargo capacity is the largest infrastructure project in Latin America and the Caribbean, costing over $5 billion. It brings in 22 percent of Panama’s national gross domestic product, allowing the country to grow at 6 percent in a year when the rest of the region is slowing down.