About the blog

Norah Sullivan

Norah Sullivan is a Development Effectiveness Officer at IDB Invest. She focuses on implementing the organization’s Impact Management Framework, particularly on capturing and communicating the impact of IDB Invest operations. She previously worked at IDB Lab, developing projects to support social innovation and inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Olga Cantillo

Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Panama Stock Exchange, SA, Olga Cantillo has 30 years of professional experience in the financial industry, specializing in banking and securities markets, and has been in charge of investment and banking operations responsibilities in local and regional financial institutions. She's also Vice President of the Ibero-American Federation of Stock Exchanges (FIAB), Secretary of the Association of Capital Markets of the Americas (AMERCA), Director of the Association of Central Securities Deposits of the Americas (ACSDA), Independent Director of BI Bank Panamá, head of Fundación Calicanto, Founding Associate of the Directors Association of Panama, and member of Renaissance Executive Forums Panama.

Omar Zacarías

Omar holds the position of Investment Officer at IDB Invest, as part of the institutions Infrastructure and Energy Division working on investment projects across Central America and the Caribbean. A Dominican national, Mr. Zacarías boasts a professional trajectory spanning over 15 years in activities related to multilateral development banking, investment, corporate finance, treasury, and business consulting. He has worked on the structuring and financing of infrastructure, energy, and corporate projects in Central America and the Caribbean. Within the energy sector, he has spearheaded investments in solar, wind, natural gas projects, electric distribution companies, distributed generation, among others. Before joining IDB Invest in 2017, Mr. Zacarías worked for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group as an Investment Associate. Prior to that he held roles in finance and treasury in the metallurgical and airport industry. He also has experience in strategic business consulting in Spain. He earned his MBA from IE Business School in Madrid and holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) university in Santo Domingo.

Orlando Ferreira

Orlando Ferreira, a Paraguayan national, is the Chief Finance and Administration Officer of IDB Invest. He is responsible for managing the company's financial resources. He has deployed successful financial and investment strategies while implementing an annual funding program reaching US$2.8 billion, which has positioned IDB Invest as a key Sustainable Bond Issuer. Before this role, he served as Chief Strategy Officer and Operating Officer. Mr. Ferreira joined the organization as a Senior Advisor to the CEO in 2006 and later held several Division Chief positions. Orlando is passionate about development and pioneered the first Inter-American Investment Corporation initiative to measure, track, and report on the results of each operation Development Impact and Additionality Scoring System. Also established the first strategic planning framework for the Organization. He also served on the IDB Group's Board of Executive Directors from 1999 to 2005. Before that, Mr. Ferreira worked for 15 years in Paraguay's construction, financial, and advisory services sectors. He holds a degree in economics from the Universidad Nacional de Asunción in Paraguay, a graduate degree in Economics from the same university jointly with Universidad de Santiago de Chile, and a master’s degree in finance from The George Washington University.

Ornella Gutiérrez

Ornella Gutiérrez trabaja en el Programa de Facilitación del Financiamiento al Comercio Exterior (TFFP, por sus siglas en inglés) parte de la división de Productos y Servicios Financieros de BID Invest. Su trabajo se centra en facilitar el acceso de instituciones financieras de América Latina y el Caribe al financiamiento específico necesario para promover el comercio exterior en la región. Ornella nació en Argentina y cuenta con más de 10 años de experiencia en distintas áreas de comercio internacional. Posee una licenciatura en comercio internacional de la Universidad Empresarial Siglo21 y una certificación en comercio internacional y finanzas del London Institute of Banking & Finance.

Owen Bethel

Owen Bethel, President & CEO of Inti Corporation Ltd., brings extensive experience in the financial and investment sectors, having studied law and finance in both Canada (Carleton University, Ottawa – Bachelor of Arts in Law and Political Science) and England (University College London, University of London – Master of Laws). His career covers experience at Credit Suisse (Vice President), International Monetary Fund (Assistant to Executive Director), World Bank (Assistant to Executive Director), Bahamas Financial Services Secretariat (Executive Director), Bahamas Investment Authority (Executive Director), and The Montaque Group (President & Managing Director). He has also served on the Board of Directors of several private and public companies and government agencies.

Pablo Alejandro Cotsifis

Pablo Alejandro Cotsifis is an Environmental and Social Lead Officer at IDB Invest, responsible for identifying and treating environmental and social risks and impacts of Projects financed by the bank, consistent with best international practices. He has over 32 years’ experience in the field of environmental and social impact assessments of infrastructure projects including ports, marinas, shipyards, real estate, industry, renewable energy, offshore oil and gas, airports, coastal protection, environmental monitoring and related fields. Before joining IDB Invest, Pablo worked in many large infrastructure projects in Brazil, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Chile and the Caribbean. Pablo holds a BSc. In Biology obtained at Federal University of Bahia, Brazil and an MSc in Aquatic Resource Management obtained at King’s College, London, United Kingdom.

Pablo Pereira

Pablo Pereira is an Strategic, Program Innovation Officer and economist at the Strategic Planning and Knowledge Division (DSP/SPK) based in HQ. He supports strategic and corporate planning, IDBG Country Strategy processes and knowledge products and dissemination. Pablo holds a MSC in Project Finance from the University of York (UK), a MSC in Financial Markets from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina) and a Major in Economics from the same University. Before joining IDB Invest in September 2019, Pablo was a regional economist for Central America, Mexico, Haiti and Dominican Republic at IDB/VPC and consultant at IDB/VPS in INE. He worked for the World Bank in payments system development in Washington DC and was a Senior Advisor and Executive Director at the IMF representing the Southern-Cone countries. He also worked as an Investment Officer in economic and social infrastructure at FONPLATA and provided consultancy services to the private sector in green field projects.

Pablo Vargas

Investment Officer, Central America, and the Dominican Republic. Financial Institutions. Pablo is an Investment Officer on IDB Invest's Financial Institutions team, with extensive experience in project structuring and financing for the region over $600 million in IDB Invest and syndicated funds. Pablo is responsible for leading and designing high-impact, sustainable financial products for Financial Institutions sector operations in Central America and the Dominican Republic. His specialty is helping Financial Institutions create differentiated value propositions for the market in different thematic areas with tailor-made solutions and a particular focus on the region's impact.

Pamela Castellán

Pamela Castellán is currently an external consultant (PEC) in the Climate and Environment Division at IDB Invest, where she supports financial institutions in upstream work and in the structuring and implementation of technical advisory services related to sustainable finance.

She holds a master’s degree in Innovation from the University of Salamanca and has more than 10 years of experience advancing the transformation of the construction sector toward more sustainable models. Previously, she served as executive director of the Guatemala Green Building Council.

During her tenure, she led the construction sector in developing Guatemala’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy and promoted the approval of municipal and financial incentive regulations that have helped catalyze investment in sustainable construction in the country. She also served as president of the Americas regional network of the World Green Building Council, where she led regional initiatives and represented the sector in international forums.

Her professional background combines technical expertise with multiple accreditations in sustainable construction and sustainable finance, as well as experience in building strategic partnerships among the public sector, the private sector, and multilateral organizations, with the objective of generating social, environmental, and economic impact across the region.

Pamela Jouven

Como directora del PYMES Climate Hub, Pamela trabaja con socios internacionales, empresas multinacionales y gobiernos para acelerar un movimiento global y desarrollar una plataforma integral que movilice a las pequeñas y medianas empresas para que adopten medidas climáticas en materia de emisiones netas cero. Anteriormente, Pamela se desempeñó como jefa de Alianzas Climáticas Empresariales de Ciudades en C40, donde fue responsable de expandir a las ciudades integrantes de C40 la oferta de servicios vinculada a la aceleración de soluciones climáticas con empresas locales y globales. Su experiencia también incluye la puesta en marcha y dirección de programas de múltiples socios centrados en la innovación y la sostenibilidad para Virgin Unite, la rama sin fines de lucro de Virgin Group, y la Universidad de las Artes de Londres.

Pamela Jouven

As Director of the SME Climate Hub, Pamela works with international partners, multinational companies and governments to accelerate a global movement and develop a one-stop-shop platform mobilizing small and medium-sized enterprises to take climate action on net zero. Pamela previously served as Head of City Business Climate Alliances at C40, where she was responsible for expanding C40’s service offering to member cities relating to the acceleration of climate solutions with local and global businesses. Her experience also includes initiating and leading multi-partner programmes focused on innovation and sustainability for Virgin Unite, the non-profit arm of the Virgin Group, and University of the Arts London.