About the blog

Gastón Astesiano

Gastón Astesiano is Head of the Single Window for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in the IDB's Vice Presidency for Countries. He joined the Bank in 2002 as part of the Young Professionals Program, in the Infrastructure Division of the Southern Cone. In 2007 he joined the Energy Division, where he was in charge of the development of energy projects. In 2011, he was appointed Operations Advisor of the Infrastructure Department, in charge of quality control of operations, management of the department's portfolio, and served as Coordinator of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). In September 2014, he was appointed Senior Advisor to the Vice Presidency of Countries, where he led the operational team in the design and implementation of corporate reforms such as: The New Guidelines for the preparation of Country Strategies of the IDB Group, The Regulation for the Incorporation of Parameters of Capital Adequacy in Financial Planning: Programming with Sovereign Guarantee Limits by Country and the Merger of the assets (U$5MM) of the Fund for Special Operations (FOE) to the Capital of the IDB. Since August 2017, he leads the IDB PPP Team, created to coordinate the IDB Group's technical assistance in PPP matters. He has a law degree from the Universidad Católica Argentina, is Master in Law (LLM) and Master in Economic Policy (MPA) from Columbia University.

Gema Sacristán

Gema Sacristán is IDB Invest's Chief Investment Officer. She joined the Inter-American Development Bank in 2008 as an Investment Officer in the Structured and Corporate Finance Department, where she subsequently became Chief of the Financial Markets Division. Prior to this role, she held various leadership positions in commercial and investment banking in Madrid, London and New York. Among them, she was the director of the Export and Agency Financing Unit for the Americas at BBVA New York and vice president and product manager in the area of Global Trade Finance at Banco Santander Nueva York.

Gian Franco Carassale

Gian Franco Carassale es oficial líder de inversión en BID Invest. Posee amplia experiencia en el análisis, estructuración y financiamiento de proyectos de energía renovable en varias jurisdicciones de América Latina y el Caribe, y ha asistido a gobiernos de la región en la preparación y lanzamiento de programas de energía renovable. Gian Franco es licenciado en economía de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina y posee una maestria en finanzas de la Universidad Di Tella.

Gonzalo Arauz

Gonzalo Arauz is an investment expert in telecommunications, media and technology (TMT). He is a lead investment officer of IDB Invest, based in Buenos Aires, since 2017. He has extensive experience in the origination, structuring and management of complex debt and capital transactions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Before joining IDB Invest, he was an investment officer at the IFC (World Bank) serving the TMT and infrastructure sectors. Arauz has an engineering degree from Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires and an MBA from Wharton School.

Guillermo Foscarini

Guillermo is currently the Managing Director and Chief of the Corporates Division for IDB Invest where he leads the origination and structuring of investments in the agribusiness, manufacturing, tourism and digital economy sectors totaling +$1.5B per year. 

He joined the IDB Group in 2019 after spending almost 17 years at the International Finance Corporation, private-sector arm of the World Bank Group, where he held several senior investment and development banking positions as Principal Investment Officer in the Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services & Credit Risk Departments. 

Guillermo has worked on +150 corporate and project finance transactions, as well as equity and quasi-equity investments in Africa, Asia and Latin America & Caribbean totaling +$4.5B.  

Guillermo holds a MSc in Risk Management from New York University (NY, USA), a MBA from Universidad del CEMA (Argentina), and a CPA degree from the Universidad Católica de Cordoba (Argentina).    

Guillermo Mulville

Guillermo leads the Telecommunications, Media and Technology (TMT) Team at IDB Invest, which he joined in 2016. He is responsible for developing business strategies and plans, and for managing clients and structuring the transactions of the TMT sector in Latin America and the Caribbean. Before joining the IDB Group, he worked at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for more than nine years, as Head of the TMT sector for Latin America and the Caribbean. He previously worked at ABN AMRO Bank for 12 years. He was Enron International’s Global Finance Manager for two years. He served as board member of Pan-African and Pan- American companies engaged in broadband and cell tower distribution and infrastructure, with portfolios in various countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Guillermo earned a master’s degree in finance from Universidad del CEMA and a professional degree in business administration from Universidad de San Andrés (both in Argentina).

Henry Mooney

Henry Mooney serves as Economics Advisor with The Inter-American Development Bank. He previously worked with investment bank Morgan Stanley in London, The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and Government of Canada, including on dozens of advanced and emerging market economies in Africa, Asia, Europe, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Henry's responsibilities have included leading regional macroeconomic and financial research publications, serving as chief and team leader for IMF and World Bank technical assistance and financing operations focused on sovereign debt issuance, debt restructuring, and public financial management, as well as producing economic forecasts in the context of adjustment programs and surveillance. Henry is a dual Brazilian and Canadian citizen, who completed his studies in economics and finance at Concordia University (BA), The London School of Economics (MSc), The University of London (PhD), and Harvard University (MPA).

Hilen Meirovich

Hilen Meirovich is the Managing Director of Climate and Environment at IDB Invest. Hilen, has over 20 years of experience in climate finance, sustainable infrastructure, and environmental finance, with roles at IDB, IDB Invest, and active speaker at global climate forums. Under her leadership, IDB Invest expanded its climate advisory services, quadrupling climate-related transactions, and building a $10.3 billion climate finance portfolio. Her leadership included spearheading innovative financing mechanisms, resource mobilization, and aligning organizational practices with the Paris Agreement. An example of those innovations as the development of Latin America’s first blue bond, and positioned IDB Invest as a climate leader across MDBs and other international actors. Hilen holds a PhD in Political Science from Georgetown University, an MA in Public Policy from Georgetown University, and an MA in Political Science from Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

IDB Invest

IDB Invest is the private sector institution of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, a multilateral development bank that supports private sector companies in Latin America and the Caribbean. It provides financial and advisory services for sustainable enterprises to promote economic, social, and environmental development in the region. The institution mobilizes private investment for projects, and is the new trade name for the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC).

IDB Invest

Like the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), our commitment is to economic growth and social inclusion; that is central to our identity as part of the IDB Group. But our focus is on the private sector. As the private-sector arm of the IDB Group, we know the region. We work where our clients are and can provide them with customized financing solutions and expert advice tailored to their specific industry and market. IDB Invest is owned by its 48 member countries, 26 of which are in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Each country’s voting power is proportional to the number of IDB Invest shares it holds.

IDB Invest Team

IDB Invest seeks to be the primary bank for private sector solutions in Latin America and the Caribbean. We support projects to advance clean energy, modernize agriculture, strengthen transportation systems and expand access to financing. These are projects that have a significant impact and contribute to the sustainable development of the region. Like the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), our commitment is to economic growth and social inclusion, central concepts of our identity as part of the IDB Group. Our distinctive feature is our focus on the private sector.

Iker Vinageras

Iker Vinageras is Head of ESG at Mexico’s Institutional Stock Exchange, BIVA, spearheading BIVA’s efforts to accelerate Mexico’s adoption of ESG standards and sustainability metrics. A member of Chapter Zero and Mexico’s Green Finance Advisory Council (CCFV), Mr. Vinageras has accompanied BIVA’s growth since 2018, when it received formal authorization to operate as Mexico’s second stock exchange. Through BIVA’s Sustainable 360 Program, in whose design, implementation and evolution Mr. Vinageras played a key role, BIVA completed over thirty ESG placements, totalling US$5.7Bn. In 2021, 46% of the total amount financed through BIVA was achieved using an ESG instrument. Mr. Vinageras has been responsible for the implementation of BIVA’s 5-Pillar Strategy to expand ESG offerings in Mexico, guiding market participants in the issuance of ESG-compliant products, including debt, equity, and structured finance. Thorough Mr. Vinageras’ team efforts, BIVA has exponentially increased the number of listings in the International Quotation System (SIC BIVA), by over 500 listing, including, Apple, Tesla, Amazon, Coinbase, Airbnb, I Shares, JP Morgan ETFs, Principal, HSBC ETFs, and KKR.