Darryl White is a career banker with over 40 years of experience in leading financial institutions such as Citibank, Republic Bank, and RBC Financial Caribbean spanning areas of Wealth Management, Advisory Services, Corporate and Investment Banking, Commercial and Retail Banking.

He joined the IDB Group effective May 1, 2025, as the Managing Director for the Caribbean Countries at IDB Invest which is responsible for the Groups’ Private Sector Activities in the region.

He is a former President of the Bankers Association of Trinidad and Tobago, CEO of RBC Financial (Caribbean) Limited and Regional Vice President of Corporate and Investment Banking. He has led a senior team specializing in the Caribbean markets, serving a diverse client base across multiple sectors that includes sovereign entities, state-owned enterprises, large corporations, publicly traded companies, and multinational organizations.

He holds an MBA from Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Management from the University of the West Indies and is a qualified Charter Member of the UK Institute of Bankers.

Carina Cockburn is an Economic Development Professional and Change Leader with over 25 years’ experience in the public and private sectors. Her core competencies include Strategic Planning, Change Management and Project Portfolio Management.

For over 15 years, Carina has served in various positions at the Inter-American Development Bank with prior responsibilities in Jamaica, Belize, The Bahamas, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago and at the Bank’s headquarters in Washington DC. She was appointed Country Representative for Barbados in October 2024. Carina has also worked extensively across the Caribbean region as a project manager and consultant, including assignments with large conglomerates in Jamaica and Barbados and the Canadian and British development agencies. She also previously served as the Technical Advisor to the Minister of Finance in Jamaica.

Carina is a UWI Valedictorian and Jamaica Rhodes Scholar who holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Economics & Social History, both from Oxford University. She also holds the designations of Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Scrum Master (CSM).

Ian is the Unit Chief for the IDB Group's ONE Caribbean regional program, leading and coordinating initiatives across the Caribbean in resilience, citizen security, food security, and private sector development. He brings over 20 years of experience in strategic leadership, portfolio management, technical advisory services, operations, and policy engagement.

His previous roles include FCDO Caribbean Deputy Development Director, UK Alternate Director to the Caribbean Development Bank, DFID Kenya Sustainable Economic Development Team Leader, The Law & Development Partnership Head of Economic Growth, World Bank Economist, and SJ Berwin LLP Private Equity Funds Lawyer.

He holds a Degree in Economics from Durham University (UK), Post-Graduate Diplomas in Law from the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University (UK) and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University (USA).

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Mr. Rodinald Soomer is the Chief Executive Officer of the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) since September 2015. He was previously employed with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission, as Head of the Economic Development Policy Unit from May 2005 to August 2015, with oversight responsibility for regional sector programmes in Agriculture, Tourism, Statistics and E-Government, and a lead role in the preparation of a regional Growth and Development Strategy.

Mr. Soomer started his development career with the Government of St. Lucia in the Ministry of Planning, Development and Environment, where he served for twelve years, from 1986 to 1998, managing multi-year programmes of donor and technical assistance from multiple agencies including the British Development Division/DFID, the European Union, Kuwait Fund, Commonwealth Secretariat, OAS, the World Bank and the CDB, spanning sectors such as economic and social infrastructure, tourism and agriculture. He subsequently did a 6-year stint in the private sector as Executive Vice President/CEO of the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA), forging partnerships around key industry priorities, including inter-sectoral linkages, visitor safety and security, marketing, public awareness, human resource development and tourism policy making.

Mr. Soomer holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of the West Indies and a Master’s Degree in Economics from York University in the UK, with a specialisation in Project Analysis, Finance and Investment.

Audrey Richards is a consultant whose work with the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), under the Jamaica Venture Capital Programme (JVCapital), catalysed the development of the private capital ecosystem in Jamaica and spearheaded the bank’s strategic investments, as an anchor investor, in private equity, private credit, energy infrastructure, and venture capital funds.

At the DBJ, Mrs. Richards conceptualized and led the design and implementation of JVCapital, as well as several landmark programmes such as a partial credit guarantee programme - the Credit Enhancement Fund (CEF), and other key projects aimed at promoting innovation and the development of the local early stage and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Her activities at the DBJ not only led to the mobilisation of J$ billions in funding for Jamaican and regional businesses and projects, but have been underpinned by a strong focus on promoting the adoption of globally accepted best practices by stakeholders, advancement of initiatives aimed at legislative and regulatory reforms, and mobilizing private finance for climate resilience projects.

Mrs. Richards has held senior executive leadership positions in the Jamaican capital markets and has consulted for both private and public sector institutions, including the Inter-American Development Bank, Bank of Jamaica, Jamaica Stock Exchange, and the Financial Services Commission. She currently serves as a Director on the Boards of Scotia Group Jamaica Limited and several of its subsidiaries, and the Boards of British Caribbean Insurance Company Limited and, her alma mater, St. Andrew High School for Girls, and the St. Andrew High School Foundation. She previously served on the Boards of the Jamaica Stock Exchange (as Deputy Chairman) as well as the National Housing Trust.

Mrs. Richards is a Founding Director of the Caribbean Alternative Investment Association, which has as its mandate the mobilising of private sector leadership of the private capital industry, in Jamaica and the Caribbean, to develop a dynamic and globally recognized market in the region.

She is passionate about creating and executing capital market solutions, supporting organizational building, financial market policy advancement, and has led several market developmental initiatives for the Jamaican private and public sectors. She now seeks to share the Jamaican experience with regional counterparts, recognizing the need for a dynamic and interlinked Caribbean alternative investments market.

Mrs. Richards holds an MBA (Finance) from the De Groote Graduate School of Business, McMaster University, Canada, and a B.Sc. (Special Chemistry) from the University of the West Indies, Mona, and is a Certified Project Management Professional.

Berisford Grey (known as Beris) is widely considered one of the region’s top investment bankers. As one of the founders of Sygnus Capital, he is living out his passion to create a leading Alternative Investments firm that uses creative approaches to unlock capital for clients.

Beris’s career was launched in the European Debt Capital Markets where he worked as an Associate Director in investment banking with particular focus on Securitisation and Structured Finance. After returning to the Caribbean, he held key positions at leading regional banks where he used his out-of-the-box thinking to generate game-changing results. This includes setting up and driving the Scotia Investments Capital Markets Unit to become a leader in the local market within 3-years and contributing significantly to the turnaround of CIBC FirstCaribbean Corporate & Investment Banking business between 2013-2016. Over the last decade he has raised over US$ 10 billion in financing for corporates and sovereigns across the region.

At CIBC FirstCaribbean, the largest regional bank in the English Speaking Caribbean, he held the posts of Managing Director and Executive Director of Corporate and Investment Banking where he oversaw a loan portfolio of US$3.0 billion USD in assets, and developed and executed regional strategy for the business to ensure competitiveness and long-term sustainability.

Prior to joining CIBC FirstCaribbean, Beris served as Senior Vice President of Origination & Capital Markets at Scotia Investments Jamaica Limited between 2010 and 2013. During this time, he executed some of the most innovative transactions in the local market including synthetic REIT financing structures and other first-of-its-kind project financing ideas.

Beris has the knowledge, talent and leadership skills to move Sygnus Capital forward. He holds an MBA in Entrepreneurial Finance from Vlerick Leuven Management School, Belgium and an MSc in Economics from the University of the West Indies. He has also completed the 1-year Executive Leadership Program at the Wharton School of Business in Pennsylvania, USA. Beris is currently the Chairman of the Caribbean Alternative Investments Association (CARAIA) Board.

Veronica Hildenbrand is a Senior Investment Associate in CrossBoundary’s Caribbean Advisory practice. She is a frontier and emerging markets investment professional and has advised on +US$3b in transactions. During her time at CrossBoundary, she designed and structured the Caribbean Community Resilience Fund (CCRF), supported innovation ecosystems in the Caribbean, advised on transactions in Haiti, and supported financial institutions’ market entrance to Guyana. Prior to this, Veronica worked in impact investing in Amsterdam and played a key role in building out Deloitte Dutch Caribbean’s Financial Advisory division, providing transaction advisory services to private equity funds, strategic buyers, central banks, and government ministries across the Dutch Antilles and LAC region. Veronica holds a BSc in International Business Administration from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.

Keith Collister is a leading local financial journalist and commentator, and has written for Latinfinance, Latintrade and the UK’s Banker magazine, as well as for the Gleaner newspaper between 2005 to 2007, in whose pages he predicted the global financial crisis of 2007. Since 2008 he has been writing for the Jamaica Observer primarily as an economic journalist, and is frequently contacted by the global rating agencies, global investment banks and major multilaterals about the Jamaican economy.

He is the Executive Chairman of the ATL Pension Fund, one of the leading independently managed pension funds in Jamaica, and a board member of Eppley, the locally quoted financial services associate of the Musson group, one of the largest conglomerates in the Caribbean.

He has been a director of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) for nearly two decades, and has been a member of both the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica economic policy committee, and the JCC Economic Affairs and Taxation committee for the past 25 years continuously. He now chairs the JCC Economic Affairs and Taxation Committee, as well as being a member of both their Legislation and Regulations Committee and their Downtown Redevelopment committee.

He is a former director of both the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, as well as having been on a number of other Government related committees on economic policy including the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s Vision 2030, the National Planning Summit and the Incentive Working Group on Tax reform, a key structural benchmark of the 2013 IMF programme.

He is a founding director of the Caribbean Alternative Investment Association, Jamaica’s private equity association started in 2019, having been the private sector representative on the Jamaica Venture Capital programme (JVCP) in the decades since his 2006 paper A New Approach to Development Banking in Jamaica (still online). In that paper, he suggested the strategy the Development Bank of Jamaica ultimately followed of helping to catalyse the local private equity market. He is a member of the DBJ’s private capital committee, which advises on their investments in the private sector ecosystem.

He started his career in merchant banking in the City of London, but for past three decades he has worked in the Caribbean, with a few years in the Bahamas, but mainly in his homeland Jamaica with roles that included analyst and fund manager for Life of Jamaica (now Sagicor), and the start up from scratch of both a stockbroker (where he correctly predicted the doubling of the stock market in 2004) and a mutual fund for Grace Kennedy as business development manager in their financial services division.

He chairs Sandals Foundation, is a director of ATL groups automotive division, and has a strong interest in sustainability and energy reform.

He holds degrees in economics and finance from Cambridge University and the London School of Economics respectively, as well as an MBA in International Banking and Finance.

Ana Estrada is a Legal Officer at IDB Invest, where she supports cross-border transactions, including direct equity investments, private equity and private debt fund investments, and mezzanine financings across Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to joining IDB Invest, Ana worked for over 10 years as an attorney at several law firms, focusing on M&A transactions in the region. She holds an LL.M. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree from EAFIT University.

Chris Burt is a Corporate Governance Officer within the Environmental, Social and Governance Division of IDB Invest, the private sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank. Chris is based in IDB Invest's Buenos Aires office, where his work helps fosters the adoption of stronger corporate governance practices within the private sector across the Latin America and Caribbean region, promoting transparency, ethical leadership, and equitable growth. Chris in particular works closely with IDB Invest teams for transactions in the Caribbean region. He holds a Master's degree from the London School of Economics in International Development and Environment, as well as a Bachelor's degree from University College London in Geography, and has a decade of experience working in sustainability and corporate governance in both London and Buenos Aires.

Ariel Amiras is a Lead Credit Risk Management Officer at IDB Invest. He supports the origination, execution and monitoring of financial institutions and investment funds transactions in the Caribbean region and beyond, by providing independent credit risk assessments and advice on financial structures and legal documentation. Prior to joining the IDB Invest, Ariel worked at Standard & Poor’s, as well as at ING, ABN Amro in The Netherlands. Ariel completed an MBA degree at the Rotterdam School of Manager at Erasmus University, as well as a degree in economics of the Di Tella University in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Patricia Yañez-Pagans is a Principal Economist in the Development Effectiveness Office of IDB Invest. With extensive experience in impact measurement across multiple areas, both in the public and private sectors, she currently leads the work on ex-post evaluation for the IDB Invest portfolio and the impact knowledge agenda. Patricia joined the IDB Group under the Young Professionals Program and served as an Economist in the IDB's Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness and as Research Fellow for IDB’s Research Department. She has also worked as a consultant for different institutions, such as the World Bank, UNICEF and the Ministry of Development Planning of Bolivia, and as a Professor of Economics at the Universidad Católica Boliviana. Patricia has a Ph.D. in Applied Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master’s in Applied Economics from Pompeu Fabra University, and a Master’s in Social Policy and Development from The London School of Economics and Political Science.

Colin is a Principal Environmental and Social Officer at IDB Invest in Washington, DC, working within the environmental, social and governance (ESG) team. He provides leadership to the team’s work with banks and investment funds, advising clients on environmental and social management, sector initiatives, thematic bonds and ESG data capture. Most recently, his work has explored the use of satellite imagery and data visualization to manage FI portfolio risk. Prior to joining the IDB Group, Colin was a sustainability consultant for PwC in London, working with clients on sustainable finance, socio-economic impact assessment and climate change. He has worked extensively as a consultant for IFC and the United Nations Environment Programme. Colin has a master's degree in International Development and Economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and an MBA from the French Business School INSEAD.

Luis Alejandro es un ejecutivo con más de 25 años de experiencia en los sectores financiero, corporativo, de inversión y de desarrollo sostenible. Actualmente es el Head de Finanzas Verdes en BID Invest, donde lidera la asesoría a fondos de inversión, instituciones financieras y mercados de capital en América Latina y El Caribe. Durante su carrera ha asesorado la estructuración de instrumentos temáticos pioneros y de alto impacto incluyendo bonos y bursatilizaciones sostenibles, verdes, azules y vinculadas a sostenibilidad. Antes de unirse al Grupo BID, Luis lideró las primeras líneas de financiamiento verde para energías renovables y transporte sostenible, también encabezó la primera emisión de créditos de carbono forestal del mundo emitida en NYSE Blue, fue reconocido con el premio planetBanking en 2011 por su liderazgo innovando en la creación de las finanzas sostenibles en el istmo Latinoamericano. Es Ingeniero Agrónomo, especializado en Israel, posee un MBA con concentración en Desarrollo Sostenible por INCAE Business School.

Camila is a Senior Officer for the Green Corporates Advisory team, working at the Climate and Environment Division at IDB Invest. Her work focuses on translating climate risks and opportunities into bankable solutions, supporting corporates across sectors—including tourism, agribusiness and forestry—to design and implement decarbonization pathways, climate resilience investments, and sustainability-linked instruments. She leads and structures advisory services to support private sector clients in the adoption of climate resilience, decarbonization, and nature-positive strategies. Camila holds a master's degree in Environmental Management with a specialization in Climate Change from the Yale School of Environment at Yale University (USA) and a degree in environmental engineering from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina.

Maryline Penedo is a Principal Officer in the Office of Development Effectiveness at IDB Invest, part of the Inter-American Development Bank Group. She brings extensive expertise in impact measurement and management across diverse sectors. Maryline has played a central role in shaping and advancing IDB Invest’s Impact Management Framework, including the development and implementation of IDB Invest’s DELTA impact rating tool and its various iterations. Since 2019, she has led the consolidation and automation of the institution’s impact monitoring system, significantly enhancing its ability to predict and strengthen impact performance at both the portfolio and sector/country levels.

Her experience also includes advancing women’s economic empowerment in Central America and the Dominican Republic through projects with IDB Lab, the Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund, and UN Women. Maryline began her career at the IDB Group as a Young Professional.
She holds a Master of Science in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master’s in International Affairs from Sciences Po Paris, and is a former Fulbright Scholar.

Maria del Consuelo Naranjo is an international attorney with over 15 years of expertise in corporate law, risk management and international business gained at large law firms in Ecuador and Spain. She has been part of the IDB Group’s Office of Institutional Integrity (OII) since 2017 and is the current Head of Private Sector Integrity Risk Management. In this role, Maria provides comprehensive integrity risk management support to IDB Invest and IDB Lab. Her responsibilities include offering expert advice on managing integrity risks in private sector operations, ensuring compliance with Integrity Due Diligence (IDD) procedures, and overseeing related processes.

Maria holds a Master's in Global Corporate Compliance from the IE-NYU Law School, an LLM in International Business and Economic Law from Georgetown University, a Master's in Corporate Law from the University of Navarra, Spain, and a Bachelor of Law from Universidad de las Americas in Ecuador.

Lucas de Beaufort - is a Principal Investment Officer for the Investment Funds team at IDB Invest, where he invests in private equity funds and multi-sector debt throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Lucas has more than 25 years of experience in debt and equity in Latin America. Before joining the IDB Group in 2019, he was responsible for raising and investing the Central American Mezzanine Infrastructure Funds (CAMIF I & II) in LAP Latin American Partners. Lucas also served as Head of Investor Relations. He previously co-managed a $1 billion Latin infrastructure fund at EMP Global. Prior to that, he was Investment Officer for Latin America at the Dutch development bank FMO. Lucas completed a Master's degree in Corporate Law from Leiden University in the Netherlands and a Master's degree in International Economics and Latin American Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where he was a Fulbright scholar.

Macroeconomic analysis and PFM, Budget Support, Trade and development, Internal control and accounting.

Michael has over 16 years of experience in private capital and M&A advisory, including ten years of operating experience in Central America. He believes that private capital—applied strategically—is vital to the region's development.

Over twenty-five years of experience in business development and leadership. Includes launching and managing strategic initiatives, products, and businesses, as well as in building and managing teams and key client and constituent relationships. Entrepreneurial, collaborative, and bottom-line, with superior operational, P&L / budget, and resources management skills.

Over 30 years of experience: Focused on designing and delivering bespoke training programs for both the world's largest financial service firms and specialty boutiques as well as the capital markets businesses that sell to them.

Upskilling individuals and teams around the professional interactions they will need to have to be successful in their roles. I help people understand their innate tendencies that influence how they "show up" in a situation. How to flex appropriately for the problem and ultimately build rapport and influence outcomes as desired.

Specialties: Credit and Equity derivatives, Corporate Finance including capital structure and capital raising, alternative asset management. Distressed debt and deep value investing. Derivative overlay and portfolio manipulation strategies. Low DV01 income strategy design. Extensive experience across the Americas, Europe and working in Gulf Cooperation Council ("GCC") countries.

Iñigo Bengoechea, CFA, CPA is a finance professional with extensive experience in strategic partnerships and institutional development. He currently serves as Head of Strategic Partnerships at CFA Institute, where he leads collaboration with development banks, governments, and other institutions to design and deliver capacity-building and professional education programs. A Mechanical Engineer from Universidad Pontificia Comillas and holder of a Master’s degree in International Relations from Columbia University, he has led global initiatives focused on financial education, sustainability, and talent development across Latin America and other regions. His career combines strong technical expertise with a strategic vision for integrating ethical and professional standards into the financial system.

As an Investment Officer at IFC - International Finance Corporation, I bring over seven years of experience in investment management, financial analysis, and equity research. My expertise includes financial modeling, financial reporting, and equity valuation.

At IFC, I am dedicated to supporting sustainable investments by collaborating with a global team to deliver impactful financial solutions. My work reflects a commitment to fostering private sector growth and creating measurable environmental and social outcomes.

Stephen is currently the Financial Sector Director for the Caribbean Financial Intermediaries (FIs) at IDB Invest, responsible for operations in Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Suriname. He has over 20 years of financial and securities market experience. Since joining IDB Invest in 2019, Stephen has led and partnered with various banking and non-banking intermediaries in the Caribbean to structure sustainable financing and technical assistance solutions to promote access to finance for climate change projects, women-led SMEs, financial inclusion and trade finance among others.

Before IDB Invest, Stephen held key positions at Citibank Trinidad, including Vice President-Public Sector Group & Financial Institutions and Vice President - Trading Desk and Capital Markets, structuring and arranging debt financing for sovereigns, state agencies and a myriad of private sector clients throughout the Caribbean region.

I am a highly motivated and articulate individual with a passion for excellence. I work with Caribbean organizations to build success through access to finance and ecosystem building. Key strengths include excellent business development, story telling and problem solving skills. I have a strong track record in structuring projects that deliver impact using project management, communication, facilitation and leadership skills.

Specialties: Primary areas of interest include country and organizational competitiveness, innovation financing the role of the private sector in advancing the national economic and social agendas, and growth of SMEs. My career to date has facilitated exposure to both micro and macro level issues that impact growth, development and equity in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean.

Regional Lead for Latin America and the Caribbean, Senior Project Manager and Partnerships Lead, Finance background Master in International Development, specializing in Impact Monitoring & Evaluation.

Supporting impactful entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ecosystems for sustainable development.
Passion for Sustainability & DEI, impact investing and alternative finance in Emerging Markets.

As the Chairman and Cofounder at EOG - Entrepreneurs Of Greatness, I am leading initiatives to empower inclusive entrepreneurship and sustainable development in undervalued communities globally. Focused on building a portfolio of B2B/B2G solutions, the organization supports hypergrowth in high-potential communities across the Greater Caribbean and West Africa. Current efforts include fostering innovation in local commerce, agritech, and finance to address regional challenges and opportunities.

A dedicated advocate for societal entrepreneurship, also serving as the Caribbean Ambassador for Seedstars, contributing to the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems and impactful technology sectors. With a strong foundation in business strategy and corporate finance, works to create actionable solutions that drive economic growth, foster collaboration, and advance community wealth-building initiatives.

I lead CARIBEquity Conecta Caribbean, a regional initiative strengthening Entrepreneur Support Organizations across 15 Caribbean countries.

My role focuses on building the infrastructure behind innovation: aligning strategy with IDB Lab, be the glue of the different components and facilite the scalability and growth of the program.
- Vision: structure regional collaboration, improving ESO capacity, and accelerating the conditions for scalable, investment-ready startups.
- Mission: transform fragmented ecosystems into coordinated engines of growth and position the Caribbean as a serious innovation region on the global stage.