COFIDES´s General Meeting of Shareholders has approved the appointment of José Luis Curbelo as Chairman and CEO of the Company, replacing Salvador Marín.

José Luis Curbelo has a wide experience in COFIDES, since he was the Director of its Investment Department between the years 1999 and 2009. During his professional career he also held different positions, such as Deputy Chairman for Development Strategies and Public Policies and Chief Economist in CAF-Development Bank of Latin America, CEO at the Basque Institute of Competitiveness (Orkestra), Head for the Small Business Development Unity of the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) in the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), etc.

Mr. Curbelo has a solid academic background. An Economist, he received a PhD from the University of  California-Berkeley, a Master Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a “Licenciado” Degree in Economics from the University of the Basque Country. In addition, he followed courses at Harvard University, Harvard Business School, the John Fitzgerald Kennedy School of Government, the University of California-Los Angeles, the Amsterdam Institute of Finance or the World Bank, among others. His graduate studies were financed by scholarships from the Fulbright-Banco de Bilbao Foundation, the Juan March Foundation as well as by the National Science Foundation and the Newhouse Foundation of the United States.

In the academic field, he is a Senior Scientist at the Spanish National Research Council of Spain (CSIC). He also served as Dean of the School of Law and Economics of the Camilo José Cela University, Director of the BBVA-Chair of Entrepreneurship at the Nebrija University, Professor of Project Financing at the Carlos III University, Lecturer at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLA) and Visiting Professor at the University of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte (Brazil).

Mr. Curbelo is the author of several monographs and publications and he regularly publishes in newspapers. He has also provided consultancy services to the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank or the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA).

RODRIGO MADRAZO, APPOINTED COFIDES GENERAL MANAGER

On the other hand, Rodrigo Madrazo has been appointed by COFIDES Board of Directors as General Manager.

Rodrigo Madrazo entered Spain´s Civil Service in 2001 as a State Economist. Between July 2015 and August 2018 he was Director General for Economic Policy in the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness. Before 2015, Mr. Madrazo held different positions in that Directorate General for Economic Policy, including Deputy Director General between 2012 and 2015. Previously he worked in the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce as Senior Advisor in the department of Industry. Between 2007 and 2012, he headed the Economic and Commercial Office of the Spanish Embassy in Ecuador.

Mr. Madrazo also has relevant experience in the corporate sector since he was a Member of the Board of Directors of Aena (IBEX35 listed company), Instituto de Crédito Oficial (the Spanish public bank) and also ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones, the Spanish agency in charge of promoting external trade and attracting foreign investment.

Rodrigo Madrazo is a graduate in Economics from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. On completion of his Ph.D he was awarded the “Extraordinary Prize”. He also holds a master in Public Administration by the Fiscal Studies Institute and EOI Business School. He is the author of several specialized publications in the fields of Spanish economy and international trade.