Currently the Director for the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Office in Washington, D.C. Previously the Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica, responsible for Costa Rican foreign trade policies, export promotion, and attraction of foreign investment, as well as the official representation towards the WTO. In this period, he worked in partnership with multiple Fortune 100 companies on strategies to improve the business climate, including reforming the Free Trade Zone regime, creating new incentives, and developing talent to continue diversifying exports and foreign direct investment. During his tenure as Minister, Costa Rica became the number one country in the world in greenfield foreign direct investment attraction. In this role, he was also responsible for the last stages of Costa Rica’s accession process to become the 38th member of the OECD. Before becoming Minister, he was the Executive President of the Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, where he oversaw technical and vocational education in the Costa Rica, serving 120,000 students per year through 55 training centers around the country. In this period, he led the most important and far-reaching transformation the organization has undergone since its foundation in 1965. He also worked on the approval of a Dual Education Law to provide legal framework for apprenticeships and workplace learning for students in the country. Previously, He was Executive Director of several local and international NGOs, working in education, health, social housing, and economic development projects in over 12 countries in 3 continents, in partnership with the PAHO, IADB, UNDP, ILO, among others. He is an Industrial Engineer from the University of Costa Rica, with a Master’s degree in International Business from The Fletcher School - Tufts University, Master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, and a Lee Kuan Yew School Senior Fellow from the National University of Singapore.
Skills: International Relations, Policy Analysis, International Development, Public Policy, Capacity Building