BE PART OF THIS HIGH-LEVEL EXPERIENCE!

Be part of a 2-day conference focused on Puerto Rico as an International Insurance,
Banking, and Financial Center, where leaders in the industry will share insights
and new high-level information to keep you updated!

Topics Include:

Puerto Rico as a World Class International Banking Center
Understanding and Addressing Risk in The CyberEra
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning:
Working Smart Preventing Money Laundering
National Threat Assessment: Impact on Puerto Rico

Speakers

Manuel Cidre
Secretary of the
Department of
Economic Development
and Commerce

Natalia I. Zequeira
Commissioner of
Financial Institutions

Alexander S. Adams-Vega
Insurance Commissioner
of Puerto Rico

Manuel Cidre Miranda is the Secretary of Puerto Rico's Economic Development and Commerce Department (EDCD) since January 2021. He is a recognized businessman raised in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, with more than 46 years of experience.

His professional career began at Upjohn Inter American Pharmaceutical. In 1978 he founded Cidrines, Inc., the first bakery and pastry chain in Puerto Rico. In 1984, he developed and founded Pastelería Cidrines, a bread and pastry wholesaling and manufacturing operation with a strong presence in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and 44 states of the United States of America.

Cidre has also been an active collaborator in multiple educational, community and philanthropic organizations, having occupied leadership positions in the Puerto Rico Commerce Chamber, Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association and Puerto Rico Products Association. He has received countless awards during his career.

In 2016, he entered politics as an independent candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico, motivated by his great commitment to the socioeconomic development of the people and the structural changes that the island needs.

He has a Bachelor's Degree in Management, Finance and Marketing from the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

En enero de 2021, la licenciada Natalia I. Zequeira Díaz fue designada como Comisionada de Instituciones Financieras. Este nombramiento ocurre luego de su exitosa trayectoria en la industria bancaria, en la que adquirió amplio conocimiento sobre los asuntos pertinentes que aumentan su importancia, mientras emerge una economía postpandemia.

Como nueva Comisionada, Zequeira tiene la responsabilidad trascendental de supervisar la política pública del sistema financiero de Puerto Rico, a través del diseño y la implantación de regulaciones que, aún innovadoras, provean flexibilidad.

La Comisionada desea ocupar un rol importante para garantizar la estabilidad de las instituciones financieras puertorriqueñas, mientras se enfrentan a retos diversos provocados por la pandemia y, además, los cambios que la industria bancaria enfrentará en el futuro.

Zequeira obtuvo una Maestría en Leyes (LL.M.) de la Universidad de Fordham, luego de obtener su grado de Juris Doctor (JD) en la Escuela de Derecho de la Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico. Es una experimentada consultora legal con conocimiento extenso sobre la ley de privacidad, auditorías internas, cumplimiento legal, y evaluación de riesgos. Su trayectoria profesional la llevó a trabajar como asociada en el bufete Pirillo LLC, antes de ser designada por el Gobierno de Puerto Rico para ocupar el cargo de Comisionada.

Como consejera legal, ha representado una gran variedad de clientes, incluyendo entidades financieras de carácter internacional, bancos y firmas de corretaje. Ha prestado atención especial a los asuntos regulatorios y de cumplimiento corporativo relacionados con el sector financiero, así como otros asuntos relacionados con la banca, como leyes de protección, financiamiento de proyectos, y leyes de seguridad. En distintas etapas de su carrera, ha ofrecido su conocimiento especializado en asuntos de cumplimiento regulatorio, relacionado con productos y servicios de la banca. Su experiencia y peritaje como abogada ha ocupado un lugar prominente en su labor dentro de la industria bancaria.

Mr. Alexander Adams was appointed Insurance Commissioner of Puerto Rico on December 20, 2021.

Mr. Alexander Adams has a Juris Doctor and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico. He successfully completed his studies with Summa Cum Laude qualifications, was among the top ten law students during his law school years, and a member of the law journal.

Mr. Adams also holds a BA degree in Political Science from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus. He is an attorney and notary admitted to practice law in the Courts of Puerto Rico and in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

Mr. Adams began his professional career serving Rico. In 2010, he began to work in the Puerto Rico Office of the Insurance Commissioner serving as Law Clerk in the Supreme Court of Puerto as Legal Advisor and, later, in the position of Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs. In these roles, he gained extensive experience on a wide range of insurance regulatory matters and lead policy implementation in diverse areas of insurance industry such as financial solvency, market conduct, licensing, credit for reinsurance, holding company regulation, healthcare plans, property and casualty market, among others. He also has participated in multiple meetings sponsored by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners along these years.

Eduardo Colón
PRIBA

Yeissa Rodriguez
Advantage International

Hugo Córdova
PRIIA

Eduardo Colón is President of Advantage International Bank Corp., (“AIBC”), a private commercial bank intended to serve the needs of specialty insurance companies and their private clients. AIBC commenced operations on January 1, 2016.

Mr. Colón has over 30 years of experience with leading banking, securities and non-bank financial services companies. Prior to joining Advantage in 2015, HE was the Chief Operating Officer of Citi International Financial Services, a broker dealer subsidiary of Citibank. He has also been First Vice President of Corporate Banking of SunTrust Bank, Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Head of Corporate and Commercial of Scotiabank Puerto Rico, President of BBVA Securities Puerto Rico, Senior Vice President and Head of Capital Markets and Trading of Santander Securities and Vice president and General Manager of Chase Securities Puerto Rico. Eduardo is also the current President of the Puerto Rico International Banks Association.

Eduardo earned his BBA from the University of Puerto Rico, Cum Laude and his MBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Yeissa Rodriguez joined Advantage International Bank in June 2018. Yeissa has more than 17 years of experience in the financial services industry. She has expertise specifically related to BSA, AML, OFAC and regulatory compliance laws and regulations. Prior to joining Advantage, Yeissa started her journey in the industry in a commercial bank in Puerto Rico, afterwards being a Compliance Officer in several International Financial Entities in Puerto Rico. Yeissa earned her BBA from the University of Puerto Rico where she majored in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Law and Society. She is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). She holds an Identity Theft Investigator Certification as well as a Private Investigator Diploma. Recently she got certified by ACAMS in their Advanced Risk Management program. Yeissa is actively involved in the Puerto Rico International Bankers Association (PRIBA).

Hugo Córdova joined Advantage in March 2018 to serve as a Client Services Manager. Hugo is responsible for all aspects of our Life Insurance policy issuance as well as for client relationship management and business development in Puerto Rico. Hugo started his career at Banco Santander in Puerto Rico in the Management Trainee program. He worked in the Commercial Lending Department and as a Branch Manager. In 2010 he was hired by Aon to provide Insurance Management Services to international insurers in Puerto Rico.

Hugo is a licensed CPA in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. He earned his BBA in Accounting from the University of Sacred Heart in Puerto Rico. He currently serves as the President of the Puerto Rico International Insurers Association.

Heidy Duarte
Kaufman, Rossin & Co.

Ella Woger
Invest PR

Sid Jha
ARBOL

Heidy M. Duarte is a Principal in Kaufman Rossin's Risk Advisory Services practice. With over 16 years in the Financial Services industry, she has extensive experience in forensic accounting, risk management, and regulatory compliance matters, helping clients identify and mitigate risks. Heidy is a highly-skilled professional with international experience in public accounting, financial services, and other private sectors with a proven track record in assessing risks combined with extensive knowledge of BSA/AML/OFAC, IFRS, COSO, GAAP, GAAS, and SOX (“Sarbanes-Oxley”). She has experience working with Banks, Broker-Dealers, Money Service Businesses, Insurance, and other non-bank financial institutions. Heidy is recognized as an expert in BSA/ AML/CFT, having served as a panelist at major anti-money laundering conferences, webinars, and round tables. She also possesses expertise in fraud risk assessments and investigations, leading to the development and strengthening of fraud prevention and detection procedures.

Prior to joining Kaufman Rossin, Heidy was the director of the National Forensics Practice of a large global international accounting and consulting firm. She led the development of the AML practice in Puerto Rico, LATAM, and the Caribbean. In addition, she participated in multiple projects assisting foreign financial institutions, reviewing, testing, and enhancing their regulatory compliance programs in connection with their application or maintenance of their correspondent banking relationship with the USA. She also led numerous Forensic accounting investigations, AML & Compliance reviews, AML assessments, Enhanced Due diligence, M&A, lookbacks, and Gap Analysis, amongst others.

Previously, Heidy served as the BSA/ AML/ OFAC Officer and Head of the Corporate Financial Fraud department at a national financial institution, where she was responsible for promoting and implementing compliance standards and minimizing BSA/AML/OFAC and fraud exposure through the development and implementation of robust Anti-Money Laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, and OFAC programs. Heidy also has extensive experience working with Bank examiners, Internal Audit, Board of Directors, and Regulatory agencies.

Heidy is serving her third consecutive year as an Executive Board Member of “Women United,” a sub-committee of United Ways. She also serves as an instructor in the executive program in Anti-money laundering and accounting for the University of Granada in Spain (virtual Program); she is also the instructor of the FIBA Foreign Correspondent Bank Certificate (In Spanish). In 2021, Heidy received the South Florida Hispanic Miami Chamber of Commerce Award. “Women of Leadership Award” Business/ Accounting.

Heidy earned her Master of Accounting from Florida International University. She also completed a Risk Management for Corporate Leaders program from Harvard Business School Executive Education. She is fluent in both English and Spanish.

A Puerto Rico native, Ella brings 20 years of experience in strategic marketing and management consulting to strengthen Invest Puerto Rico’s endeavors. She played an instrumental role in the organization’s creation, helping establish InvestPR’s mission, objectives, and roadmap to accomplishing them. A true believer in the island’s potential as a world-class investment destination, Ella ensures that all internal and external stakeholders align with InvestPR’s vision of being a transformational and results-oriented accelerator of economic development in Puerto Rico. Her 20-year career spans successful runs working with Fortune 500 companies in strategic sectors like financial services and life sciences, as well as counseling various leading public and private sector clients. Ella is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Founder and CEO of Arbol, an insurtech business which has scaled up rapidly to serve clients across countries and industries looking to manage weather and climate risks affecting their supply chains or revenues. Management experience of teams spanning technology, blockchain, AI, data science, sales, and legal. Responsible for managing and deploying dedicated risk capacity exceeding $1BN.

Prior in depth experience in portfolio management and quant research across markets including commodities and interest rates.

Published author of “Interest Rate Markets”. Graduated Harvard B.A Applied Math/M.A Statistics.

Gregory H. Cobb
Sage Advisory

Jonathan González
Raincoat

Gerald Kierce
Trustible

Over 35 years experience in the development of macroeconomic, fixed-income and risk management strategies for total-return, income-oriented, and liability-driven mandates.

Leading the efforts of our Insurance Solutions Group, a team of industry-dedicated professionals in full support of our insurance clients. The Group draws on the strength and depth of Sage's investment capabilities across fixed-income markets, liability-driven strategies and multi-asset programs. The focus lies in crafting true enterprise-wide solutions by (1) understanding the unique culture or "balance of risk" at each insurance company; (2) developing bespoke investment portfolios which are continuously aligned with overall business objectives; and (3) delivering highly customized and industry-specific investment, accounting and regulatory reporting programs.

Passionate about startups and user experience. I enjoy closing the gap between aesthetics and functionality in everything I do and I'm always down to help in any way I can. Feel free to contact me for help or just to say hello. jonathan@teamraincoat.com

Gerald is the Co-Founder & CEO of Trustible – a VC-backed enterprise software company that helps organizations accelerate Responsible AI governance to maximize trust and manage risk.

Most recently, Gerald served as Vice President & General Manager of FiscalNote AI Solutions, where he lead the commercial strategy and business operations for a portfolio of AI/ML products.

Gerald also worked closely with leaders across the company, as well as Corporate Development, in identifying and evaluating M&A targets.Gerald also served as Chief of Staff to FiscalNote's Chairman & CEO, Tim Hwang, executing priorities and driving business accountability in areas such as go-to-market, research & development, finance, M&A, corporate communications, and talent management. Since 2014 as an early employee at FiscalNote, Gerald has been at the intersection of the company's go-to-market functions, having held various roles in Product Marketing, Customer Success, and Business Development.

Prior to FiscalNote (NYSE: NOTE), Gerald worked in the Professional Services practice of the Corporate Executive Board (now owned by Gartner, NYSE: IT) and in the Communications Office of Meridian International Center. He is originally from Puerto Rico and is a graduate of the University of Dayton with degrees in Entrepreneurship and Political Science. He also serves as an advisor, investor, and board member to various startups and nonprofits.