CAF Conference Latin America and the Caribbean: a region of solutions

Sergio Díaz-Granados has extensive experience in public and private service, both nationally and internationally, with special emphasis on regional development and integration issues. Before assuming the presidency of CAF, he served as Executive Director for Colombia at the Inter-American Development Bank. He previously held the positions of Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, Vice Minister of Business Development and President of the Boards of Directors of Bancóldex and ProColombia. He also has been a congressman and chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee of the Colombia’s House of Representatives.

Esther Duflo is the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics recipient with her husband, Abhijit Banerjee, and Michael Kremer. Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics in the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a co-founder and co-director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). In her research, she seeks to understand the economic lives of the poor, to
help design and evaluate social policies. She has worked on health, education, financial inclusion, environment and governance. Professor Esther Duflo’s first degrees were in history and economics from Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris. She subsequently received a Ph.D. in Economics from MIT in 1999. Duflo has received numerous academic honors and prizes including the Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences (2015), the A.SK Social Science Award (2015), Infosys Prize (2014),
the David N. Kershaw Award (2011), a John Bates Clark Medal (2010), and a MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship (2009). With Abhijit Banerjee, she wrote Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty, which won the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award in 2011 and has been translated into more than 17 languages. Esther’s newest book, co-authored with Abhijit, titled Good Economics for Hard Times, is on how economics can help us solve social and political problems of our day. Duflo is the Editor of the American Economic Review, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.

He is the Vice President of the World Bank for the Latin American and Caribbean region. Under his direction, the Bank's operations in the region are focused on boosting growth, reducing poverty, supporting equity, and protecting the environment. Previously, he served as the World Bank's director for Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda, based in Nairobi. Prior to his posting in Africa, he served as Senior Director of the World Bank Group's Global Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Practice, where he led a global team of more than 450 economists. Since his joining the World Bank in 2002 he has also been assigned two terms as country director in the Latin America and Caribbean region. Before he joined the Bank, he was a public official in the Colombian government, holding positions in the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Commerce. He has an MS and PhD in development economics from Stanford University. He has taught at the Department of Economics at the Universidad de los Andes, in Bogotá, and at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Desde enero del 2013 es el Director del Departamento del Hemisferio Occidental del Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI). Fue Subsecretario de Hacienda y Crédito Publico de México entre diciembre de 2006 y agosto de 2010 y Titular de Banca Corporativa y de Inversión en BBVA-Bancomer. Asimismo, se desempeñó como Director de Estudios Económicos en el Banco de México y docente de ITAM, Instituto de Empresa y la Universidad de Yale. 

Michelle Muschett (Panama) is UN Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Michelle Muschett is a social policy and global development specialist with multisectoral experience in a wide variety of leadership positions.  During her tenure as Deputy Minister and Minister of Social Development of Panama, Ms. Muschett led the process of developing the first national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), the creation of the first Childhood MPI in the Latin America region, and the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the national level through civic participation and strategic partnerships. She also chaired the National Concertation Council for Development, a legally established dialogue space aimed at building consensus amongst different sectors of society on national development priorities. Prior this appointment, Ms. Muschett was serving as Senior Public Policy Advisor and Executive Education Director for Oxford’s Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), advising governments and policymakers from Africa, Asia, and Latin America in their efforts to address multidimensional poverty. She is also Senior Policy and Strategy Advisor for the Fourth Sector Group, providing guidance on how to mobilize collective leadership and action to scale business models that can deliver social and environmental benefits, and to leverage development finance to accelerate the transition towards more inclusive, sustainable and resilient economic systems globally. She has been a visiting professor and lecturer at academic institutions across Asia, Europe, and Latin America, focusing on human and social development, politics of the policy process, political innovation, and leadership for global citizenship.  She is a Fellow of the Central America Leadership Initiative, a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network and a member the International Women’s Forum, Panama Chapter. As a practicing lawyer, Ms. Muschett focuses on issues related to commercial law and international arbitration. She has also participated in the drafting of national legislation. Ms. Muschett holds a master’s degrees in Public Administration from Cornell University, United States; Commercial Law from Externado University of Colombia; and Management of Heritage and Cultural Projects from the Institute for Art and Restauration Palazzo Spinelli, Italy. She speaks Spanish, English, and Italian.   

(Colombia) is minister counselor at the Colombian embassy in Washington DC. He has served as advisor of Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos for afro Colombian population affairs,  and executive director of the National Association of Mayors of municipalities with afrocolombian population. 

Holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB) in Caracas and a Ph.D in Economics from Brown University. Currently, she is the director of macroeconomic studies at CAF, where she coordinates the team of economists in the shareholders countries and contributes to the research publications of the organization, including joint work with other regional and international institutions. She is also an Assistant Professor at UCAB’s School of Economics. She previously worked in the Research Department of the Central Bank of Venezuela. She has published research articles in national and international journals and books.

She is a young Chilean entrepreneur and social activist, focused on the defense of the environment. At the age of 15 she founded Tremendas as a platform for action, but in 2020, due to its great growth, Tremendas Foundation was created with the initial purpose of giving institutional support to the initiatives of young activists. Among other recognitions, in 2019 she was named ambassador of the Youth Task Force Beijing+25 by UN Women.

CEO and Co-founder of Aequales, diversity consultancy for Latin America. International speaker, entrepreneur, feminist and gender specialist. Member of the Board of organizations such as CAF-AM, Women in Tech and part of the Business Advisory Council of UNICEF (Peru). Selected as one of the 101 people who are changing the way the world works by the BBC and on the list of “Most Creative People” by Fast Company magazine (2020). Recognized by Bloomberg Línea as one of the 500 most influential people in Latin America (2021) and by Forbes Peru as one of the 50 most powerful women. Journalist by profession with certification in Gender Studies from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. Graduate of the Competitive Leadership program at Georgetown University and the Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Latin America program at the Columbia Business School. Speaker at TedxLima and TedxWomen.

Sergio Londono joined The Coca-Cola Company in May 2021. In 2023 he was named Vice President of Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability at Coca-Cola Latin America, becoming one of the youngest people to reach a regional leadership position. in the company. Sergio has solid training as a political scientist and internationalist from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, in addition to having specializations in Government and Public Management from the EAN University and Columbia University. He also has extensive experience in the public sector. He is originally from Colombia and prior to his arrival at the Coca-Cola Company, he served as an advisor to former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, as well as Director of the Colombian Presidential Cooperation Agency. Sergio became the first openly gay mayor of his hometown Cartagena. Outside of government, he has been Director of the COMPAZ Foundation, a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting peace, poverty reduction and environmental conservation, gaining significant experience in successfully managing political and social issues, as well as of projects focused on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Within Coca-Cola, Sergio has demonstrated strong commitment and leadership in promoting inclusion within the company, while promoting a sustainable agenda aligned with the objectives of the Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability operation.
Under the commitment to "refresh the world", Sergio has focused on bringing together a diverse team of collaborators, bottling partners and community leaders to achieve goals that put the specific needs of each community at the center of sustainability strategies, to build a better future working for water, A World Without Waste and economic empowerment. Sergio lives with his husband Sebastián and they have two French bulldogs.

Gabriela Bertol is Head of Sustainability at Banco Santander Brasil. She is responsible for defining the bank's sustainability strategy and coordinating its execution across the entire organization. Gabriela also oversees Santander Brasil's private social investment and businesses with social impact. Gabriela has extensive experience in financial services and strategy. Prior to joining Santander in February 2023, Gabriela was Director of Financial Services at Oliver Wyman, where she spent 10 years working with financial institutions in Brazil and Europe on topics such as new businesses, go-to-market strategy, innovation, and digital business. At Oliver Wyman, Gabriela also held the positions of Co-Head of Climate and Sustainability Brazil between 2020 and 2023, and of Inclusion and Diversity Council member in the MarshMcLennan group. Since 2023, Gabriela has been a member of the Board of the Brazil Network of the UN Global Compact, the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world. Gabriela holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, a master's degree in Economics from PUC-Rio, and a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

28 years of experience in the public and private sector, served 4 Mexican presidents in the design and
implementation of public policy in the areas of finance, diplomacy, infrastructure, and national security.
Non-Resident Senior Fellow at The Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center.
Created the Public Affairs and Communications division of Aleatica with a presence in 7 Countries (Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Spain, Italy, and the UK) and the Aleatica Foundation for Road Safety.
Coordinated the 5th Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly which achieved a $4.4 billion replenishment.
Co-chaired the investment and infrastructure working group of the G20. Led the creation of the Mesoamerica Project to address the root causes of migration in Central America. Designed a multi-donor fund for a health initiative with the IDB, private foundations, and Spain.