Alejandro Santo Domingo
Based in New York. Alejandro is a businessman and financier actively involved in the management of his family’s Company, Grupo Santo Domingo. Alejandro was previously employed at Violy, Byorum & Partners LLC from 1999 to 2002 where he was focused on Mergers & Acquisitions for the telecom, media, and consumer goods industries. Previously, as the former President of Bavaria’s Executive Committee, Alejandro spearheaded Bavaria’s regional expansion and restructuring process. Currently, he is the Managing Director for Quadrant Capital Advisors, Inc. and serves on the boards of many of the companies controlled by the Santo Domingo Group. He is also Vice-Chairman of SABMiller Plc. for Latin America
Alejandro received a Bachelors degree from Harvard University and speaks fluent English and Spanish.
Diego Córdoba
Based in Bogotá Diego is a Managing Director at Valorem S.A., a holding company based in Bogotá, Colombia, with assets in various Latin American countries. Diego manages a portfolio of companies with assets over 1 Billion USD, including Biofilm, Reforestadora de la Costa, and Caracol TV. Previously, Diego acted as an Investments Vice-president at Valorem S.A. and worked as an investment banker in Colombia.
Diego holds a degree in Business Administration from La Universidad de los Andes at Bogotá, and an MBA from El Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, Spain. He is also member of the Board of Trustees at la Universidad de los Andes and President of the Board of Directors of a non-profit organization that provides education for kids of scarce resources. Diego speaks fluent English and Spanish.
Luis Guillermo Parra
Based in Bogotá. Luis Guillermo is the founder and CEO of Andean Pacific Iron. He has vast experience in the steel industry where previously he served as CEO of Acerias Paz del Rio, Colombia’s largest integrated steel mill, from 2006-2011. During his tenure at APDR, Luis Guillermo oversaw the company’s acquisition by Votorantim. Prior to serving as President for APDR, he was the Colombian ambassador to India, as well as the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Colombia from 1986 to 1988. He has also served as President of BASF Andina- Colombia for 5 years, and was a consultant to BASF Quimicas.
Luis Guillermo holds an engineering degree from Texas Tech University and a diploma in food policy from Oxford University. He speaks fluent English and Spanish.
Juan Antonio Pungiluppi
Based in Bogotá Since 2001, Juan has been the Director of Investments at Valorem S.A. (previously Valores Bavaria S.A.) in Bogotá, Colombia. Valorem S.A. (majority owned by the Santo Domingo Family and publicly traded on the Colombian Stock Exchange) is an active investment portfolio manager with the approach of a private equity fund having invested across Latin America in the petrochemical, plastics, aluminum manufacturing, media, telecommunications, aviation, information technology, forestry and logistic services sectors with an asset value over 1 billion USD. Juan is also a Board Member of several of Valorem’s portfolio companies.
Juan has led the process of financial and operational restructuring and divestiture of over 850 million USD of equity ownerships of Valorem in companies such as Bellsouth S.A. (35%), Carrefour S.A. (35%), Orbitel S.A. (25%), Sofasa S.A. (51%), Serdan Ltda. (85%), Mision Temporal Ltda.(100%), Finca S.A.(100%), Terpel S.A. (8%), and acquisitions in companies such as TV Cable S.A. and Dasigno S.A.
Before joining Valorem S.A., Juan was one of the founders and the CFO of Eurolink Network, Inc, a FIX-based global electronic trading and execution solutions company based in Madrid, Spain, offering direct electronic access to the US equity markets from Europe.
Prior to that, he was an associate at Violy, Byorum & Partners LLC, a New York based investment bank boutique focused on Latin America.
Juan has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from C.E.S.A. in Bogotá and speaks fluent English and Spanish.
Lester H.Y. Lam
Based in Hong Kong. Lester is a Senior Advisor to WCA and is currently the CEO of Lai Fung Holdings Limited. He is also an Executive Director of Lai Sun Garment (International) Limited. Lester is the son of the Chairman of Lai Sun Group.
Representing the Lam Family and Lai Sun Group, Lester has spent a lot of time in extending the family’s relationships with government officials in China. He has established excellent relationships with government officials in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong Province. Lester is responsible for the strategic development and investment of Lai Fung Holdings. He also oversees the operations of Lai Fung. Under Lester’s leadership, Lai Fung has continued to achieve remarkable results, including the successful acquisition of three plots of land in fiercely competitive auctions and lucrative sales of multiple high-profile residential properties in China. Lester has extensive experience in property investment and development, securities investment, hotel operations, manufacture and sale of garment and fashion labels, environmental products, media, and entertainment.
Lester holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Northeastern University. He speaks fluent English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
Yatping Chau
Based in Beijing. Prior to joining WCA, Yatping enjoyed a wide career across government and industry in China. In 1975, Yatping began working at the Shanghai Wool Textile Factory (SWTF), the largest textile SOE in the north Pearl River Delta region at the time. In 1978 he was appointed Party Secretary of the SWTF where he served for 4 years. In 1982, Yatping transferred to government and served for 8 years as Head of the Labor Sector of the Shanghai Municipal Committee. He was concurrently Chief Editor of the Labor Daily newspaper from 1987 to 1990. In 1990, Yatping transferred to Beijing where he was appointed head of the Ministry of Propaganda for the PRC, a position he held until his retirement in 1993.
After retiring from government, Yatping formed Rich Island Group Ltd., a holding company with several business entities involved in real estate development, distribution, and media. Over its 15 year history, Yatping acquired, developed, and sold multiple high-profile residential properties in China, particularly in Shanghai and Shandong Province. In addition, he co-invested in projects with both local and foreign major real estate development companies. Rich Island Group also has a significant shareholding inShandong TV, China’s 2nd largest broadcaster behind CCTV.
Yatping has extensive experience in property development and investment in the residential, commercial, and hotel property sectors in China, as well as construction, infrastructure, and media.
Yatping is a Chinese national born in Shanghai and received a Bachelors degree from Shanghai Television University.
Howard H. Lewis
Based in Philadelphia. Howard has over 30 years of commercial law experience with a corporate finance emphasis. He has acted as legal counsel in a diverse field of transactions, including joint ventures, acquisitions, licensing arrangements, employment matters, and intellectual property matters. Howard currently serves as counsel at Montgomery, McCracken, Walker, and Rhodes LLP. Previously he was a partner at Obermayer, Rebmann, Maxwell, and Hippell representing many Fortune 500 companies and major financial institutions.
Howard graduated cum laude from Harvard University and received his LL.B. degree from Harvard Law School.