Nancy Sanchez is the general manager of Americas Manufacturing, responsible for the LEGO Group factory in Monterrey, which manufactures almost all of the LEGO products sold in the Americas. From the beginning of her career, Sanchez has focused on industrial engineering, which took her to become manager of quality and engineering at companies from the automotive and home appliances Industry.
María Ariza serves as CEO at Bolsa Institucional de Valores (BIVA), a global electronic marketplace for buying and selling securities, created with the aim of deepening the Mexican stock market and generating a competitive financing alternative for high growth companies. Prior to joining BIVA, María spent her entire professional career in the private equity sector, holding various leadership positions, including: CEO of the Mexican Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AMEXCAP); partner at Ictus Capital; and as associate at the NAFTA Fund LLC.
Krysta Harden is president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), she leverages experience with agriculture, sustainability, food policy and the federal government to help fulfill USDEC’s mission to promote dairy exports and enrich the well- being of people, communities, and the planet. In February 2021, Harden became the third president and CEO to lead USDEC since its founding by Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) in 1995. She is the first woman to lead the organization.
Saboto Scofield Caesar is the minister of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, rural transformation, industry and labour for the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A lawyer by profession, Caesar was born and raised in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and is a community activist, advocate, and politician.
Manuel Bravo is president and CEO of Bayer Mexico, and head of Crop Science business in the North Latin America Region (Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, and the countries of Central America and Caribbean.) Bravo is Mexican and has dedicated most of his career to agriculture. He has collaborated with Bayer for more than 20 years, including his experience in Monsanto, in diverse roles on the sales, marketing, strategy, and finance functions.
Michael Kremer is a university professor in economics and the College and the Harris School of Public Policy at Chicago since 2020. He is the director of the Development Innovation Lab, recipient of the 2019 Nobel Laureate, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Kremer has a Ph.D. from Harvard University, 1992. His research includes development economics, field experiments, education, health, water, and agriculture in developing countries.
Manuel Otero has a master's of science in agricultural development from the University of London, a master's in animal science from the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) headquartered in Costa Rica, and is a qualified veterinarian from the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires. He began his career at Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in 1988 at its headquarters.
Maurício Vieira is an assistant professor and the chair on countering and preventing illicit trade and transnational organized crime at the University for Peace in Costa Rica. He is also a research associate at the Nationalities Observatory and the Laboratory on the Study of Conflict and Violence, both at Ceará State University in Brazil. Vieira obtained his Ph.D. in international politics and conflict resolution from the University of Coimbra in Portugal.
Fernando Vieira is the external affairs director at Philip Morris Brasil, a position he has held since 2016. He leads the affiliate’s efforts in areas including communications, government relations, science, sustainability, fiscal affairs, and illicit trade prevention. Prior to this position, Vieira was Philip Morris’ external affairs director managing Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay from 2014 to 2016.
Angélica Durán-Martínez is an associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and a co-director of its global studies Ph.D. program. Her research focuses on organized crime, political, and criminal violence, and the state in Latin America. Durán-Martínez is the author of The Politics of Drug Violence: Criminals, Cops, and Politicians in Colombia and Mexico (Oxford University Press, 2018).