Cate Ambrose, President and Executive Director

Cate Ambrose is President and Executive Director of the Latin American Venture Capital Association (LAVCA), a non-profit membership organization dedicated to promoting the growth of the private equity and venture capital industry in Latin America and the Caribbean She is a member of the US-Brazil Venture Capital Task Force hosted by the US Commerce Department, and speaks and writes regularly on a range of topics related to public policy and private investment in Latin America. She is a regular commentator on CNN En Español.

Prior to joining LAVCA, Ms Ambrose was Chief of Advocacy for the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, a United Nations initiative co-chaired by Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto and former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, where she directed research projects on business regulation and property rights in Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, India, Kenya and Tanzania.

Until 2005, Ms Ambrose was Executive Director of Programs at The Economist, where she founded The Global Agenda, a high-level panel of economists, policymakers and business leaders, and chaired conferences on finance, business strategy and public policy in the US and Latin America. These included annual roundtables with the Presidents of Mexico and Colombia.

Ms Ambrose began her career as a journalist in Spain. She holds an MPA in International Economic Policy from Columbia University, and received her BA in Latin American studies from St Lawrence University and the University of Madrid.

Ariel Muslera, Regional Advisor

Ariel Muslera joined LAVCA in November 2008 to lead the creation of innovative research products and services for LAVCA’s network of Private Equity and Venture Capital fund managers in Latin America. In October 2009, he moved to Buenos Aires to open LAVCA’s first regional office. He is also Advisor to ARCAP, the Argentine PE/VC Industry Association. In March 2011, Ariel moved to an advisory role at LAVCA to take on a full time position as Venture Partner at the Venture Capital firm CAP Ventures, where he leads technology-related investments with focus on Internet & Web 2.0, New and Digital Media, Mobile Apps and SaaS companies, among others.

Prior to LAVCA, Ariel was a lead Partner at NetStrategies, a US-based boutique advisory firm where he co-led capital raising and strategy engagements for multiple technology start-up companies in the New Media industry. Before NetStrategies, Ariel was a Manager within the Financial Services Strategy and Transformation Group of Capgemini, a leading global consulting firm.

Ariel holds an MBA with Honors from Columbia Business School and has lived and worked in New York, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.

Maria Bustamante, Director of Marketing and Communications

Maria Bustamante joined LAVCA in March 2010 to implement the organization’s communications efforts.

Prior to joining LAVCA, Maria worked at a marketing and public relations firm focused on the economic development and tourism sectors. She has executed and managed marketing and media relations programs for a diverse roster of clients, helping to position them for investment attraction. Within Latin America and the Caribbean, Maria has worked on projects for organizations in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. In addition, on behalf of clients she has led communication efforts in markets throughout the U.S., Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Maria graduated with distinction from The Pennsylvania State University with degrees in Public Relations and International Studies. She also studied communications at the University of São Paulo in Brazil and speaks Portuguese.

Juan Savino, Director of Research

Juan Savino joined LAVCA in May 2011 as Director of Research to guide the expansion of LAVCA’s research products for its members and the Latin America PE/VC community.

Prior to joining LAVCA, Juan was Capital Structure Analyst at Bloomberg LP in London, the leading global provider of financial data, news and analytics, where he performed in depth analysis of the companies’ corporate and capital structure. Before Bloomberg, Juan was Strategy Analyst at the Argentina’s National Investment Development Agency, where he participated in the design of research analysis to encourage foreign direct investments in Argentina. During that period, he also was teacher assistant in the subject Corporate Finance at Universidad de San Andres. Juan also has experience in the Venture Capital industry, where he was Associate at Aconcagua Ventures, a Venture Capital Fund acquiring minority position in high-growth potential Latin American small and medium enterprises.

Juan holds a MSc in Finance from Universidad del CEMA and a BS in Business Administration from Universidad de San Andres. He is fluent in Spanish, English and Italian.

Lindsay Walsh, Manager of Membership and Events

Lindsay Walsh joined LAVCA as Manager of Membership and Events in February 2011. Prior to joining LAVCA, she worked for a variety of non-profit organizations both in the United States and abroad. In her capacity with these groups, she executed a market assessment for an import-export company, expanded the international funding capability for an Argentinean arts organization, and designed and managed a foreign affairs summer program for high school students. She has lived in México and Argentina, and has traveled extensively in Latin America.  

Lindsay graduated with honors from Wesleyan University with degrees in Latin American Studies and Music. She is fluent in Spanish and is currently studying Portuguese.