Staff
Cate Ambrose, Executive Director
Cate Ambrose joined the Latin American Venture Capital Association as Executive Director in August 2007. Her background with venture capital and private equity investment in the region dates back to the late 1990s. She is currently a member of the US-Brazil Venture Capital Task Force hosted by the Commerce Department and the Kauffman Foundation, and speaks and writes regularly on a range of topics related to public policy and private investment in Latin America.
Prior to joining LAVCA, Cate 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 first industry gathering on private equity investment in Latin America, and chaired annual roundtables with the Presidents of Mexico and Colombia. She also chaired a range of meetings on finance, economic policy and business strategy in the US and Latin America, and founded The Global Agenda, a high-level panel of economists, policymakers and business leaders.
Cate 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, Director of Strategy and Product Development
Ariel 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. He is also in charge of building strategic relationships with other partners in the region.
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 also has extensive entrepreneurial and operational experience and was part of the founding management team of Salutia, a large VC-backed Latin American technology startup that raised over $25 million from blue-chip US investors between 2000 and 2003.
Ariel is a native of Argentina and lives in New York City. He holds an MBA with Honors from Columbia Business School.
Ana Gutierrez, Director of Marketing and Member Relations
Ana Gutiérrez-Pérez joined LAVCA as an Associate in August 2007. Prior to joining LAVCA she worked for the Embassy of Spain in the United States, for both the Tourist and the Education Offices in New York. At the Tourist Office she held a position in the marketing department where she was in charge of media communications for Europe and Latin America. Her professional experience also includes working as an English freelance interpreter, translator and editor. She holds a BA in Translation and Interpreting from Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid, and a Professional Certificate in Meeting, Conference and Event Management from NYU. She also earned the Certificate in Court Interpreting. She speaks Spanish, English, Italian and German.