November 28th, 2008 – The CALI Foundation – The Central America Leadership Initiative Foundation, in conjunction with its founding organizations, INCAE, Aspen Institute, FUNDEMAS and TechnoServe, and regional members of the board, is proud to announce its fourth class of 24 outstanding Fellows, four from each of the six countries of Central America.
The CALI Foundation is designed to engage the next generation of leaders from Central America in the challenge of community-spirited leadership. It brings together young executives and professionals under age 45 who have already achieved conspicuous success in their chosen fields of endeavor. The new CALI Fellows will meet four times over a two-year period and will undertake individual community service commitments.
The CALI Fellows for the fourth class are:
GUATEMALA:
José Miguel Torrebiarte, Director and Vice President of the Board of Directors, Grupo Progreso
Gabriel Biguria, Founder and CEO, AMIGOLATINO
Julio Héctor Estrada, Executive Director, PRONACOM
Luis Fernando Prado, General Manager, International Division of Banco Industrial de Guatemala
EL SALVADOR:
Yolanda Mayora de Gavidia, Independent Consultant
Ricardo Ernesto Augspurg Meza, Real Estate Director – Comercial Division/ President, Grupo AGRISAL
Maralu Vega de Torres, CFO, Digicel El Salvador, S.A.
Arturo Sagrera, Vice President of Operations, Grupo Hilasal
HONDURAS:
Jorge Aguilar, CEO, Desarrollos Jaguar
Tethey Martinez de Murillo, Marketing and Underwritting Management, Seguros Banco Cuscatlan
Mateo Miguel Yibrin, General Manager, Compañia Azucarera Tres Valles
Ian Merriam, CEO and Entrepreneur, E-Consulting
NICARAGUA:
Mignone Vega Sanchez, Independent International Consultant, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Alfredo Lacayo, Founding Partner and Executive Director, Centrolac
Jorge Manuel Brenes, General Manager, Asociation of Nicaraguan Exporter’s (APEN)
Juan Sebastian Chamorro, MCA General Director, Cuenta Reto del Milenio (CRM), Nicaragua
COSTA RICA:
Walbin Sanchez Solis, Doctor, Centro de Especialidades Medicas San Rafael Arcangel, Guanacaste
Rolando Guardia, General Manager, Hacienda Juan Viñas, S.A.
Yanancy Noguera, Director/ Editorial Director, Prensa Economica, S.A.
Carlos Benavides, Minister of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, Costa Rica
PANAMA:
Lysa Gabriela Aued, General Manager, Tecnasa El Salvador, S.A.
Isabel Saint Malo de Alvarado, Independent Consultant
Roberto Motta, President and CEO, Agencias Motta, Famosa Group and Envasadora Comercial
Raisa Banfield, Executive Director, Centro de Incidencia Ambiental de Panama
Founded in January of 2007, CALI Foundation is a non-profit private foundation based in Panama that seeks to motivate effective and responsible leaders across Central America, to get involved with the pressing issues in their countries, as they struggle to align the demands of globalization with local visions of a “good society”. The aim is to develop a new generation of community-spirited leaders in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The region is home to a growing number of competent young leaders in all sectors of society. CALI is designed to capture the energy, the talent, and the resolve of these leaders, who have already achieved a certain level of success in their respective fields, to inspire them to make a lasting significance in their region.