TOP LEADERS IN FINANCE A NOTEWORTHY INDEX
HAYDEE CALDERO Principal and Co-Founder Dignitas Haydee Caldero is a Principal and Co-Founder of Dignitas, where she advises business owners on enhancing the value of their companies. Her work includes advising owners of fast growth companies in regards to succession planning, acquisitions and dispositions, corporate finance and capital structure. Throughout her career she has served as an advisor to executives of closely held enterprises ranging from startups to companies with over $150 million in revenues. Haydee is also responsible for designing the firm’s real estate and private asset investment models. She was previously with Estill Secured, where she advised high net worth individuals and financial institutions on the disposition and recapitalization of over $5.0 billion in trophy commercial real estate throughout the United States. Haydee has worked on marquee real estate assets, including the Sears Tower, John Hancock, Inland Steel Building and Houston Galleria. She has also held roles at Citigroup Global Markets in New York and at Trammel Crow Company and serves on the Board of Directors for North Branch Works, a leading community development organization, is Treasurer of the Harvard Business School of Chicago, and the Governor’s Board for the Steppenwolf Theatre Auxiliary Committee. She is also a member of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School’s Leadership Advisory Committee, and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She received a B.A. in Government and Women’s Studies from Wesleyan University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. FERNANDO GUERRERO Managing Partner and CIO Varadero Capital, L.P. Fernando Guerrero has more than 30 years of experience in the specialized credit markets. Prior to founding Varadero he was the CEO and CIO of Varadero’s former indirect affiliate, NIBC Credit Management, where he was responsible for all aspects of its North American activities. Fernando is recognized by the finance community as a successful business builder, having built several credit banking and trading operations on the sell side before moving to the buy side in 2005 to build a structured credit platform for Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. Fernando is a Cuban immigrant born in Cardenas, Cuba and raised in Puerto Rico and holds an MS and a BA in Finance from Louisiana State University. Varadero Capital, founded in 2009, seeks to capitalize on investments across the specialized credit market. The firm has actively rotated across sub-sectors in the market since inception based on value-driven opportunities. The Firm seeks to make investments with attractive risk-adjusted returns that will preserve capital through a variety of macroeconomic scenarios. Varadero Capital employs 16 individuals, is based in New York and currently manages approximately $1 billion in discretionary capital. JUAN CARLOS AVILA Equity Managing Partner Toroso Investments Juan Carlos Avila is equity Managing Partner at Toroso Investments, a registered investment advisory firm where he provides investment advisory and retirement plan fiduciary services to high net worth individuals, business owners, public and private corporations, and not-for-profit organizations. Previously, he was a Senior Vice President with Mesirow Financial in the Investment Advisory group and a Senior Financial Advisor, Vice President, with Merrill Lynch, Private Client Group. He serves as Trustee for the Policeman’s Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago, providing fiduciary oversight on $3 billion in assets. Juan Carlos serves as Board Chair for the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE). He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and his Master’s in Business Administration degree from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. In 2014, Juan was named to Negocios Now “Who’s Who in Hispanic Chicago” inaugural edition and recognized as the Chicago State University Latino Resource Center Corporate Citizen Honoree. In 2011, he earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) professional designation, Chicago United recognized Juan Carlos as its Most Valuable Partner and the Chicago Latino Network voted him the Latino Professional of the Year. He was named one of Chicago Magazine’s “Five Star Wealth Managers” for 2014, 2012, 2011 and 2010.
46 • February / March 2015