Mission

We Connect

& Transform

We are a technology company that brings together digital solutions and businesses in the financial world and beyond. Our platform, 4wrd, accelerates digital transformation and open banking, facilitating different use cases and new business opportunities.

Vision

Connect the world, digital solutions for all.

Our Guiding Behaviors

We collaborate by blending experience, expertise and experimentation in a shared and diverse multigenerational ecosystem.

  • Show a positive “Let’s do it!” attitude
  • Collaborate inside and outside own team
  • Pivot fast when needed, learning from experience
  • Committed to FinConecta’s mission to connect the world
  • Foster the success of FinConecta’s clients and partners
  • Be accessible, listen carefully, high-quality interactions, build positive relationships

People 4wrd Strategy

Culture

Business growth, pivoting, “connectors”. Align external and internal communication.

Leadership

Growth mindset, behaviors to mobilize the organization to grow, pivot, and connect.

Talent

Attract and develop talent that maximizes company’s valuation and delivers business strategy.

Organizational Design

A flexible based-on-competences organization that enables pivoting and reassembly of teams as necessary.

Meet Our Team

A startup with 300+ years of combined experience

Jorge Ruiz

Founder & CEO

Prior to FinConecta he worked at Citigroup for 18 years, where he led their efforts to become a global leader in the fintech industry by defining a business transformation strategy, launching the first global virtual accelerator, hosting 16 innovation programs and implementing multiple business solutions worldwide.
Jorge has also founded and led businesses in the investment, insurance, and retail industries. He is a founding member of Challenge me now a social network dedicated to personal achievement while helping charity organizations raise funds and a co-author of the Fintech Book.
Jorge holds a degree in Finance from the University of Texas, and has been recently selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur.

Abel Abeijon

CTO

18 years of experience in IT developing and implementing digital solutions. Worked at Citibank for 9 years as a project manager, leading global digital projects for 30+ countries across several regions including Asia-Pacific, Europe, LATAM and North America. Before Citibank, Abel worked as an IT consultant for IBM, Santander Group, Ford Motor Company, Prodigy Network, and others.

Betty DeVita

CBO

Betty is a global digital transformation executive with expertise in consumer financial services/payments. Her focus is on early-stage and emerging companies driving value creation, partnerships and the path to global scaling. She most recently served as Chief Commercial Officer of Digital Payments & Labs at MasterCard. She also served as President at MasterCard Canada. Prior to that she was with Citi in Latam, the US and Asia in their consumer franchise and left Citi as Chair/CEO for Citibank Canada Inc.
Betty sits on the board of Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP), where she sits on the audit committee. She holds a Bachelor of Science from St John’s University, a CEO Certificate from the Wharton-KMA in South Korea and is a certified director from the Institute of Corporate Directors, University of Toronto.

Helena Herrero

Digital Strategy Solutions VP

Helena has extensive experience in the design of solutions regarding organizational culture, leadership development, employee loyalty and high performance teams in the financial industry in Latin America and the United States. At FinConecta, she leads Digital Strategy Solutions.
She has a degree in Psychology from the University of Belgrano (Argentina) and a Certification in Human Resources from Cornell University. She is also a certified Executive Coach, Agile SCRUM Master, Coach and Trainer, and has studies in MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Relief) at the University of Massachusetts.

Karina Gibson

Global Strategy VP

Karina dedicated her professional life to designing and executing business in different domains.
She started her career in Marketing and PR where she led successful launches of financial products for the most important financial group in Bolivia. She then moved to an international career with Citi, heading trade finance/services for various industries. Lastly, she decided to return to the academia supporting educational programs in Colombia.
Karina is now embarking in a new venture, leveraging her knowledge and expertise now in the fascinating world of FinTech.
Karina holds a degree in Economics from Grinnell College.

Paulina Pérez

Digital Solutions Store VP

Paulina brings to FinConecta over 10 years of background in the mexican financial sector, with the latter years dedicated to digital products in Fintech. Before FinConecta, Paulina served as Sr Growth Product Manager in Clip, one of the fastest growing Fintechs in Mexico, driving revenue through engagement and retention strategies. She is passionate about financial markets and trading platforms.

Paulina holds a bachelor in International Business Administration from Iberoamericana University in Mexico City, and has several certifications among them an Innovation in Products and Services certificate from the Emeritus Institute of Management, as well as other Agile Methodologies diplomas.

Andrea C. Di Fabio

Project Manager

Before FinConecta, Andrea worked over two decades at Citibank in Argentina. As Senior Vice President within Credit Risk Global Functions, she led a team that developed and rolled out a credit analysis tool and approval workflow across LATAM, USA, and Asia.
She holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from UADE in Buenos Aires and speaks four languages: spanish, english, portuguese, and italian.

Alejandra Pérez

Digital Transformation Manager

Alejandra is a serial entrepreneur with experience in launching and managing businesses in the franchise, textile and communication industries. Alejandra worked at Citibank Bolivia in the corporate banking and trade funding departments. Prior to joining Citi, she was an economic analyst in Provida Funding Pension Agency in Chile and an economic research analyst in the Central Bank of Bolivia. Alejandra holds a degree in economics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and has a Master’s degree in Macroeconomics from the same university.

José Luis Portocarrero

Digital Transformation Manager

José Luis has developed most of his professional life in the area of finances. He began his career in the audit team of PW., continuing as Loans Officer for Banco Mercantil. Subsequently, he made his way through the Securities Market for BISA Agente de Bolsa and completing the financial spectrum he worked at BancoSOL in the commercial area. He also carried out consulting activities in Microfinance and Financial Planning. Additionally, he led startups technology and construction businesses. Now he embarks on a new direction focusing on the digital transformation of Financial Institutions from FinConecta as Digital Transformation Manager.
José Luis attended Business School in UMSA in La Paz, Bolivia.

Yolanda Rivera Lopez

Finance Manager, Digital Solutions Store Manager

Yolanda holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Cum Laude) from Universidad Privada Boliviana (UPB) with a minor in Finance. Before joining FinConecta, Yolanda spent five years immersed in the Bolivian Financial System working for Banco Bisa S.A., focusing in commercial and retail banking, as well as risk management. Starting as Credit Assistant for retail banking, she dedicated herself to credit analysis and customer relationship management. As a Portfolio Evaluation Officer, she was in charge of mitigating the credit risk of the bank’s credit operations nationwide.
Yolanda believes in kindness and collaboration; and feels committed to contribute to a more connected world.

Natalia Fernandez Coca

Business Development Associate

With a growth seeking mind and an energetic attitude, Natalia is part of the Business Development Team. She studied Business Administration in the UPB (Universidad Privada Boliviana) with a focus on Consulting. Entering the entrepreneur world in 2015, Natalia collaborated in the launching of a Restaurant (525 Vulcan Grill), working in the marketing, human resources and customer services areas, learning to manage her time successfully by working and studying.
Based in Bolivia, she works enthusiastically knowing a more connected world is a better world.

Andrea Rodriguez

Digital Solutions Store Manager

Andrea Rodriguez graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelors of Business Administration specialized in Marketing. Before FinConecta Andrea worked in digital marketing learning about ad space and working with different digital products pioneering the market. Andrea has always had an interest in entrepreneurship searching for interesting and new partnerships to bring products to market. She lived most of her life between Mexico and the United States and speaks fluent English and Spanish.

Juan Pablo Bracamonte

Digital Solutions Store Associate

Juan Pablo holds a BSC in Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University with a minor in economics. He spent two years working in sales at a Television Network in Bolivia and then as a consultant for administration and logistics in a non-profit organization. Juan Pablo’s career path changed in orientation to his minor, joining FinConecta in 2020 and is currently coursing a Banking and Finance Graduate Diploma. He speaks Spanish, English and German.

Martín Vitale

Senior Platform Engineer

IT Professional with over 25 years of experience in software development and over 18 years of experience in Project and Team Management working for Citibank. Leading eDelivery Project and Mobile Banking Project for several countries in Latin American. Skilled in Banking, Oracle Database, MongoDB, WebSphere MQ, Java, .Net, Agile Methodologies, Mobile applications development (iOS, Android) and Full Stack Developer.

Andrey Ostragrasdky

Senior Infrastructure Engineer

19+ years of experience as IT professional with a degree in Finance and Investments, and a minor in Psychology. He has nineteen years of IT experience and with fourteen years of hands-on experience in Corporate Finance and Brokerage business at companies such as Muriel Siebert & Co. Inc. in addition too smaller private start ups and individual clients. A versatile, results-driven and innovative IT consultant with a proven track record of working closely with top management, operations departments and regulatory compliance to develop applications, improve security and performance as well as reduce overall costs by improving workflows and operations. Andrey leverages diverse expertise in multiple coding languages across a wide range of platforms, has a passion for automation, the options market, and is fluent in English, Ukrainian and Russian.

Hernán Albanese

Senior Platform Engineer

17 years of experienced Software Engineer with strong skills on designing, implementing and adapting digital solutions. He is well-versed in full stack development and has extensive experience in multiple frameworks. Hernan spent 10 years at Citibank as Engineer as well as Lead Software Engineer working on Citibank Online platform for Latin America and Mexico supporting millions of users. He led the Product development team for eDelivery platform being the Global standard Electronic Delivery solution across 46 countries.

Valentina Lange

Graphic Designer

A compulsive innovator with a quick mind, Valentina develops in the area of Graphic Design identifying opportunities and taking them beyond their limits.
Valentina holds a degree in Graphic Design from the Design Institute of Caracas (Caracas, Venezuela), and keeps updating and promoting her knowledge in a self-taught way.

Our investors

FinConecta is backed by various important organizations worldwide. These include: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), The Venture City (private equity fund), and private investors.

Members of the Board

Jorge Ruiz

Chairman

Prior to FinConecta he worked at Citigroup for 18 years, where he led their efforts to become a global leader in the fintech industry by defining a business transformation strategy, launching the first global virtual accelerator, hosting 16 innovation programs and implementing multiple business solutions worldwide.
Jorge has also founded and led businesses in the investment, insurance, and retail industries. He is a founding member of Challenge me now a social network dedicated to personal achievement while helping charity organizations raise funds and a co-author of the Fintech Book.
Jorge holds a degree in Finance from the University of Texas, and has been recently selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur.

Jim Cowles

Board Member

Jim Cowles served as Chief Executive Officer - Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) of Citigroup Inc. Prior to assuming that position, Jim was Chief Operating Officer for EMEA and Head of Western Europe at Citi. He has also served as Head of Markets for Citi in EMEA, Global Head of Equities and Global Head of Equity Capital Markets (new-issue product). Jim joined Smith Barney in 1979. Other previous roles have included: Head of Equities (EMEA), Deputy Head of Investment Banking, Head of Real Estate Investment Banking and Commercial Mortgage Trading, Head of Debt Capital Markets and Head of Direct Investments. Jim graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Denison University in 1977 with a B.A. in economics. Mr. Cowles graduated with an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in 1979.

Betty DeVita

Board Member

Betty is a global digital transformation executive with expertise in consumer financial services/payments. Her focus is on early-stage and emerging companies driving value creation, partnerships and the path to global scaling. She most recently served as Chief Commercial Officer of Digital Payments & Labs at MasterCard. She also served as President at MasterCard Canada. Prior to that she was with Citi in Latam, the US and Asia in their consumer franchise and left Citi as Chair/CEO for Citibank Canada Inc.
Betty sits on the board of Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP), where she sits on the audit committee. She holds a Bachelor of Science from St John’s University, a CEO Certificate from the Wharton-KMA in South Korea and is a certified director from the Institute of Corporate Directors, University of Toronto.

Alex Robbio

Board Member

Alex Robbio has spent the last 25 years in the software industry, prior to Finconecta he co-founded and was the President of Belatrix Software, a bootstrapped software company that was sold to publicly-listed Globant (NYSE:GLOB) in 2019 when it had over 700 employees and operations in 5 countries. After the acquisition and successful integration he stayed on to launch a world-class digital marketing practice at Globant, working closely with the founders and top executive team. Alex studied Psychology as an undergrad in Argentina and has completed additional graduate studies in business, marketing and strategy at Kellogg School of Business, Harvard, Stanford, MIT and IESE.

Advisors

Mauricio Lorenzetti

Advisor

Mauricio has 30+ years of experience transforming organizations with the newest technologies, revolutionary processes, business capabilities, and exponential team productivity.
He has extensive experience in design, development, and implementation of global customer-centric solutions and with multicultural team leadership. His portfolio is composed by over 140 strategic initiatives at IBM, Citibank, FedEx, Shinsei Bank, Singapore Airlines, amongst others.
Mauricio holds a Computer Science degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, and has been recently selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur.

Martijn van Rooij

Advisor

Before FinConecta, Martijn spent over two decades at Citigroup. As Risk Manager and Senior Credit Officer he analyzed hundreds of companies and as Administrator and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt he managed an extensive virtual team and improved several global processes.
He holds a Master’s in Finance (Cum Laude) from Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and is currently focused on completing a Master’s Degree in Digital Currency from the University of Nicosia. Martijn speaks five languages.

Guillermo Mulville

Advisor

Guillermo leads the Telecommunications, Media and technology (TMT) team at IDB Invest, which he joined in 2016. He is responsible for developing business strategies and plans, and for managing clients and structuring the transactions of the TMT sector in Latin America and the Caribbean. Before joining the IDB Group, he worked at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for more than nine years, as Head of the TMT sector for Latin America and the Caribbean. He previously worked at ABN AMRO Bank for 12 years. He was Enron International’s Global Finance Manager for two years. He served as board member of Pan-African and Pan-American companies engaged in broadband and cell tower distribution and infrastructure, with portfolios in various countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Guillermo earned a master’s degree in finance from Universidad del CEMA and a professional degree in business administration from Universidad de San Andres (both in Argentina).

Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG)

We pledge to be a “Protector of Progress”!

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are an ambitious, yet achievable group of objectives that, when attained by the year 2030, will certainly make the world a much better place for all. The 17 SDG can be grouped into six “essential elements”: dignity, people, planet, prosperity, justice, and partnership.

Our plan towards SDG 2030 will impact mostly those goals related to dignity and prosperity, by focusing on our commitment to financial inclusion and access for all.

Learn more

Clients & Partners

FinConecta works with clients and partners from all over the world to provide the best services.

Careers

Ready to be a Connector?
If you are up to a challenge, and eager to consider joining us in our journey, let’s connect and have a conversation!

Contact Us

Want to get in touch? We’d love to hear from you! Send us a message and we will connect.

Get in touch with us

Let’s Connect!

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Our Offices

We are a global company and work with institutions worldwide. You can reach out to any of the contacts below and we’ll be happy to help you. We are based in Miami, USA with offices in 6 different countries.

Miami, Florida (HQ)

jorge@finconecta.com

New York City, New York

betty@finconecta.com

Buenos Aires, Argentina

hernan@finconecta.com

La Paz, Bolivia

joseluis@finconecta.com

Ciudad de México, México

alejandra@finconecta.com

Lagos, Nigeria

betty@finconecta.com

Bogotá, Colombia

karina@finconecta.com