MaxEn Capital partners through its teaming agreement with Proyectos Estratégicos Integrales for all in-country assignments in Mexico and Latin America.

The firm, founded in 2001, has provided specialized financial services to various industries, including agribusiness, transportation, energy, real estate, communications, foreign trade and tourism. Additionally, it has taken part in diverse government projects involving financial regulations and the modernization of public services.  The firm provides: (i) planning, structuring and executing diverse financing transactions in the public and private markets; (ii) advisory services on merger and acquisition transactions and other corporate restructuring; (iii) specialized services to various governmental agencies and industries, including communications, energy and power, financial services, high technology, real estate, and transportation.

The Firm’s Principals in include:

Enrique Vilatela Riba studied Actuarial Science at the Universidad Anahuac in Mexico City. He obtained his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. From 1975 to 2000 he pursued his professional career at the financial public sector in Mexico. He started his career at Nacional Financiera in the area of International Transactions. Afterwards, he was head of the Department of Finance and International Affairs at the Foreign Trade Bank of Mexico (Bancomext). In 1989, as General Director of External Credit of the Ministry of Finance, and later as General Director of Public Credit, he participated in the negotiations involving Mexico’s external debt. During his stay at the Ministry of Finance, he was in charge of the design, organization and implementation of Mexico’s successful come back to the international money and capital markets, and of the financing of numerous public sector projects. He has been a member of the board of several companies and commissions, and was a member of the Mexican negotiation team for NAFTA. In 1993 he was appointed President of the Foreign Trade Bank of Mexico, a position he occupied until November of 2000. During his tenure, Bancomext was completely restructured; numerous links with homologous international organizations were established, and the financial support to exporters was strengthened. The number of support mechanisms and the amount of exports grew without precedent while maintaining the financial health of the institution.

German Fernandez Aguirre studied his JD in Law at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. During his professional career he has practiced law in financial areas, both public and private. He worked for seventeen years at Mexico’s Central Bank, where he was in charge of drafting regulations for financial intermediaries, documents relating central bank’s operations, as well as authorizations for credit institutions, stock-exchange agents, and other intermediaries. In 1990 he was appointed General Director of Legal Affairs of today’s Ministry of Finance, where he was entrusted with the legal support for the proper operation of the Federal Public Administration, as well as for the privatization of public corporations. From 1992 to 1994, as General Director of Legal Affairs and Treasurer of the Ministry of Education, he took part in the process of “Federalización Educativa”, which implied transferring the educational system, including human, material and financial resources, from the Federation to the States. Also during this period, he participated in the drafting of constitutional and statutory bills related to education. From 1994 to 2000 he was designated head of the Legal Department of the Presidency, which in 1996 became the Bureau of Legal Counsel to the Executive Branch. During his tenure he was in charge of coordinating the regulatory programs and the criteria to uniform the legal criteria within the Federal Public Administration. He also acted as legal representative of the Mexican President during the constitutional controversies and unconstitutionality actions filed before the Supreme Court.

Carlos Ruiz Sacristan holds a JD in Business Administration from the Universidad Anahuac in Mexico City. He obtained his MBA at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. He worked at Mexico’s Central Bank from 1974 to 1988, developing various functions related to the investment and administration of Mexico’s international reserves; to the operation of capital, exchange and futures markets, both national and international; as well as to the coverage of foreign exchange risks of enterprises and credit institutions. In December of 1998, at the Ministry of Finance, he was responsible of the indebtedness strategy of the Federal Government and of the financial restructure of public corporations. From 1992 to 1994, as Assistant Secretary of Finance, he participated in NAFTA’s negotiations. He was also in charge of the design and formulation of the federal budget; of controlling and supervising government expenses, as well as of the strategy to reduce public deficit. Among other responsibilities, he was a member of the board of several companies, commissions and credit institutions. In 1994 he was appointed General Director of PEMEX and afterwards Minister of Transport and Communications, position he held until November of 2000. During his tenure, he achieved a profound structural reform in the transport and communications sectors, which produced investment and competition growth. The privatization of railroads, airports, satellites and maritime ports; the opening of the telecommunications market, and the expansion of transport infrastructure are among his most important accomplishments.

MaxEn partners through its teaming agreement with International Business Connection and International Project Opportunities Group for international in-country project development support.

IBC and IPO provide local expertise in all phases of the project development cycle. IBC has developed projects in Mexico for companies such as Toyota, Weyerhaeuser, Sempra Energy, CMS Energy, ThyssenKrupp Budd, Igasamex, Metrogas, Texas Utilities and others.  IBC’s office in Tijuana provides local engineering talent, legal support and aggressive project management experience and has developed professional access to the highest levels of the Baja California state government including permitting agencies and other authorities.  IBC’s Mexico City office provides access to Federal permitting authorities, political contacts and centralized project authorities. IBC has in depth knowledge of the project finance and credit structures, and how the complete project development plan supports these structures. IBC’s work is recognized and highly regarded by government authorities and financial investors, adding instant credibility to the project. 

IBC and IPO Key Personnel:

Gary Coppedge – CEO/President IBC- Extensive emerging market experience with infrastructure project development and management, including: business case development and analysis in Latin American economies; target client and industry studies; permitting and operational permits; regulatory change and risk analysis; and economic impact analysis.  He has aided in the formation of over 65 Latin American joint ventures and worked on multiple concession and privatization projects. 

Jean-Sébastien Sardo, – Project and Operations Management – Has more than 20 years of experience, in market evaluation, managing diverse portfolios of industries, identifying niche U.S. markets for expansion of foreign companies, effectively recruiting, training and managing assisting personnel, and providing marketing and sales expertise. Has overseen all administrative facets of an organization including P&L and cash flow statements, and is proficient in integrating and reengineering operations to reduce costs and increase profitability. He has extensive project management experience and is a talented trouble shooter and negotiator.  He is fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Italian.

Celina Vega de Caprio – Mrs. Vega is a practicing lawyer, licensed in Mexico. Her areas of focus have been facility permitting, commercial structuring and foreign direct investment, immigration and contract law. Her project experience has focused on manufacturing and environmental regulations. During her career she has established strong relationships with Government agencies and has developed a strong network of legal experts in many different fields and specialties. She also manages public relations for sever large multi-national companies. Mrs. Vega is certified by the Supreme Court of the State of Baja California as a certified translator and is fluent in English and Spanish. She is currently located in IBC's Tijuana office and provides support to IBC clients who need legal advice, interpretation of rules and regulations and aid in structuring commercial operations in Mexico.

R. Kirk Sherr. – Mr. Sherr is the owner of 83 Development LLC, a project development and consulting company formed in 2000 and involved in the development of telecommunications and energy infrastructure throughout Latin America.  83 Development is currently working on energy projects in Brazil and Mexico and telecom projects in Central America.  Prior to forming 83 Development, Mr. Sherr worked in senior management positions in the region for nearly 20 years with multinational energy companies and the U. S. Department of State.  Mr. Sherr is also a senior consultant with the Scowcroft Group based in Washington, DC.

John J. Buchovecky. – Mr. Buchovecky has 13 years experience in the legal, regulatory and commercial aspects of energy project structuring and development. Mr. Buchovecky focuses on electric and natural gas project development, acquisition, and concessions for both domestic and international projects.  His transactional experience includes evaluating project tenders and requests for proposals, and negotiating and preparing project agreements including power sale, fuel supply, transportation, partnership, acquisition and concession agreements in Latin America.  Mr. Buchovecky is also an international lawyer with Van Ness & Feldman in Washington, DC.