Bio

Ricardo Cervera is one of the founding partners at VACE Partners. Prior to founding VACE, Ricardo worked for over 9 years at Salomon Brothers, Salomon Smith Barney and Citigroup. Overall, Mr. Cervera has over 20 years of Investment Banking experience. Ricardo joined the Investment Banking Division of Salomon Brothers (which became Salomon Smith Barney) in 1999 as an associate. He spent seven years in New York in the Global Power Group, covering US, European and Latin American power companies. Mr. Cervera was transferred to Citigroup’s Mexico Investment Banking Office as a Director in 2006, with coverage responsibilities in the power, energy, infrastructure, consumer, retail, industrial and other sectors. Upon arriving to Mexico, he led the privatization of the first Toll-Roads from FARAC worth over US$4 billion; one of the largest privatizations ever in this sector worldwide and winner of Project Finance Latam Deal of the Year in 2008. Ricardo was Head of Citigroup’s Investment Banking office in Mexico during 2007 and 2008. Ricardo has participated in multiple capital markets transactions, raising over US$50 billion in proceeds, including transactions for US multi-billion dollar companies, such as FirstEnergy’s US$1 billion equity offering and ConEdison’s US$500 million debt offering. He has also helped Mexican companies raise capital in transactions such as the IPO for Cuervo for $915 million, a bond offering for Office Depot ($400 million) and an FRN issuance for America Movil ($500 million). Ricardo led VACE’s effort in the $5,500 million pesos debt structuring of OHL’s Viaducto Bicentenario, which was awarded Project Finance Latam IPP Deal of the Year in 2010. Mr. Cervera has extensive experience in M&A, having led the execution of multiple landmark deals in the US, Europe, Mexico and South America, including the acquisition of power generation assets from FPL, the advisory to Aquila on its proxy contest to acquire control of Quanta Services’ Board of Directors, the sale of Elektra Noreste in Panama, the acquisition of Transportadora de Electricidad in Bolivia, the ownership restructuring of Light in Brazil and the sale of Grupo Gigante in Mexico. At VACE, Ricardo has led over 25 M&A transactions for companies such as Grupo Financiero Interacciones, Cuervo, Lala, Office Depot, Grupo Kuo, Grupo Presidente, Ventura Capital, BAC Credomatic, Gruma, Sico, Farmacias del Ahorro, amongst others. Ricardo currently serves on the Board of Directors of José Cuervo (BMV: CUERVO) and as member of its Audit Committee, Procorp SAB de CV (BMV: PROCORPB), Yale School of Management Mexico Board, Maven Global (UK), Samba Smoothie, on the Technical Committee of Fondo Capital Infraestructura (BMV: FCICK16), and as a Founding Shareholder and Board Member of Concentradora Hipotecaria (BMV: FHIPO). Philanthropically, Ricardo is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Fundacion VACE, A.C., Trustee and Treasurer of Conexiones para Aprender A.C., and Trustee of Mingei International Museum in California. From 1995 to 1996, Ricardo worked in Mexico’s Ministry of Finance as an advisor to the General Director of Public Credit and in 1997 became advisor to the Deputy Minister of Finance. Ricardo graduated with High Honors, in the top 1% of his class, with a B.A. in Economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and received an M.B.A. from Yale University. In 1998, Ricardo received Mexico’s National Award in Economic Research presented by BANAMEX. Ricardo lives in Mexico and California with his wife Lilian and their 5 children.