Mrs. Naysha Natal Castro

Mrs. Natal is the Corporate Practice Leader at Estrella, LLC.  She has a B.A. (magna cum laude) in Political Science from the University of Puerto Rico with a minor in Psychology, graduating in 2001.  In 2005, she graduated from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law with honors.  Mrs. Natal is currently finishing her Master’s Degree (M.S.) in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Carlos Albizu University.

Prior to joining Estrella LLC, Mrs. Natal worked for eleven years at Pellot González, P.S.C. (also known as “Pellot González Tax Attorneys and Counselors at Law”), where she handled corporate and commercial matters, including corporate governance and counseling, mergers and acquisitions and provided tax counseling to the firm’s clients. She also handled private letter rulings for the firm’s clients before the Puerto Rico Treasury Department as well as representing them in the negotiation of closing agreements and tax incentive grants with several governmental agencies. Mrs. Natal has extensive experience in sales and use tax issues, administrative proceedings and notarial law. In addition, she was very active in providing advice on inheritance, trusts and estate planning. Her knowledge and experience in taxation, contracts, notary and corporate law has allowed her to provide a complete and sound advice to the client’s businesses.
 

Eng. Manuel A. Laboy Rivera
 

Eng. Manuel A. Laboy Rivera is the Secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DEDC) and Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) with the mission to attract new investment, promote the creation of new jobs and strengthening of small and medium enterprises. He is responsible for the formulation and strategic implementation of the Puerto Rico economic development plan, including competitiveness-related reform, infrastructure projects and instrumentalities that include agencies and public corporations. 

He served in the administration of former Governor Luis Fortuño as an Assistant Secretary of the DEDC. He is a licensed professional engineer with 20 years of experience in various industries and sectors, including manufacturing, chemical production, life sciences (pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical devices), construction, public utilities, export services, renewable energy, infrastructure, technology and project management.
 

Mr. Gerardo J. Portela Francois


As Chief Investment Officer of Puerto Rico and Senior Advisor to the Governor, Mr. Gerardo J. Portela Francois in charge of optimizing all emblematic assets of the Government and revitalizing the investment environment in Puerto Rico.

In addition, Portela serves as both Executive Director for the Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority (PRHFA)and President of the Economic Develoment Bank for Puerto Rico (EDB). At the PRHFA, Portela leads efforts to promote the development of low-income housing and providesfinancing, subsidies and incentives so that citizensmay acquire or lease a dignified home. Meanwhile, the EDB provides up to $1 million in financing to entrepreneurs in the manufacturing, commerce, tourism, agriculture, service and other sectors.

Portela Franco was previously appointed Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of the Financial Advisory Authority and Fiscal Agency of Puerto Rico by Governor Dr. Ricardo Rosselló on January 2017. For 20 months he helped create and build the new Authority, which now has approximately 80 employees.  He also led the restructuring of the GDB and Cofina deal, certified 17 Fiscal Plans and 2 budgets under PROMESA. He also helped reeingineering the government entity through reorganizations and consolidations and improve the publishing of financial information of Puerto Rico.

Before entering public service, Portela Franco had a distinguished career as an investment banker in Santander and UBS, specializing in the areas of public financing, project financing and corporate financing.  Portela Franco holds a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration in the University of Virginia in which he received a grant from the Darden Foundation and a scholarship from the "Consortium for Graduate Study in Management". In addition, he graduated with honors and obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) with a concentration in Finance from the University of Puerto Rico.
 

Mr. Francisco J. Martínez

Francisco J. Martínez Ubarri, better known as Paco Martínez is the acting Business Development Manager for CPM, an international technical consulting and project management firm with office in Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Puerto Rico and Panama.   Mr. Martinez graduated as a Civil Engineer from the University of Hartford in Connecticut in 1997.  Worked for 9 years at Bovis Lend Lease in various locations in the United States and Europe.  Was formerly Capital Project Manager in Glaxo Smithkline in Cidra, Puerto Rico, and Chief Business Development Officer for the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO), a government company which aims to attract firms to invest in Puerto Rico to generate jobs and stimulate the economic development of the island.

Mr. Martinez is currently the Vice President of the Board of Trustees of Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, one of the higher educational Engineering Institute with campus in Puerto Rico and the Florida. He actively contributed to the development of the Build Back Better (BBB) report prepared for Puerto Rico’s disaster recovery efforts due to hurricane María aftermath in 2017. Currently he plays an active role in the economic growth of Puerto Rico providing support for the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority Forum for 2017-2018 and the Puerto Rico China Investment Forum 2017.  Mr. Martinez has been key in CPM’s growth and expansion in other jurisdictions.
 

Mr. Patrick Sinnott

Mr. Sinnott is the Chief of Business Development for Invest Puerto Rico.  He has more than 25 years of domestic and international business experience and is well versed in business development, operations, strategic planning, marketing, and sales. 

He is a former U.S. Air Force captain and rated flying officer with a broad range of industry expertise including technology, software, government, commercial construction and real estate. Patrick holds an undergraduate engineering degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy and two Masters degrees, including an MS in International Relations from Troy University and an MBA from Oxford Brookes University in England.
 

Juan Zaragoza Gómez

El CPA Juan Zaragoza Gómez, es miembro fundador y socio administrador de la firma Alvarado Tax & Business LLC. Antes de establecer dicha firma era el socio encargado de la práctica de contribuciones y consultoría de negocios en la firma Arthur Andersen LLP’s. Comenzó en dicha firma en 1993 y se convirtió en socio en el 1995.

Desde noviembre de 2014 hasta diciembre de 2016, Juan se desempeñó como Secretario de Hacienda del Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Durante ese período también se desempeñó como miembro de varias juntas gubernamentales, como el Banco de Desarrollo del Gobierno, el Sistema de Retiro para Maestros, la Compañía de Desarrollo Industrial de Puerto Rico, entre otros. En adición tiene más de 25 años de experiencia proveyendo consultoría contributiva especializada en el área de exención contributiva, créditos contributivos, reestructuración e impuesto sobre ventas y uso.

Zaragoza tiene una maestría en administración de empresas de la Universidad de Indiana en Bloomington y un Bachillerato en Administración de Empresas de la Universidad de Puerto Rico.