Fernando Pontaza

Co-Founder & Managing General Partner

2015 - Current

Fanning the flames of Guatemala's first homegrown, early stage Venture Capital fund. Going strong on our third vintage.

Investment Committee

2023

Executive Director

2008 - 2023

Manager of the company's proprietary, multi-asset class portfolio with almost a decade of delivering out-performance with better risk metrics. The job also entails expanding the company’s global network of financial partners as well as distilling investment ideas, market trends and political environment in order to produce returns regardless of conditions.

Advisor

2019

Helping short the education bubble as an Advisor to 1517 Fund, a Peter Thiel-backed venture capital firm making sector agnostic, early-stage investments in young entrepreneurs.

Angel Squad Member

2022

Board Member

2018 - 2022

Corporate Banking

2005 - 2008

Banking liaison for “C” level corporate clients. Structured loan proposals for the bank’s board and loan committee and developed a new online product for the payment of import / export tariffs.

Co Founder

2002 - 2005

I put my life savings on this, my first formal entrepreneurial effort. My partner and I decided to tap into the high demand of videogames in the country at the time and give the market the option of renting instead of buying. We expanded to two locations but weathering a string of market shifts and management mistakes we were forced to close down the business after almost three years in the market. The lessons learned with this failure are some of the most valuable ones in my life.

Project Finance Technician

2004 - 2005

* Analysis, preparation and approval of high leverage proposals for Private Public Partnership initiatives. * Scenario Modeling and legal contract auditing for multiple proposals such as: - Majadahonda Hospital (Madrid): 301,000,000€ investment - Parla Hospital (Madrid): 87,000,000€ investment - Santiago-Brion and Corredor Pardiñas – As Galanas (Galicia) Highway: 312,000,000€ joint investment - Brussels International Airport (Belgium): 1,050,000,000€ refinancing

Senior Account Representative

2001 - 2002