Our People

Pedro is a pharmaceutical and Biotechnology senior executive, having spent 28 years in large Pharma, first at Smith Kline & French, Smith Kline Beecham and the last 12 years at Pfizer Inc, where his final role was as President of Global Primary Care. In this capacity, Pedro had responsibility for $23 billion dollars and close to 70% of the profit of the Corporation. At Pfizer Pedro managed the development pipeline, from proof of concept to loss of exclusivity, including 100- 120 clinical programs per year and a development budget of $800 million. Amongst the drug development programs he was responsible for were Sutent, which became the standard of care for renal cell carcinoma and Lyrica, for fibromyalgia.

As President of Europe Animal Health and Global Health Business at Pfizer, Pedro reported to the CEO of Pfizer Inc, Hank McKinnel and led a Research model change that provided Animal Health representation in all therapeutic human health areas; out of this effort came a new medicine for Atopic Dermatitis and Pfizer’s first canine cancer drug. Pedro led a translational medicine initiative to improve how animal models reflect human conditions.

As President of Europe Pharmaceuticals at Pfizer, Pedro spearheaded an effort to better position products for cost effectiveness. He established a multi-country research initiative in Europe for Alzheimer’s disease and worked with the European Commission to define an improved regulatory path for the disease. During this time, he proposed and helped implement the creation of a business unit that separated the business into (i) primary care, (ii) specialty, (iii) oncology, and (iv) generic products; this resulted in the company’s ability focus on more products while improving outcomes and quality of life and allowed for a 3-4 –fold increase in the company’s growth. With this restructuring, Pedro was the first executive at Pfizer to significantly reduce cost in Europe while reversing an ongoing revenue decline.

In 2010 he transitioned to the Biotechnology Industry and became the CEO of Optimer Pharmaceuticals where he completed the Phase 3 clinical program, obtained an FDA registration as one of the few hospital antibiotics with a superiority claim, and went on to introduce the product to the market; several alliances were successfully completed including licensing the key product to Astelas for Europe, launching a novel co-promotion alliance with Cubist, a leading antibiotic company, and obtaining the first NTAP for an antibiotic from Medicare. Optimer was sold to Cubist, which in turn was sold to Merck with a significant value creation from the time he joined.

In 2014 Pedro became the CEO of Asterias Biotherapeutics, a stem cell-based company that was experiencing significant difficulties resulting in a negative $3.5 million valuation. He recapitalized the company, formed an alliance with the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine obtaining non-dilutive funding to conduct the Phase 2 program for the spinal cord injury lead program as well as an alliance with Cancer Research UK to fund a Phase 1 study for an allogeneic dendritic cancer vaccine. He managed an up-listing from the OTC to the New York Stock exchange and left two years later with the company valued at $200 million and both clinical programs ongoing.

Pedro serves on the Boards of Zero Gravity, Inc. and the Brazil Foundation.

Ken Ricci, FAIA, has been a TRF Board member since 1997. He has served on the Executive Committee since 1999 and on the Evergreen Committee since 2015. He has served as a member of the Nominating Committee from 2011 to 2014, as Chair from 2000-2002, Secretary from 2006-2008 and on the Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee in 1999. Ken is a founding member of CGL, the preeminent architecture and planning firm specializing in progressive justice facilities.

Ken was elevated to the Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in recognition of his philosophy of humane design. His designs for justice facilities promote human dignity, heal the mind and elevate the spirit. Ken graduated from the Pratt Institute School of Architecture.

Ken was attracted to TRF through his personal relationship with the founder, Loren Finnell, as well as his own personal experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer (architect) during an injury-shortened tour of duty in Cartagena, Colombia in 1965-66. Ken lives with his wife Annalea in Larchmont, NY where he pursues his hobby of annual home winemaking, especially Cabernet Sauvignon.

John H. Welch is currently Executive Director at the Brazilian American Chamber of commerce. He is also the Farrell Family Liberty Fellow in Economics at the King’s College in New York. At chamber, Dr. Welch coordinates a team of six colleagues in creating content driven events, including webinars, seminars, and the Person of the Year awards dinner. Before coming to the Chamber, he was Managing and Chief Economist-LatAm and Brazil for HSBC. Dr. Welch held similar positions at CIBC, Macquarie Capital, Itaú-Unibanco’s International Wealth Management, Banco Itaú S.A, Bear Stearns. Lehman Brothers, West LB AG. Barclays Capital, and BNP Paribas. His primary responsibilities encompassed global sovereign and macroeconomic research with special emphasis on Latin American and Brazil. Before Wall Street, Dr. Welch served as senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and was an assistant professor at University of Texas, Austin, University of North Texas, and Oakland University. He has published extensively in professional journals and edited books in addition to his own book entitled: Capital Markets in the Development Process: The Case of Brazil (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1993). Dr. Welch earned his Ph.D. in economics at the University of Illinois and his AB in economics from Columbia University.

Alison Rende has been a TRF Board member since 2008. She served as Secretary from 2012 to 2014, and she is also a member of the Executive Committee. Alison’s interest in development work grew out of her experience living and working in Bangkok, Thailand, after college. Upon returning to New York, she joined TRF as a volunteer, and on a visit to its affiliates in Puebla and Mexico City, observed first-hand the significant impact of their work, which made a profound impression on her.

Alison has practiced law in the public and private sectors. She holds a master of laws degree in Rule of Law for Development and has consulted at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy.

Cristina Pérez has been a TRF Board Member since 2011. She has served as Treasurer and Member of the Executive Committee and Evergreen Fund Committee since 2012. She is a Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel for HSBC Securities (USA), Inc., where she supports the emerging markets structured products and derivatives businesses in the Americas region. Before joining HSBC in 2006, Cristina was the Vice President of Credit Suisse’s Legal Department and a Corporate Associate at Shearman & Sterling.  In both cases she was involved in derivatives and corporate finance matters.

Prior to moving to New York, Cristina was an Associate of Perez, Bustamante & Perez in Quito, Ecuador, where she counseled U.S. oil, communication and other companies regarding transnational acquisitions and other types of transactions. She has vast experience working with Latin America. Cristina has a JD from New York University School of Law (where she was the recipient of a Graduate Training Scholarship from the Organization of American States) and the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador as well as a BA from Williams College, where she graduated cum laude and was on the Dean’s List every semester. Cristina has served on the board of trustees of a British school in Ecuador and a Montessori pre-school in New York City. She structured, launched and manages the HSBC Legal ProBono program. She is fluent in Spanish, French and German.

David Pentlow has been a TRF Board member since 2011 and has served on the Executive Committee since 2012. David is a partner at Moritt Hock & Hamroff, in the firm’s Corporate, Securities & Financial Services Practice Group, in Manhattan.

David concentrates his practice in corporate law, securities and financial services transactional and regulatory matters. Prior to joining Morritt Hock & Hamroff, David was a partner at the law firm of Herrick, Feinstein LLP, where he concentrated his practice in corporate and securities law, investment funds and derivatives. He also represented not-for-profit corporations in connection with formation, federal tax exemption applications, and ongoing compliance with state and federal laws applicable to charities and nonprofit organizations. Previously, David was a partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, where he had practiced since graduating from law school. David received his A.B. cum laude from Harvard University in 1995 and his J.D from Georgetown University Law Center in 2000. He is admitted to practice in New York and Massachusetts.

In addition to serving on the TRF Board of Directors, David is a co-founder and President of the Douglaston Local Development Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to improving the quality of life and public space in Douglaston, Queens. He lives in Douglaston, Queens with his wife Janalyn Martinez and three sons, Lucas, Gabriel and Jacob. David has family roots in Puerto Rico and has experience doing business and addressing legal issues in Latin America.

Katherine Newman joined the TRF board in 2019. She is currently a director at the accounting firm of Cherry Bekaert in Miami Florida. Prior to working at Cherry Bekaert, Katherine was a partner at Arthur Andersen in Mexico City and Sao Paulo, Brazil where she worked on the privatization of state owned companies and then registered those companies with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The equity and debt securities of those companies, along with other major companies in Latin America, were then placed in the US and European public markets. Katherine has also worked extensively on cross border litigation and fraud investigations.

Katherine earned her BSBA in accounting from the University of Florida, and is a CPA. She taught Forensic Accounting and Fraud Investigation at the University of Miami’s graduate school of Business.

Katherine is on the board of Asempaz Foundation Inc., which helps support the education and families of children in Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico. She lives in Coral Gables, Florida with her family and enjoys, downhill skiing, hiking and diving. She has two sons, one in Dallas and one in Sweden/Ormond Beach. They have lived in Mexico, Brazil and Switzerland.

Amy McCarthy is a newcomer to the TRF Board. For more than 25 years, she has worked for public relations agencies, handling communications strategies for consumer and healthcare brands.  Amy is currently Partner and Senior Vice President at Ketchum, Inc, a global communications consultancy, where she leads the New York healthcare practice. With an understanding of what drives a client’s reputation, Amy and her team effectively tell their stories to relevant stakeholders, including consumers, investors, physicians, employees, regulators, influential third party organizations and the public.

She has worked with diverse healthcare clients over her career, including pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers, medical providers and advocacy groups. Her experience includes product and corporate communications, advocacy engagement, media relations, medical communications, public health awareness campaigns, communications training and issues management/crisis communications.

Before focusing on healthcare, Amy spent more than 10 years in consumer brand communications at Burson-Marsteller. While at Burson, she spent two years in Tokyo, Japan, managing their brand and healthcare practices. Amy started her career working on the editorial staff of Seventeen magazine, as assistant food editor. She is a graduate of Brown University with a degree in English Literature.

Ricardo Martinez has been a TRF Board Member since 2012. He is a partner at Hogan Lovells US LLP . His practice focuses on representing lenders and borrowers in complex, cross-border finance transactions across a broad spectrum of contexts, including project finance, acquisition finance, general working capital facilities as well as trade finance by means of letters of credit, pre-export credit facilities and the purchase and sale of trade receivables.

Ricardo has significant experience advising on doing business in Latin America. He has closed transactions involving every major Latin American country over the course of his career. Ricardo was most recently ranked as a Foreign Expert for Projects by 2012 Chambers & Partners USA, noting his substantial experience handling major energy and infrastructure projects in Latin America.  He was also named one of New York’s Rising Stars for Projects by 2012 Super Lawyers.

Ricardo received his J.D. from Columbia University Law School in 1998, where he was a Harlan Fisk Stone Scholar and earned a Parker School Certificate for Achievement in International and Comparative Law. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1994 where he obtained a special Certificate of Degree in Latin American and Iberian Studies. He is admitted to practice in the State of New York. In 1992, Ricardo served as a speech writer and translator for Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Oscar Arias. In 1991, he participated as an intern with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington D.C.

Rafael Guardans Cambó has been a TRF Board member since 1994, but has been intimately involved in TRF’s development since virtually day one. Born in Barcelona, Spain, Rafael holds a law degree from Navarra University, and a specialization in International Economics and Development from Madrid’s Complutense University. From 1982 to 1985, Rafael practiced law with the firm of Roman Mas-Calvet, focusing on foreign investments in Spain and international fiscal planning. In 2007 he completed a Senior Management Program at the IE Business School.

Rafael’s formal nonprofit experience began in 1985 when he co-founded Fundación Codespa, a Spanish nonprofit focused on supporting local programs in developing countries which he led for 10 years. It was during this time that Rafael developed a long-standing partnership with TRF, helping to create a formula for co-financing selected projects that functions to this day through the Foundation for Sustained Development, a nonprofit Rafael founded in 1985 with a reach of more than 20 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as the immigrant community in Spain. Rafael is Fundeso’s Executive President, which over a 19 year period, has managed projects with a budget in excess 54 million Euros.

Rafael is also President of the Fundación Institucional Española (FIES), and a member of the Board of Directors of the Asociación Española de Fundaciones (the Spanish Foundation Center). Since 1992, Rafael has been involved with the Encuentros Iberoamericanos del Tercer Sector, and is currently a member of its Board. He has published and speaks widely on subjects related to development and responsible social cooperation. In 2008, the Government of Colombia made him an honorary citizen in recognition of his continued commitment and contribution to the county.

Michael Archer has served on The Resource Foundation’s Board of directors since 2003. He was Chairman from 2015 to 2018; a member of the Executive Committee since 2009, led the Ad Hoc Committee for Strategic Planning from 2011 to 2015, and serves on the Nominating and Governance Committee since 2019.

Michael is Managing Partner of Manhattan Innovation Lab, an advisory services provider to business accelerators and incubators as well as early-stage technology and consumer products businesses.  Prior to founding Manhattan Innovation Lab, Michael was a partner in Global Financial Services practice Kurt Salmon’s (part of Accenture Strategy), where he led the firm’s Human Capital Optimization, Regulatory Reform, and Innovation Management solutions helping financial services institutions with their organization, consumer strategy, and new business challenges.

Michael applies three decades of multi-national and cross industry experience to refine, reshape, and reengineer his clients’ business strategy and operating models.  His business and marketing management acumen were developed in leadership positions at Citibank, Colgate-Palmolive, and MasterCard Worldwide.  He has successfully built and launched new products and businesses, consulted to some of the world’s leading financial institutions with extensive experience across the Americas, established and rebuilt sales territories, and forged critical formal and informal partnerships often extending successful strategies and functions across borders and industries to grow businesses.  Michael’s professional track record includes experience creating “businesses within businesses” as an intrepreneur in established companies.

Patrick Amato joined the TRF Board in 2015.  Since 2009 he’s been the Senior Vice President, Wealth Management at UBS Financial Services in New York.  Patrick leads a team focused on Financial Planning and Asset Management for families as well as private foundations.  Prior to joining UBS, Patrick has worked at several other financial firms, in wealth management as well as public finance and municipal bond trading.  Patrick is a Chartered Financial Analyst since 2006.

Patrick received his undergraduate degree in Finance and Management from New York University.  He also attended NYU to pursue and complete a Master of Arts in US History.  Patrick taught undergraduate History there for 3 semesters.

In addition to managing assets for several non-profits, Patrick is also involved with several YMCAs- serving on the Finance and Investment Committes at Somerset County (NJ) YMCA and is on the Board of Managers at the East Hampton (NY) YMCA.  Patrick lives in East Hampton and New York City with his wife Marcela- who owns her own Interior Design firm.  They have two sons attending college- one in Clemson, South Carolina and the other at Indian University.

Manochere Alamgir has been a TRF Board Member since 2010. He has served on the Executive Committee and the Ad Hoc Committee for Strategic Planning since 2011. Manochere worked with JPMorgan for more than 25 years, until he retired in 2014. He started his career at the Chase Manhattan Bank in Karachi, Pakistan, and has since had assignments in Hong Kong and Indonesia. He moved to the US in 2001 and his current responsibilities include risk management and restructuring for Latin and North America.

Manochere graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Essex, UK. He also has a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Kent, UK. His interest in development issues dates back to the development economics courses that he took as part of both his degrees.  Manochere has worked, on a pro bono basis, with JPMorgan’s Social Sector Finance Group for credit risk approvals. He has represented JPMorgan on several committees and work groups related to social and economic development. The TRF Board position is his first formal involvement in development matters. Manochere, his wife Alia and their two children live in Pleasantville, NY. When he is not at work, Manochere is either playing squash or reading a book.  During the summers, he tries to play golf or some derivative thereof, mostly involving looking for his golf ball in thick forest.