March 2017
| How did you come to be in the energy industry? |
After more than 20 years of experience in the sector and by working from many different angles. I have experience as a business consultant, CFO of Pemex, Board member at oil companies and financial advisor to several companies in different segments of the industry.
| What are your top 3 responsibilities in A&M? |
Conduct and lead the specific mandates that we have in Latam, be an active originator of new opportunities and develop the A&M brand at a local level.
| Where do you see the greatest opportunity in the energy market? |
The sector has been significantly underinvested for more than 30 years. There are opportunities across all segments: upstream, midstream, downstream, electricity, natural gas, etc.
| Where do you see the greatest challenge when it comes to Mexico? |
Local regulation, regulation and regulation. We need to move faster and make sure that the regulators understand the business
| Do you feel that U.S. policy changes will significantly change market trends in Mexico? How? |
The US changes won’t have an impact in terms of the investment or development of the industry structures. The main potential change will come from impact in the local energy demand given macroeconomic changes.
| You have served as a CFO in PEMEX until 2013. Can you comment on PEMEX’s transformation so far and how successful it has been? |
Pemex still needs to become a full company. Given the current market conditions Pemex needs to find solution that involves real equity and not only debt driven type of alternatives.
| What 3 changes you would make in PEMEX if you could? How do you feel they will benefit the development of the company and the industry in general? |
Employees need to be Pemex employees and not government officials. Pemex money should not be part of the federal budget. And finally corporate governance needs to evolve
| From your perspective, do you feel the energy reform in Mexico has been successful so far? Why? |
In general, it has been successful. However, at this point there are several things that could go faster (farm outs, migrations, new rounds, JVs midstream, etc)
| The energy reform opened opportunities in several sub-sectors such as solar, storage, pipelines, fuel retail and upstream. Where do you see the fastest return of investment for investors right now? |
Midstream should be faster given the fact that there is demand for that infrastructure and it is closer to the end user.
| What is your evaluation of investment appetite in Mexico? Do you feel it will increase, stay the same or decrease in the next 12 months? Why? |
It will stay at the same level as some of the real players continue growing but all the other opportunistic players withdraw.
About Ignacio Quesada
Mr. Quesada has worked extensively helping companies in the region in turnaround, restructuring and operational improvement programs. He has also provided support to different investors groups setting up new ventures in Mexico and starting operations. His emphasis is in the energy, financial and services sectors in the Latin America region.
Before joining A&M, Mr. Quesada served as Chief Financial Officer with Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), Mexico’s oil company, and was previously a board member. He was also responsible for treasury, budgeting, accounting and risk management at one of the largest Latino American corporates.
Previously, Mr. Quesada was Chief of Staff of the Minister at the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público, Mexico’s treasury office, and at the Secretaría de Desarrollo Social (Ministry of Social Development). In those roles, he managed projects on topics such as anti-money laundering policies, implementation of cash payment systems and crisis management (e.g., the 2009 flu pandemic).
Mr. Quesada was a partner at McKinsey & Company, a leading firm that provides consulting services in strategy, organization and operations. He was responsible for the negotiation of projects, resource management and budgets, ending with the integration and communication of recommendations. Mr. Quesada has also worked extensively in the energy and oil and gas sectors, helping companies in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Spain and South Africa.
Mr. Quesada earned a PhD in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and a degree in chemical engineering from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He is fluent in Spanish, English and Portuguese.
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events