The WFE's Women Leaders 2024 - Lerzy Batista, Commercial Senior Vice President at Bolsa Latinoamericana de Valores

Name: Lerzy Batista

Organisation: Bolsa Latinoamericana de Valores
Job Title: Commercial Senior Vice President

 

1. Brief job description 

Lerzy Batista is the commercial senior vice president of Latinex and the CEO of Latinclear, the central securities depository. As part of her role, she leads the business area, atracting and promoting to issuers, investors and market players the strengths of the Panamanian capital market, including a regional capital market integration with other countries in Central America (El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras) and follows up on Latinex’s strategic plan to develop the international capital market hub in Panama.

2. Short biography

--Experience

• 20+ years of professional experience.

• Currently is the Commercial Senior Vice President of Latinex and CEO of Latinclear for more than seven years, responsible for the international capital market hub initiatives to promote more business opportunities in a market with a value of $40 billion (debt and equities) and a total of assets under custody of $31+ billion.

• Previously she has been:

Financial Advisory Manager for Central America and the Caribbean in two big four (Deloitte and Ernst & Young). Some of the projects she led include: i) valuation of a financial group in Central America for $190 million; ii) purchase price allocation after the acquisition of a telecommunication company for 70 million; capital raising and financing through public and private issues for $200 million.

In the banking sector: As Corporate Finance Manager in Multibank, structuring public and private issuances and as Corporate Banking Executive in Banco General, one of the biggest banks in Panama, supporting clients in obtaining a multitude of financing instruments.

And Business Development Manager in Financial Planning of CEMEX in Panama, managing finances for the expansion of the cement plant to supply the expansion of the Panama Canal.

--Studies

MBA at INCAE Business School.

Bachelor's Degree in Finance at Santa Maria La Antigua Catholic University (USMA).

--Memberships 

Affiliated to Association of Women Directors of Panama and responsible for publications in social media of their members in the Communication Committee.

Member of the National Committee of INCAE Business School and Former Chairwoman of the Alumni Association.

Member of the Panamanian Association of Business Executives and the Chamber of Commerce.

--Hobbies

Owns cattle farm

Personal finance trainer

Padel enthusiast

Freelance writer

3. What were your professional highlights and challenges of 2023?

Despiste the fact that 2023 was a challenging year, especially for stock markets, due to high market volatility and increase in interest rates, in Latinex we reached 5.7% growth in traded volume and in the central securities depository we reached a historical record in assets under custody, reaching over USD 31 billion through new business opportunities and relationships.

We also achieved important milestones in the pillar of our strategy of international capital market hub:

International access 

Access was achieved to internationalize Panamanian investment funds with Clearstream’s Banking Vestima platform.

We reached over $5 billion in Panamanian securities (Government and Quasi-goverment) euroclearable through iLink Phase 1 in Euroclear Bank. Phase II, for Corporate bond and debt securities issued by multilateral and other supranational entities under Panamanian Law, are eligible effective February 1st, 2024.

Regional market integration

Honduras was incorporated into the regional market integration with Panama, thus joining the other countries already incorporated (El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala).

$690+ million have been negotiated in the regional integration.

New issuers

32 issuances in 2023, an increase of 9.4% compared to 2022, and 23 were from new issuers.

264 issuers in total in Latinex, 8% are international issuers.

ESG issuances

2 new green bonds in 2023 for $200+ million.

7 ESG issuances in total for $700+ million.

Continuous promotion, including differentiated rates for this type of issuances.

4. Tell us about a few of your key achievements?

Some key achievements in my career are:

Working in the field that I am passionate about, business and finance. The first job I obtained was in Human Resources area, and although it was not my preference, I learned a lot from it, including the importance of human connection, which later served me well in the roles I would take on in my career. In that same company, I had the opportunity to transfer to the Finance and Treasury department, witnessing that one who perseveres achives its goals.

Completing my MBA at INCAE Business School, which not only helped me in my personal and professional growth but also expanded my network in the Region, a valuable asset that allows me to explore more business opportunities. In fact, I served as the chairwoman of the INCAE Alumni Association in Panama for two years.

Making progress towards establishing Panama as an international hub for the capital market:

Increasing the number of issuers, from 180 issuers in 2017 to 264 issuers in 2023, with 8% of them being international issuers.

Building a market with a value of $40+ billion.

Promoting the regional market integration with over $690 million traded.

Promoting the international access with over $5 billion of Panamanian securities (Government and Quasi-government) euroclearable available for international investors.

On a personal level, there are two things that I am particularly proud of:

Being a mother of two, Zoe, who is 14 years old, and Alfredo, who is 12 years old.

Continuing my father's legacy, loving nature, and carrying on the family business of cattle farming. Demonstrating that gender equality is a reality. I grew up in a family with four sisters, my father, and my mother. My father believed that there were differences in the types of work that men and women could do, he considered cattle farming to be unsuitable for women and he thought that his daughters couldn't handle it and he would have to sell his properties and business when he grew old. Over time, his daughters were able to prove that it is possible, and he could enjoy it. Today, my oldest sister and I are taking care of my father's legacy after he passed away.

5. Who and what inspires you to achieve your professional success?

The first people who inspired me were my parents, my mother and my father, tireless workers for the development of their family. My mother was an industrial worker who introduced me the habit of saving, and my father, a retail sector worker, that despite migrating to the city, never forgot his roots in the countryside and preserved his love for cattle raising and nature, which he instilled in our family.

Throughout my Life, other people and professional businessmen and women have been role models, but the foundation of everything has always been my parents.

6. How have you overcome setbacks, and what have you learned from adversity?

First of all, it is important to know that setbacks are common and a natural part of life and they don’t define your worth or potential for success. You need to keep your patience, be resilient and at the same time to be persistent, keeping a positive mindset and believe in your abilites.

Analyze and assess objectively the setback is a good first step to understand the reasons behind it and it can help you identify areas for improvement and to develop a plan to move forward. The only way to improve is to know what your areas of opportunities are, over time you will emerge stronger from this experience. 

 

7. What advice do you have for other women who aspire to be in leadership positions?

First of all, everything you set your mind to, you can achieve. When you realize that everything you do, every challenge or goal you set for yourself, depends on you, you know that you are the first person you have to face in order to move forward.

Secondly, I always recommend setting a path or goal to reach, as this will give you guidance. This path is not always followed and sometimes takes longer than you would like, but it doesn't matter. Enjoy the journey, and make the necessary adjustments, but above all, don't stop. Remember that the journey is made up of small steps, and it is those small steps that help us, over time, build great things.

Lastly, I encourage you to always strive for balance in your lives, it is very important. Remember that you aren’t alone, you have a team that supports you, you need to delegate and trust them. In my case, I love my finance career, my job, the capital market, but I also love my family, enjoy time with my friends and colleagues, enjoy nature and the countryside, and it is precisely this diversity that complements me and allows me to keep learning.