Friends of Catholic University in Chile, Inc. (“Friends”) formed in 1989, is a U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to promote higher education in Chile by providing assistance to the Catholic University of Chile, one of the most internationally recognized educational institutions in Latin America, in the development of Chile and to put the University at the forefront of progress in Latin America. Friends’ objective is to facilitate the transfer of resources, knowledge and experience from the U.S. to the
University to that end.
Over 30,000 students, distributed through 18 schools are currently studying at the Catholic University. These students will eventually join the 123,000 alumni who have studied at the University.
Friends has donated over US$10 million to the University for scholarships, earthquake recovery programs, J-Pal poverty program analysis, and the Center for Leadership in Education, among other initiatives.
The Foundation is managed by a Board of Directors, currently with 21 members, each with different backgrounds and experiences. The majority of the Directors live in the US. The Executive Committee of the Board is composed of the President, Mrs. Sava Thomas, the Treasurer, Mr. Patricio Donoso, and the Secretary, Mr. Roger W. Thomas.
Board of Directors
Mrs. Sava B. Thomas, President
President of the Board of Friends of the Catholic University in Chile, Inc., is a lawyer in Chile as well as the United States, where she received a Juris Doctor degree from Fordham University School of Law. She has broad-based experience in the corporate area in the United States.
Patricio Donoso, Treasurer
Provost for Institutional Managerial Affairs at the Catholic University. He graduated in Civil Engineering in this University and received his MSc. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Roger W. Thomas, Secretary
Senior Counsel at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, resident in the New York office. He is engaged in the general practice of law, with particular emphasis on international financial matters.
 Rina Alcalay
Professor Emeritus, Department of Public Health Sciences, UC Davis Medical School.
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 Juan C. Cappello
Journalist and businessman, is the Chairman and CEO of Contemporanea LLC, and an editorial board member of Americas Quarterly.
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 Cristóbal Conde
Executive chairman of True Office, a start-up technology company that uses gamification for regulatory compliance training.
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 Enrique Jocelyn Holt
Senior Vice President and Director of Client Services at EFG Capital.
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 Mario Kreutzberger
Mario Kreutzberger, better known as “Don Francisco,” is the creator and host of “Sábado Gigante”..
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 Timothy M. Kingston
Head of the Santiago office of Goldman Sachs and senior advisor for Latin America.
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 Edgar A. Lampert
Vice Chairman of The Georgetown Company, a privately held real estate and financial services company with interests in real estate development, ownership, financing, and asset management.
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 Camilo Justiniano Briones
Founding Partner of Neorentas, a Fund Management Company specializing in Real Estate
Investments.
CEO of ALB Investments, Briones Family Office.
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 Roberto Méndez
Roberto Méndez is a professor at Catholic University’s School of Government. He holds a Ph.D and an MBA from Stanford University with a specialization in Consumer Research.
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 Loreto Massanés
Loreto Massanés is the Vice-President for Economic Affairs of the Catholic University, position she has held since 2015.
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 Pura Ortiz
Pura Ortiz Borda received a BA degree in Sociology at the Catholic University of Chile and did postgraduate studies in Urban Planning at the Interdisciplinary Center of Urban Development.
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 Pedro Rosso
Former President of the Catholic University and currently President of the Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Catholic Universities.
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 Sebastiano Scarampi
Sebastiano Scarampi is a retired business executive and international management consultant living in San Francisco. He holds Commercial Engineer and Magister (maximum honors) degrees from Universidad Catolica de Chile and an MBA from Stanford University.
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 Mario J. Valdivia
Mario has earned degrees from Universidad Católica de Chile (Civil Engineer), U. of Chicago (MBA), and Harvard (MPA). He started his professional career in Chile. In 1991 he co-founded “Excel Chile Servicios Financieros S.A.”.
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 Tulio Vera
Portfolio Manager in global Emerging Markets (EM) in Millennium Management, LLC, and co-owner in Nolita Wine Merchants.
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 Benjamin D. Wolf
Benjamin D. Wolf is a Senior Vice President at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., where he oversees the firm’s wealth management business in the Southern Cone of Latin America (Chile, Argentina and Uruguay).
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 Fernando Burgos
Fernando Burgos is a financial advisor in both the US and Chile, with a successful career in the banking industry in those countries.
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 Andres Echeverría
Andres Echeverría is founder, partner and portfolio manager of Frontal Trust, an investment fund manager specialized in alternative assets, and has extensive experience in the financial services industry.
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Honorary Board
Arnoldo C. Hax
Agustín Huneeus
Stewart Myers
Daniel Schidlow
Alfonso Swett
