Our depth and breadth of experience brings a broad set of skills and relationships to bear on behalf of our Investors.
Throughout their careers, Confidas’ principals have participated in debt and equity, structured products and M&A transactions with an aggregate value of over US$182 billion.
TRANSACTIONS
CONFIDAS TEAM
CONFIDAS shares the expertise of a seasoned team with vast experience in Wealth Management, Asset Management (Venture Capital/Private Equity & Hedge Funds), Principal Investment, Merchant Banking, Capital Markets and Investment Banking with its clients.
Christian Gudefin
34 years of experience
Mr. Gudefin joined The Confidas Group in 2002 and co-founded Confidas Capital Advisors in 2004 where he has since focused on expanding its relationship and distribution network. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1985 with a B.A. in International Relations with a specialization in international business at the Wharton School and spent the subsequent fifteen years executing mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate finance transactions in Europe, North and Latin America. His investment banking career began at Merrill Lynch in London in 1986 where he focused on Southern Europe. In 1991, after obtaining his MBA in Finance from Columbia University, he joined UBS' Investment Banking Group. Mr. Gudefin worked on M&A, advisory, and corporate finance transactions for over seven years in UBS' New York, Buenos Aires, Paris and London offices. From 1995 through 2001, he advised family groups, corporate clients, and governments in Latin America on some of the most representative transactions in the region. Prior to joining Confidas, he was Director of Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown's Latin American M&A practice (formerly known as BT Wolfensohn) from 1998 to 2001. He is fluent in English, French, Italian and Spanish and has a good working knowledge of Portuguese.
Demian Waldman
30 years of experience
Mr. Waldman joined Confidas in 2014. With 30 years of experience in financial services and international business development, he was previously Head of Business Development at Bravia Capital, an independent manager of public and private equity investments in Brazil. Previously, was a founding partner of Liyen Co., a Dubai-based Investment Advisory Company for Brazilian and Gulf (GCC) business development. Prior to this, he was responsible for business development and a partner at Rosenberg Partners, a leading Brazilian M&A and Project Finance independent advisory company, spin-off from Rosenberg & Associados (1985) one of the most distinguished macroeconomic consulting firms in Brazil and Business Development Manager of Faldini-Belesta Banque d’Affaires, an Investment Company of Belesta AG (Swiss Multi-family Office)) and Faldini Family Office for 9 years. Mr. Waldman graduated in Business Administration from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) and attended a University Extension Program in International Business at Sophia University, Tokyo. He is fluent in English, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish and has a good working knowledge of French.
Manoela Arashiro
24 years of experience
Ms. Arashiro is the Managing Director of Confidas Management Ltd. (Cayman). Since joining the Confidas team, Ms. Arashiro has participated in dozens of transactions involving U.S. CRE debt and equity, and Fintech. She has 25 years of experience in financial markets across a broad spectrum ranging from founding and running advisory, principal investment and private equity businesses to a successful track record in investment banking at financial institutions including Banco Garantia / Credit Suisse, Banco Bozano, Simonsen and Merrill Lynch in Brazil, where she was head of the investment banking execution team. She also acted as an independent consultant to banks such as Salomon Smith Barney / Citibank, and companies like SAP.
Before joining Confidas, Ms. Arashiro had successfully executed over 40 debt, equity capital markets and M&A transactions with an aggregate value in excess of US$11 billion including some of the most pioneering, complex and innovative transactions in Brazil.
Ms. Arashiro graduated in Business Administration from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) and in law from the Universidade de São Paulo (USP - Largo São Francisco). She also attended the Global MBA Program of the University of Michigan. Ms Arashiro is registered as an asset manager with the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM). She is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Jerome Villalba
34 years of experience
Mr. Villalba joined Confidas Capital in January 2019 and has over 34 years of financial services experience. He graduated from Middlebury College with a BA in Economics. Until then, he had spent his entire professional career at Merrill Lynch (now Bank of America) where he began in Latin America Investment Banking and went on to hold various positions in the firm’s Emerging Markets area. Mr. Villalba was the Managing Director in charge of Emerging Market Corporate Fixed Income Trading as well as a division that structured, marketed and traded all EM fixed income and structured products with the firm’s Private Client Group. As such, he has extensive experience working with credit products and investors in emerging markets. He is a Spanish national and is fluent in English, French as well as Spanish.
Ezana Bocresion
34 years of experience
Mr. Bocresion has over 34 years of experience gained in investment banking and public accounting advising institutional investors and corporates on transactions and new market entry strategies globally. Most recently Mr. Bocresion has been focused on the fintech sector in the US and Africa. By leveraging his experience as a fintech investor and business developer since 1998, he has worked with corporates looking at investments and advised on the restructurings/realignments of businesses to operate in the new digital environment. During his advisory career at JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch and Atlas Advisors, Mr. Bocresion advised a global client base of corporates and some of the leading private equity firms across the world on transactions in a variety of sectors including agribusiness, metals and mining, industrials, consumer products, technology, media and business services and fintech. He has completed transactions valued at over $75bn. Mr. Bocresion also co-founded and later sold an Emerging Markets focused private equity fund.
Prior to his career in finance, Mr. Bocresion worked in public accounting at KPMG Peat Marwick and Laventhol and Horwath as a CPA and auditor. Mr. Bocresion received an MBA from The Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College in 1993 and a BSBA from Boston University in 1986. He speaks several foreign languages including Portuguese, Spanish, French, Amharic and Tigringha.