Keynote Speakers

Gabriel Quiros

Gabriel Quirós is Deputy Director at the IMF, Statistics Department. He oversees the conceptual and research work in the department as well as the G-20 Data Gap Initiative; in the latter role he coordinates the related work by the international statistical organizations through the Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics. Before joining the IMF in May 2016, Gabriel had worked at the European Central Bank (ECB), Frankfurt, in several positions, including Head of Division and Counsellor to the ECB Executive Board. Previously, he served at the Central Bank of Spain at both the Economics and Market Operations Departments. Gabriel started his career in the academia, teaching Economics, and gained a tenure of Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Valencia, in 1986. In his career, he has concentrated in four main areas: Macroeconomics, Monetary Policy, Financial Markets, and Statistics. Gabriel has contributed to a wide range and high number of European and international projects, conferences and workshops in those four areas. His main current focus is on Big Data and Digital Economy. He has been Chairperson of a number of international working groups and taskforces. Gabriel was awarded the Spanish National Graduation in Economics, First Prize, in 1980, and holds a Doctorate in Economics by the College of Spain (Bologna, Italy) and a Master of Science in Economics by the London School of Economics.

Laura Alfaro

Laura Alfaro is the Warren Alpert Professor of Business Administration. She is also a Faculty Research Associate in the National Bureau of Economic Research's International Macroeconomics and Finance Program, Member of the Latin-American Financial Regulatory Committee (CLAAF), Faculty Associate at Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and member of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies’ (DRCLAS) policy committee. In 2008, she was honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. She served as Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy in Costa Rica from 2010-2012. Professor Alfaro is the author of multiple articles published in leading academic journals such as the American Economic Review, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of International Economics, and of Harvard Business School cases related to the field of international economics and in particular international capital flows, foreign direct investment, sovereign debt and emerging markets. At Harvard Business School since 1999, she currently teaches Microeconomics of Competitiveness. Professor Alfaro has taught in General Management Program, the Program for Leadership Development, and in other executive education offerings as well the first year and second year of the MBA program and the doctoral program. She earned her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, at Los Angeles (UCLA), where she was recipient of the Dissertation Fellowship award. She received a B.A in economics with honors from the Universidad de Costa Rica and a 'Licenciatura' from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica of Chile where she graduated with highest honors. She was awarded a Francisco Marroquin Foundation scholarship.