Alvaro Arias Echeverria is the Partner in charge of Iberia and Latin America and the Global Head of the Private Equity Practice Group at Pedersen & Partners. With over 15 years of Executive Search experience, Mr. Arias Echeverria has successfully completed Private Equity assignments across Europe and Latin America, with mandates ranging from succession planning and high-opportunity sectors to value creation and portfolio management strategies. Mr. Arias Echeverria focuses on organisational and leadership effectiveness and advising clients on business and intrinsic talent-related aspects, informed by his lasting relationships with leading investment management firms, institutional investors, asset management, advisory, development, and pension fund companies. In addition to his Private Equity focus, Mr. Arias Echeverria has a substantial track record of successful assignments in Retail, Industry and Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, Telecoms, and IT, with a particular focus on due diligence processes and talent gap analysis. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Arias Echeverria held senior positions as a Partner and member of the International Executive Committee of Neumann International and Principal at Egon Zehnder International. Before launching his Executive Search career, he was a Senior Manager at AT Kearney, and a Professor at IESE Business School. While at IESE, Mr. Arias Echeverria collaborated with other IESE professors to found the financial services boutique Global Business and Finance, and the IESE International Finance Research Centres (CIF) in Barcelona and Madrid. Mr. Arias Echeverria graduated as an Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. He holds an MBA from IESE Business School and has completed the Doctoral Program in Corporate Governance from the City University Business School in London. He speaks native Spanish, fluent English and conversational Portuguese.