Irene Arias joined IFC in 1999. Prior to being appointed LAC director, Arias was Regional Manager for the Andean Region, overseeing five Andean countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. During her career at IFC, she has been responsible for sourcing, booking and managing investments primarily in the financial sector, based in Washington, Istanbul, Johannesburg, and Bogota. Among other initiatives, she was part of the team that set up IFC's Asset Management Company, which manages $6.3 billion of capital across six investment funds. Irene is a CFA Charterholder and has a degree in Economics from Universidad Carlos III (Madrid), a M.A. in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Relations (Johns Hopkins University), and a M.A. in Advanced European Studies (The College of Europe).