Where It All Begins

Baihas Baghdadi is a Spanish businessman of Syrian heritage, born in Damascus into a culturally prominent family. He has built a distinguished international finance career informed by deep cultural roots and a global perspective.

With more than 30 years of experience, he has held senior roles at major European institutions including Arab Bank PLC, Fortis Bank (later BNP Paribas), and Barclays Bank in the United Kingdom. He holds a degree in Economics and Business Studies from the Complutense University of Madrid, a Master’s in Finance and Stock Market Studies from FEBF, and has completed advanced studies inCorporate Finance at IE and M&A/PEVC at Harvard Business School.

He founded Baghdadi Real Estate (BRE) in Spain in 2017, focused on prime real estate assets. In 2019, he launched Trade & Working Capital (TWC), a leading non-bank working-capital provider in Spain. In 2023, he expanded globally by establishing Higher Bridge Capital Inc. in New York, specializing in accounts-receivable financing for mid- and large-cap firms.

In 2025, he launched Tamwuil Capital, the first fully Sharia-compliant trade-receivables platform bridging Europe, the Americas, and Asia with Arab capital. In the same year, he also founded Green Bunkers, Spain’s first digital bunkering platform linking shipowners and charterers with fuel suppliers.

Ricardo Zion has more than 35 years of experience in the financial sector. Throughout his career, he has held senior positions in seven prestigious international financial institutions, including WestLB, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas Fortis, Citibank, KBC, Barclays and Caixabank. His professional career has been intrinsically linked to corporate finance, which has allowed him to combine his work in the financial sector with teaching in various related disciplines. In addition, he is a regular contributor to the financial section of several specialized media, where he brings his extensive experience and knowledge in the financial field.

He holds a degree in Business Administration from CUNEF, an MBA from IE and a management program from INSEAD. His experience and commitment to excellence have made him a respected leader in his field, with a proven track record of success in the world of finance.

Marisa Yepes has nearly 30 years of experience in the financial services sector, including 24 years in one of the “Big Four”, where she was a partner in the Forensic area.

A specialist in the management and mitigation of financial and fraud risks, she has worked closely with the internal audit and compliance departments of several entities to strengthen their control and compliance systems. In addition, she has been key in the implementation of advanced monitoring programs based on data analysis, leading numerous internal investigations in the financial and corporate environment to protect the assets and reputation of organizations.

She holds a degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Complutense University of Madrid, is a Chartered Accountant and Auditor at the ROAC, Accounting Expert at the REC, with CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner) certifications from ACFE and CESCOM from ASCOM. Marisa is a member of the Anti-Fraud Committee of the World Compliance Association.

40 years of experience in Back Office and financial control functions in banking in management positions, Banco Progreso, Banco Urquijo, Banco Sabadell and KBC.

30 years of experience in Corporate Finance, Project Finance and Risk Management Solutions in the industrial sector in senior management positions, Telvent, Schneider Electric, Duro Felguera and Negratin.

Carlos Torrens has nearly 25 years of experience in information technology management and digital transformation of large multinational corporations, having worked in various sectors such as telecommunications, building materials, consumer goods and automotive.

Specialist in development and implementation of technologies aimed at improving the value proposition and operational efficiency of organizations. He has led areas of IT, innovation, data and digital transformation, in collaboration with leading providers of applications, infrastructure and technology services.

He has collaborated with IE and currently CUNEF teaching cybersecurity and technology risk management in their program for some major financial institutions.

He holds a degree in Business Administration and Management from the University of Alcalá de Henares, an Executive MBA from the Escuela de Organización Industria and has completed the Senior Management program at IMD. He has professional certifications such as CIA (Certified Internal Auditor), CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor), as well as ITIL Expert in versions 3 and 4.

Verónica is a people expert with extensive international experience in talent acquisition and development.  With more than 25 years of experience, she has led teams in companies from different industries such as KPMG, Vodafone, Monsanto, Cisco or True Ripple, and has worked in several countries including Argentina, Spain, UK, Oman and India. All this has given her a global perspective and a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in people management.

In addition to her corporate work, Veronica has been involved in business consulting, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including family businesses. Her passion for talent development has also taken her to the academic field, where she has worked as a Human Resources professor, sharing her extensive experience and knowledge with students and professionals in the area.

Verónica holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Belgrano, Argentina. In addition, she has been certified as an Executive Coach by InnerKey in Spain and has completed the PDRH+8 program in Digital Culture and Organizational Design at The Valley Business & Tech School, also in Spain.

Law graduate with more than 20 years of experience in the notarial field, specializing in commercial and mortgage matters, managing a wide variety of transactions, and providing legal advice.

C-level expert with more than 15 years of experience in compliance, corporate governance, data protection and risk management in Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Specialized in implementing compliance systems (ISO 37001 and 37301, UNE 19601) and prevention of money laundering (AML), achieving economic savings of over 20% in multinationals. Enables organizations to comply with regulations such as GDPR, Sapin II and FCPA through optimized risk management, audits, training and technological tools. He leads multidisciplinary teams and develops cybersecurity and sustainability strategies.

With extensive experience in strategic management and interdepartmental coordination. Her work focuses on process optimization, ensuring the alignment of teams with corporate objectives and ensuring operational efficiency in all areas.