Team

Omar J. Marrero obtained a B.B.A. with a double major in Accounting and Finance as well as a Minor in French from the University of Dayton (Ohio). He earned a Juris Doctor from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico and an L.L.M. in Corporate Law from New York University (NYU).  Marrero is admitted to practice in Puerto Rico and New York. He also studied at the Université du Québec and at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. 

During his professional career spanning over two decades, Marrero has worked with local and international banks, academia, law firms, and has also served in the Government as head of several principal government agencies.  As a transactional and regulatory attorney, Marrero concentrated his practice in the areas of corporate and securities law, corporate and public finance, real estate, and secured transactions, public-private partnerships, and infrastructure as well as government affairs.   Moreover, for seven years he was an adjunct professor at the Inter American University School of Law of Puerto Rico, teaching corporate law courses.

Marrero started his public service career in 2012 when he was appointed Secretary of the Department of Consumers Affairs of Puerto Rico (DACO, by Its Spanish acronym) under the administration of former Governor Luis Fortuño, wherein he prioritized the Integration of Information technology to Improve the delivery of services creating the first online platform and the first DACO mobile app, both of which allowed consumers to file their complaints electronically for the first time in DACO’s history.  After returning to private practice, he rejoined the Government in 2017 when he was appointed by then Governor Ricardo Rosselló to serve as Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PRPA), Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Conventions District Authority (PRCDA), and Executive Director of Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority (P3A). In such endeavors, Marrero prioritized capital investments by reactivating the capital programs at the PRPA with major public and private projects; oversaw as the partnering government entity the development and construction of T-Mobile District and other projects at the Convention Center; and jumpstarted an ambitious priority projects pipeline at the P3A including maritime transportation, airports, cruise ship ports, tollroads and energy projects, among others.  He also served as one of the founding and organizational members of the board of directors of the Puerto Rico Destination Marketing Organization, Discover Puerto Rico, and as the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA).  

After the 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Marrero acted as the Governor’s Authorized Representative (GAR) before FEMA and the first Executive Director of the Central Office of Recovery and Reconstruction (COR3), spearheading the development of the first disaster funding request to the U.S. Federal Government and the establishment of the centralized oversight authority to oversee and coordinate all disaster funding to be received by the Puerto Rico government. After Implementing robust internal controls and achieving FEMA’s removal of the 270 manual drawdown process Implemented after the 2017 Hurricanes, Marrero was appointed in 2019 Chief Financial Officer of the Government of Puerto Rico and Executive Director of the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF, by its spanish acronym). In such capacity, Marrero has represented the Government of Puerto Rico before the Federal Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) and has been instrumental in Puerto Rico's government debt restructuring efforts; particularly, with respect to the plan of adjustment of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which represents the largest municipal restructuring in history.  In addition, as CEO of AAFAF, Marrero has co-lead the strategy, management, disbursement and oversight of federal funds that Puerto Rico received through the CARES Act and ARP Act, positioning Puerto Rico as one of the top jurisdictions In the effective and compliant deployment of pandemic funding for the benefit of our residents.    

In July 2021, Marrero was appointed by Governor Pedro Pierluisi as Secretary of State and four months later was confirmed by the Legislative Assembly becoming the 31st Secretary of State of Puerto Rico.  In such capacity, Marrero heads one of the most important government agencies, which in addition to certain major administrative duties, is also responsible for the cultural, political, and economic relations between Puerto Rico and foreign countries, as well as with other jurisdictions within the U.S.  He also fulfills the role of Lieutenant Governor serving as acting governor when the Governor is out of the jurisdiction. In such regard, he continues to focus on fiscal responsibility, public-private partnerships, economic development, tourism, disaster management and international and federal affairs.

Luis J. Umpierre Ferrer graduated in 2010 from Bentley University in Waltham, MA.; where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in Accounting with a minor in Law and Math. He obtained his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license in 2011 where he was awarded the highest point grade of his class. In 2015 he graduated from the Interamerican University in San Juan, PR with a Masters in Business Administration (MBA).

In 2011, he joined Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) in the assurance practice being a key player in the financial statement audits of two publicly traded companies in Puerto Rico. In 2014, he moved to BDO Puerto Rico, where he was in charge as an Assurance Manager of the firm’s largest clients in several industries including finance, waste management and retail. 

In 2017, he commenced his journey in the public sector by joining the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) as the youngest Chief Financial Officer (CFO) ever by the age of 29. Working with a series of challenges including health (ZIKA), budgetary (fiscal crisis) and environmental (hurricanes), he managed a balanced budget while still obtaining overperformance in tourism KPIs for the Company. During this tenure, he was the Treasurer of the Hotel Development Company as well as a member on the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau. Luis had a key role in the “start-up” of the newly created Destination Marketing Organization, now known as Discover Puerto Rico. 

In late 2019, he returned to the private industry as Controller of an insurance company in Puerto Rico working through a series of acquisitions of insurance agencies in the USVI as well as merger of an insurance company in Chicago. He was in charge of financial reporting of a conglomerate of over 12 companies in the Caribbean engaged in the business of real estate, insurance and finance.

In February 2021, he returned to the public sector as the Chief Financial Officer of the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF) and the Government Development Bank where he was able to lead the team in issuing the delayed audited financial statements of 2018, 2019 and 2020 for several government entities in the span of a year including the GDB and AAFAF. Luis also is a member of the Board of Directors in the PRTC, the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico (EDB), Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) and other corporations under the economic development component of the government.

In April 2022 he changed role as AAFAF’s Chief Risk Officer which main responsibilities include compliance with the government’s Plan of Adjustment under Title III of PROMESA, as well as the execution of restructuring of the remaining credits. Luis is focused on developing the government’s new tools on management of financial resources as well as ensuring establishing guardrails to avoid another fiscal crisis in the government of Puerto Rico.

As of February 2024, Luis serves as the Deputy Executive Director and CFO of AAFAF.

Ms. de Jesús Suárez currently works as the Director of Fiscal Recovery Programs of the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF, for its Spanish acronym) where she has effectively led and transformed the overall direction and planning of the Fiscal Recovery Division for programs implemented with federal relief available as part of the COVID-19 emergency response: ($2.2B) from the U.S Treasury Department as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Public Law 116-136 (“CARES Act”) stimulus package to assist with emergency expenses, mitigate the effects of the global pandemic and the subsequent economic downturn; and under the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund (“CSFRF”), the Government of Puerto Rico received an allocation of ($2.47B) for eligible uses.

AAFAF continues to work diligently to support Puerto Rico’s path to economic recovery in response to the global emergency and economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States Federal Government and the Government of Puerto Rico have established several stimulus programs to aid individuals, families, and businesses during the pandemic. The American Rescue Plan (ARPA 2021) is providing fast and direct economic assistance for American workers, families, small businesses, and industries. The American Rescue Plan continues many of the programs started by the CARES Act (2020) and Consolidated Appropriations Act (2021) by adding new phases, new allocations, and new guidance to address issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In 2018, she commenced her journey in the public sector by joining the Puerto Rico Housing Department with the Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. She started as Compliance Manager on December 2018 and became Interim Deputy Director on August 2021. She led the overall direction and planning of the Procurement Division for programs implemented with CDBG-DR funds ($20B), associated to disaster recovery for hurricanes Irma and María, in areas including housing, infrastructure, planning, multi sector and economic development. She managed and coordinated procurement processes, some valued over $50M, for supplies, information technology equipment, geographical information system (GIS), program management services, construction, engineering, and other professional or technical services, ensuring full and open competition and compliance with strict guidelines and requirements. Ms. de Jesús Suárez prepared and reviewed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to standardize procurement processes and provided instructions for the preparation of the scope of work or services, evaluation criteria and independent cost estimates, including how and when to perform a price analysis or cost analysis.

In October 2015 she worked as Compliance Officer in FirstBank Corp., where she revised, monitored and supported business units with regulatory issues, legal compliance, federal and state laws.

As an Associate Attorney for the Corporate Department Real Estate in Ferraiuoli LLC, Ms. de Jesús-Suárez worked in multiple corporate related matters such as transactional due diligence projects, licensing, corporate authorization, and governance matters. This experience has enabled her to handle a varied array of issues in the corporate practice area.

Prior to joining Ferraiuoli, Ms. de Jesús-Suárez worked at Schuster Usera & Aguiló, LLP as a Law Clerk and as a Summer Clerk with Hon. Judge Daniel R. Dominguez in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

Ms. de Jesús Suárez is an experienced attorney in corporate matters such as regulatory compliance, disaster recovery, real estate, transactional due diligence, licensing, and governance. Pragmatic and decisive, effectively communicating and delegating to team members, as needed. Bringing a varied and well-balanced skill set in the corporate and compliance practice areas. 

Ms. de Jesús-Suárez is also fluent in English and Italian.

Education

Inter American University School of Law, J.D., 2008
College of the Holy Cross, B.A. Political Science and Italian, 2004

Bar Admissions

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico