Latin America Regional Advisory Council /

María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila

María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila, Mayu, is a recognised leader with extensive experience in the public, private and social sector in El Salvador and Latin America. She was the first female Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador (1999-2004) and the first female president of an insurance company and Banco Salvadoreno in 2004. She currently sits on the boards of Banco Davivienda in Honduras and El Salvador, as well as the El Salvador Stock Exchange. 

In the social sector, María Eugenia has been a member and director of lawyers’ associations and institutions dedicated to sustainable development such as the Foundation for the Development of Salvadoran Women (FUDEM) and the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES). She was the first woman of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) from Mexico to Panama. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Universidad Dr. José Matías Delgado and has served on the International Board of Plan International. She is a Commissioner of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), and a member of the Advisory Council of the Private Sector Regional Centre in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and of the Diplomatic Academy Council of the Salvadoran Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Aspen Ministers Forum.

Throughout her career, she has received multiple awards such as the Distinguished Professional Award from Dr. José Matías Delgado University and the 2007 Golden Palm, the highest award from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of El Salvador. In 2020 she was named one of the 100 most influential women in Central America and the Caribbean by Forbes Magazine. 

María Eugenia holds a degree in legal sciences from the Universidad Dr. José Matías Delgado, an MBA from the Instituto Centroamericano de Administración de Empresas (INCAE) and a postgraduate degree in Sustainable Business from the University of Cambridge.

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