Cornell Energy Connection

Alvaro Pinto Fajer is environmental and social regulatory supervisor at Sempra Infraestructura, one of Mexico’s largest energy infrastructure companies. In this role, Mr. Pinto Fajer supervises the attainment of all environmental, social, and marine permits and necessary authorizations for the correct development of large-scale projects such as LNG terminals, fuel storage terminals, and pipelines. Over the last seven years, his work as an energy professional has spanned strategic sectors such as oil and gas, biofuels and power generation, as well as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities within the industry. Mr. Pinto Fajer began his career at Asepro Ecologia, a Mexican biofuel startup, aiding in the development of small-scale biodiesel projects in Mexico. He holds a degree in Environmental Studies (with a minor in Political Science) from Gustavus Adolphus College and is an MBA candidate at Cornell University, Class of 2022.

Areli Covarrubias is commercial director for natural gas at Sempra Infraestructura. She has more than 14 years of experience in the energy sector and is responsible for the administration and commercial operation of Sempra  Infraestructura’s natural gas assets as well as for the associated optimization efforts. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Covarrubias was IEnova’s business and commercial manager and part of its Regulatory and External Affairs team. Before Sempra Infraestructura, she was a legislative advisor and account executive in energy matters at Guerra Castellanos & Asociados. Ms. Covarrubias holds a degree in International Relations from the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM) in Mexico City and is president of the Transport Committee at the Mexican Natural Gas Association.

Mr.  Crist  has  30+  years  of  experience  in  financial  services,  across  a  range  of  project  finance, private equity and mezzanine investing, including 18 years in the global energy business.  He is the Global Head of Equity for Infrastructure at the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.  In this role, he leads IFC’s strategy and execution for equity and mezzanine investing across the energy, transport, water, telecoms and mining sectors.  Lance chairs IFC’s investment committee responsible for execution and asset management for its $3 billion equity and mezzanine business in these sectors, which includes over 100 investees in 30+ countries,  ranging  from  early  stage  start-ups  to  private  equity-backed  platforms  and  listed companies.  In addition to working directly with management teams and shareholder partners, he has oversight for selection of IFC’s nominee directors on investee boards, and negotiation of investment exits.

Lance holds a Masters in Business Administration from The Wharton School, and a Bachelor of Arts  in  Government  from  Cornell  University.  He  also  completed  the  Executive  Development Program at Harvard Business School and board governance programs at IMD and the UK Institute of Directors.

Ricardo Hernandez Astigarraga is business development manager for Gunvor Group USA, one of the world’s largest independent commodities trading houses, creating logistics solutions for moving energy and bulk materials to where they are demanded most. Mr. Astigarraga’s career spans 20 years of global experience trading clean fuels and liquid natural gas. He has held various roles in energy activities such as gasoline blending, physical and financial hedging, cargo arbitrage, business origination, and book leader. In the last 12 years, Mr. Astigarraga held various positions at Chevron Corporation, focusing on business development in Latin America. His first position in the energy industry was with Pemex, the Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Mr. Astigarraga holds a degree in Economics from the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM) in Mexico City.