Francisco Uriarte

Skilled financial, strategy, marketing, operations and mergers & acquisition professional with keen intuition, analytical skills, diversified experience, an established industry network and results oriented.
Francisco J. Uriarte has practiced in several business arenas and has 19 years of combined experience in the areas of Corporate and Entrepreneurial Finance, Strategy, Marketing, Operations and Mergers & Acquisitions. He's been directly involved in over twenty transactions with accumulated value over $150MM and has been involved, as a Principal, in two entrepreneurial activities which subsequently have been sold, and as a Partner or Advisor in many more.

Employer:	ESP Group
Position:	Principal
Time period:	June 2006 - Present
Description:	Francisco is Principal of ESP Group, a business and advisory services firm in Puerto Rico since June of 2006. His clients include companies in the recycling, venture capital, financial services, entrepreneurial development, advertising services, behavioral health services, food manufacturing, physical security, software, amusement parks, remote monitoring services and real estate, commercial financing, among others.

Employer:	Supermercados Máximo, Inc.
Position:	Co-founder
Time period:	January 2002 - December 2006
Description:	In 2002, he co-founded together with a group of local investors, and served as President and CEO, Supermercados Máximo, Inc. until he sold his participation in May 2006. Supermercados Máximo, Inc. is a local start-up that acquired the assets of six supermarket stores that Wal-Mart was forced to divest from the Wal-Mart/Amigo merger. While at SuperMax, Francisco supervised all aspects of the operation, including sourcing providers for private label products, a staff of eight and a total of 510 employees divided among six retail outlets and the corporate office/warehouse. At his departure, SuperMax was profitable and ranked 9th in the locally owned supermarket chain list in Puerto Rico.

Employer:	Qualitas
Position:	Co-founder
Time period:	January 2002 - December 2002
Description:	Also in 2002, he co-founded Qualitas, Inc., a local real estate holding and management company.

Employer:	Prolac, Inc.
Position:	Co-founder
Time period:	January 1998 - December 2002
Description:	Also in 1998, he cofounded Prolac, Inc., a local dairy processor that sold a family of white cheese products to the local food retail trade and together with his wife, grew sales fivefold and sold the business in 2002.

Employer:	Grupo Guayacán
Position:	Executive Director
Time period:	January 1998 - December 1998
Description:	In 1998, he was named Executive Director of Grupo Guayacán, where he structured, raised and oversaw two geographically diversified private equity fund of funds that invested in United States and international venture partnerships, while familiarizing local institutional investors with the private equity asset class.

Employer:	Puerto Rico Tourism Development Fund
Position:	Executive Director
Time period:	January 1996 - December 1997
Description:	In 1996, he was named Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Development Fund, where he supervised a $50 million credit enhancement fund aimed at the development of new tourism-related properties in Puerto Rico.

Employer:	Office of the Caribbean Basin Initiative
Position:	Head
Time period:	January 1995 - December 1996
Description:	In 1995 he came to Puerto Rico to head the Office of the Caribbean Basin Initiative until 1996.

Employer:	Puerto Rico Government Commercial Office
Position:	Head
Time period:	January 1994 - December 1995
Description:	In 1994, he opened and headed the Puerto Rico Government Commercial Office in Mexico until 1995

Employer:	Anclo Norte, S.A.
Position:	Plant Manager
Time period:	January 1993 - December 1994
Description:	From 1993 through 1994, he was Plant Manager at Anclo Norte, S.A., a Mexican construction supplies manufacturer.

Employer:	Eli Lilly Industries, Inc.
Position:	Engineer
Time period:	January 1990 - December 1992
Description:	Francisco started his career in 1990 as an engineer at Eli Lilly Industries, Inc., a United States pharmaceutical corporation.

University:	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Degree:	Executive program in Entrepreneurial Development

University:	Northwestern University
Degree:	Executive Program in Equity Valuation and Credit Analysis

University:	University System of Georgia - Georgia Institute of Technology
Degree:	Bachelor Degree in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Finance

University:	Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico
Degree:	Masters Degree in Finance

Memberships:

Francisco serves in the Boards of Qualitas, Inc., UB Holdings, Inc., Aireko Construction—one of the largest general contractors in Puerto Rico, the Center for the New Economy, a private, non-profit, non-partisan public policy organization dedicated to developing and promoting policies of Economic Growth for Puerto Rico, Resolve Holding Corp.—the only local medical professional liability insurance carrier, Comprehensive Care of Puerto Rico—a behavioral health management company and RD Medical Manufacturing, Inc.—a medical device contract manufacturer and Chairs the Boards of EnterPrize, Inc., Grupo Guayacán, Inc.—private nonprofit entities dedicated to entrepreneurial development in Puerto Rico, and the Board of Asociación de Residentes de Torrimar, Inc. Francisco is a member of the Young Presidents Organization, Puerto Rico Chapter.