As an international telecom industry consulting executive, Dr. Raul Katz has provided direction to CEOs and other top management of major telecommunications, software and information services companies in the areas of business strategy, consumer/industrial marketing and general management approaches. He managed projects in the areas of demand forecasting, scenario planning, competitive analysis, market entry strategy, churn management and new product development. Dr. Katz conducted assignments in the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. In addition, Dr. Katz has worked extensively in the design of organizations, management processes and best practices of telecommunications enterprises.

In addition, Dr. Katz has worked with governments and international organizations in the development of regulatory frameworks and policies, National Broadband Plans and National Technology Strategies. In particular, he has supported the governments of Colombia, Costa Rica, and Brazil.

He is currently President of Telecom Advisory Services, a boutique firm that advises clients in the interrelated fields of strategy and regulation. He was previously CEO of Adventis, a telecommunications consulting company with offices in New York, Boston, London, Berlin and Shanghai. Before joining Adventis, he was a Lead Partner at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he was a member of the firm’s Leadership Team and Head of the US and Latin America telecommunication practices.

Dr. Katz received his Ph.D. in Management Science and Political Science and an M.S. in Communications Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition, he holds a Licence in History and a Maîtrise in Political Science from the University of Paris-Sorbonne, as well as a Licence and a Maîtrise (with honors) in Communication Sciences from the University of Paris.

He is a Director of Business Strategy Research at Columbia University’s Center for Tele-Information, an Adjunct Professor in Columbia Business Scholl Division of Finance and Economics, and a Visiting Professor at the Universidad de San Andres in Argentina. He currently teaches courses on Competitive Strategy for High Technology Companies, and Consulting in the Telecommunications and Media Industries.

Dr. Katz has published articles in journals such as Telecommunications Policy, Telephony, Strategy and Business, Communications and Strategies, Interconomics, America’s Network and The Information Society. His book The Information Society: an International Perspective, focusing on the deregulation trends in the worldwide telecommunications industry was published in 1988. His book Creative Destruction: Business Survival Strategies in the Global Internet Economy, addressing recent discontinuities in the telecommunications industry, was published in 2000, and translated into Japanese. His book The Role of ICT in Development was published in 2010.

He is fluent in English, French and Spanish. He currently lives in New York and has lived in France, in addition to his native country of Argentina.

Ms. Duarte is a project manager with Telecom Advisory Services LLC. With over fourteen years experience in the telecommunications industry, she has led joint client teams in projects strategies for major telecommunications companies and regulatory agencies regarding business plan development, privatization restructuring, regulatory framework definition, and Internet. She has worked for clients in the United States, Spain, Switzerland, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela, and Indonesia.

Her project experience includes:

• Evaluation of the impact of functional separation on a European carrier NGAN business plan
• Development of a business plan for a CLEC offering local, long distance and internet services in the most important cities of Mexico
• Managed the development of several initiatives for a mobile operator in Indonesia. She was responsible for the implementation of a new product development process, the strategy definition for the corporate market, the design of a web channel for the distribution of pre-paid calling cards, and the design and implementation of a Balance Scorecard
• Strategy definition for an operator in Mexico that offers voice, data and internet services. The assignment included market analysis, financial projections, competitive assessment and capabilities analysis. In addition, the project supported the operator in a complete transformation process, including business process definition, and design of a new organization structure
• Due Diligence of business plans regarding the approval of several financing facilities:
  • Wireless operator in Mexico planning to expand its network to other 13 cities
  • A new wireless operator in Mexico (validation of their 10 year forecast and assumptions)
  • A data company planning to enter Central America and Mexico
  • A long distance operator in Mexico requiring additional financing
• Development of a five year business plan for a US CLEC planning to offer services in Mexico and the Andean Region
• Development of the Universal Service plan for the Colombia Minister of Communications
• Responsible for the definition of a rural telecommunications program whose main objective is to deliver basic telephone services in underdeveloped areas of Colombia with the participation of the private sector
• Participated in the privatization of a local telephone company. She was responsible for evaluating the regulatory impact on the value of the company
• Development of a Business Plan for a Mexican and a US telecommunications company planning to enter the long distance market in Mexico
• Participated in the reorganization of a cellular company in Chile to compete with the new PCS operators. Additionally, she collaborated in the development of a program of client loyalty
• Participated in the team that supported the government in the liberalization of the long distance industry in Colombia. Ms. Duarte was responsible for the valuation of the sector and the privatization impact on the dominant carrier and local telephone companies. She also worked in the international promotion of the sector and in the definition of additional regulatory tools that facilitates competition
• For the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission in Colombia she participated in a project aimed at defining the regulatory framework guiding local service competition

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Duarte was a Senior Associate with Booz Allen & Hamilton, and designed electronic systems for the Universidad de Los Andes, in the Electrical Engineering research group and for SISTECOM, a Colombian electronics company.

Ms. Duarte received an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia, and graduated with Master of Science in Operations Research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also completed her MBA at Harvard Business School. She speaks English and Spanish fluently.

Fernando M. Callorda is a Project Manager with Telecom Advisory Services, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. With a background in econometrics, Mr. Callorda has participated in several economic impact studies, such as: Assessement of the economic impact of taxation of broadband services in the United States: this study applied different econometric techniques to the quantification of the effect of sales and property taxes on the capital investment of telecommunications and cable TV operators

Estimation of economic impact of broadband in Arab States: as part of research published by the International Telecommunication Union, this study quantified the contribution of broadband technology to economic growth of countries in the Middle East and North Africa region

Evaluation of social and economic impact of the National Broadband Plan (Vive Digital) in Colombia: conducted for the Colombian government, this study evaluated the effect of fixed broadband on economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction

Prior to joining Telecom Advisory Services, Mr. Callorda was a staff member in Argentina’s Congress, a project manager for DIRSI, a telecommunications research think tank in Latin America, and an auditor at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

Mr. Callorda is an Assistant Professor in the Economics Department at the Universidad de San Andrés (Argentina), where he teaches Econometrics and Financial Analysis. He is also affiliated with the “Centro de Tecnología y Sociedad” at the same university.

Fernando Callorda received his BA and MA in Economics from the Universidad de San Andrés. He has published and presented several studies in macroeconomics, political economy and income distribution at conferences of the Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.

Dr. Jung is a Senior Economist specialized in the telecommunications and digital industries. His experience spans economic impact and regulatory assessment in the telecommunications sector. Before joining Telecom Advisory Services, Juan was Director of the Center of Telecommunication Studies of Latin America (cet.la) and Director of Public Policy at the Inter-American Association of Telecommunications Enterprises (ASIET).

He received his PhD and MA in economics from the University of Barcelona and holds an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of the Republic in Uruguay.

Dr. Jung is a professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, where he teaches courses in microeconomics and macroeconomics. He has published articles in several academic journals including Telecommunications Policy, Information Economics and Policy, Journal of Regulatory Economics and Journal of Regional Science.

He is fluent in English and Spanish. He currently lives in Madrid, Spain, where he moved after living in his native country of Uruguay

Taylor Berry is a consultant with Telecom Advisory Services, based in New York. With a background in communications, Ms. Berry conducts research in global telecommunications and internet industry trends. Paying particular attention to leading firms and technology developments that impact future business strategy, she drafts reports and presentations for clients analyzing firms’ financial performance, and regional technology penetration and development.

Prior to joining Telecom Advisory Services, Ms. Berry was a visitng scholar at Columbia Business School’s Institute for Tele-Information (CITI), conducting research on the impact of mobile telephony in addressing the unemployment crisis in South Africa. In addition, she worked in private wealth management and at an organization that provides legal support in low-income neighborhoods, both in Washington, D.C.

Taylor Berry graduated cum laude from Wake Forest University with a B.A. in Sociology and Spanish. She also holds an honors certification in International Business Diplomacy from the School of Foreign Services and an M.A. in Communication Technology from Georgetown University. Prior to attending Georgetown, Ms. Berry received a certification in International Trade and Development at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

She has received invitations to present her work surrounding online activism and Internet penetration as well as on the cultural costs of offshoring at international conferences in the United States and abroad. She has also published studies on the economic impact of Internet surveillance and censorship.

Dr. Samuels is recognized as a global expert in international finance with over thirty years’ experience. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Global Clearinghouse for Development Finance (GlobalDF), a non-profit initiative devising innovative technical approaches to mobilize the private sector for development.

Recent assignments include: senior advisor developing the business plan for the Africa Co-Guarantee Platform and the Africa Infrastructure Guarantee Mechanism (AIGM), team leader for Covenant of Mayors Sub-Sahara Africa designing financing roadmaps for climate action projects (supported by GIZ), technical advisor on infrastructure and derisking strategies for the Program of Infrastructure Development in Africa (African Union Development Agency – AUDA NEPAD); development of toolkits for job creation (AUDA-NEPAD) and city creditworthiness (World Bank); the design and implementation of the UN Capital Development Fund’s Local Finance Initiative (pilots in Tanzania and Uganda); directing the African Development Bank’s report and workshops on Africa risk mitigation needs and solutions; and directing the World Economic Forum’s two-year program on harnessing Development Finance Institutions in mobilizing the private sector for development.

Prior positions include Chase Manhattan Bank’s Director of Country Assessment, where she was responsible for managing US$50 billion of country risk exposure worldwide; Managing Director of Moody’s Emerging Markets Service; and advisor to major investors (over US$ 2 billion in transactions).

Dr. Samuels has a Ph.D. in Management and Political Science from MIT, an M.B.A. from the Sloan School of Management, and an M.S. in Political Science from MIT. She has authored many publications on development finance for leading organizations such as the United Nations, World Economic Forum, GIZ, Agence Française de Développement, Foreign Affairs, Princeton Press, Reuters Project Finance International, Africainvestor, etc.).

Ramiro Valencia is a consultant with Telecom Advisory Services, based in Quito, Ecuador, specialized in economics of telecommunications regulation.

Prior to joining Telecom Advisory Services, Mr. Valencia had a twelve year career in telecommunications regulation and policy making in Ecuador. In his last assignment, he was Director of Telecommunications Policy at the Ministry of Telecommunications of Ecuador, focusing on the implementation of policies aimed at promoting investment and restructuring of the Universal Service Plan. Before joining the Ministry of Telecommunications, Mr. Valencia was Director of Telecommunications Planning and Director of Statistical Analysis of the telecommunications market at the Telecommunications Regulatory and Control Agency (ARCOTEL). Prior to his work in telecommunications regulation, Mr. Valencia worked as an engineering project manager with Firmesa Industrial and Red Microtel, among other firms.

Mr. Valencia graduated cum laude with a degree in electrical and telecommunications engineering and holds a Certificate in Automation and Industrial Controls from the National Polytechnic School (Escuela Politécnica Nacional) of Ecuador. He also holds an MA in Development Economics from FLACSO (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales). He has published research on the impact of telecommunications in poverty reduction and the role of community networks in bridging the digital divide.

Mr. Matias Nigro is a research analyst based in Buenos Aires. He is in charge of compiling information on ICT development indicators around the world and is responsible for Social Network and Website Administrator. He holds a BA in Social Communication from UNLAM (Argentina) and MA in Administration from UM (Argentina).