Ferdinand Herrera Consultants (FHC)
Who we are
Ferdinand Herrera Consultants (FHC), is a government relations, public policy and strategy consulting firm located in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with clients based in Latin America and the United States.
What we do
Our mission is to help our clients achieve their business objectives in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean through our governmental and institutional relations services. We develop strategies to continuously obtain timely information, which can be used to make concrete decisions that target specific results. Through our active and collaborative participation in the development of public policies that are aligned to our clients’ goals, we offer comprehensive support to ensure a stable, predictable business environment that allows for sustainable growth over time. We regularly analyze the political landscape and any changes to the state of play to advise our clients accordingly.
In our role as a liaison between the companies that we represent and the public sector, we seek to translate our clients’ needs into legally, politically and socially viable proposals and initiatives.
Why we do it
To promote a sound regulatory and public policy environment in which business can thrive, creating win-win scenarios that contribute to the country’s sustainable economic growth, while effectively communicating our clients’ perspectives to the government.
Carlos l. Ferdinand
- President
- carlos@ferdinandherrera.com
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
With clients in areas such as construction, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), medical devices, port services and logistics, technology and sharing economy, telecommunications, tourism and real estate, and transportation, he has a timely perspective and a strong grasp on emerging policy trends and political developments. Mr. Ferdinand has established a record of success anticipating issues that have the potential to impact the firm’s clients, and in leading effective campaigns to align legislation and policy initiatives to his client’s objectives in complex political and economic environments.
Prior to founding Ferdinand Herrera Consultants, Mr. Ferdinand began his career as an attorney, working at Squire Patton Boggs and Hogan Lovells in their respective international transactional groups, focusing on mergers & acquisitions, and playing an instrumental role in the successful closing of multiple transactions in Latin America and the United States in sectors as varied as the retail, renewable energy and the airport services sector. He subsequently joined a Fortune 100 company, where he served as the Corporate Affairs Director for the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean, engaging stakeholders, influencers and decision-makers to address issues of local and regional relevance. His success in this region led Mr. Ferdinand to a position in the Company’s global headquarters, managing a cross-section of corporate affairs and corporate social responsibility campaigns.
He graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in economics and international relations. He also holds a law degree, cum laude, from the American University, Washington College of Law.
Mr. Ferdinand currently participates and is a member of the main business associations in the country and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Santo Domingo.
Paulette Ricart Objío
- Managing Director
- paulette@ferdinandherrera.com
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Her functions at Ferdinand Herrera Consultores consist of developing and executing the company’s business strategies, providing strategic advice for its growth, and preparing and implementing comprehensive plans to facilitate the achievement of its objectives.
She also focuses on communicating and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders, business partners and authorities in order to continue collaborating with the vision of the office.
Having graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra Law School, Ms. Ricart later obtained a master’s degree in Diplomacy and Consular Service from the Institute of Higher Education in Diplomatic and Consular Training “Dr. Eduardo Latorre Rodríguez”, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2020, she also obtained a master’s degree in Advanced Political Communications from the University of Lleida and Next Business School, in Spain.
Ms. Ricart is a certified legal interpreter (English language) accredited by the Council of Judicial Power of the Dominican Republic. She was a member of the drafting committee of the Journal of Legal Sciences of the PUCMM; participated in the Visiting Leaders program in Washington, D.C. with the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in the United States.
Since 2014, she has served as the Executive Director and Secretary of the Board of Directors of “Best Buddies Dominican Republic” (BBRD), an international non-profit organization that seeks social and labor inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. She is also an active member of the National Association of Young Entrepreneurs (ANJE).
At the same time, she is the leader of the digital economy commission of AmCham’s CTI Committee and President of the Dominican-Belgian Chamber of Industry, Commerce and Tourism (BelChamDR).
Alfie Abad Betances
- Government Relations Executive
- alfie@ferdinandherrera.com
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Mr. Betances also tracks Congressional activity and emerging Executive Branch policy initiatives relevant to the firm’s clients, as well as participating in business association working groups to provide insights on relevant government initiatives
Prior to joining FHC, Mr. Abad worked in both public and private sectors in various analytical roles, having collaborated in the analysis of specific social welfare programs and working in various business intelligence roles. In the public sector, he was focused on the causal identification of atypical behaviors with the use of data visualization programs to improve decision-making in companies in the private sector.
Mr. Abad graduated summa cum laude from the Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo, with a bachelor´s degree in economics. Subsequently, Mr. Abad is completing a master’s degree in Public Policy Analysis, from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. Additionally, he has further coursework in Data Science and Quantitative Economics.
John Ogando
- Legislative and Political Analyst
- john@ferdinandherrera.com
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
In addition, he collaborates with the generation of strategies and mapping of key actors for the effective channeling of the initiatives of the office’s clients.
John Ogando graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Political Science from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) and holds a professional certification in Public Management for Development from the Inter-American Institute for Economic and Social Development (INDES) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). At the university, he was a student delegate to the university co-government bodies of the School of Political Science and the Faculty of Law and Political Science.
He is currently the National Coordinator of Students for Liberty, Dominican Republic chapter, and is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Political Science and Electoral Administration and a Master’s Degree in Analytics and Data Science at the Instituto Tecnológico de las Américas (ITLA).
Ivanna Ramírez Martínez
- Legislative and Political Analyst
- ivanna@ferdinandherrera.com
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Prior to joining Ferdinand Herrera Consultores, Ms. Ramirez conducted legal research on regulations and jurisprudence applicable to assisted judicial processes while working in the public sector. In the private sector, she prepared legal documentation for various state institutions in accordance with client interests and requirements.
Ms. Ramirez holds a Law Degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra – Santo Tomás de Aquino; and a Master’s Degree in Administrative Law and Economic Regulation from the same institution.
Mayra Bacha de Reyes
- Office Manager
- mayra@ferdinandherrera.com
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Ms. Bacha oversees the overall coordination of the office, to address and manage all administrative matters.
Mrs. Bacha prepares documents, performs translations, coordinates the office’s meeting calendars, and schedules business meetings, interviews, appointments, corporate events, and other related activities. She also supervises the billing and accounting department.
Ms. Bacha graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), Santiago campus, as a Bilingual Executive Secretary in 1980, with Outstanding Qualifications.
She served as a teacher in secretarial studies at PUCMM for several years, teaching Typing and Shorthand in Spanish and English, in the four (4) levels offered in that career.
An experienced Office Manager, Ms. Bacha has provided administrative support at companies in the banking sector, as well as to multinational corporations for more than 30 years, both in Santiago and Santo Domingo.
Leticia Lemoine Batista
- Administrative Assistant
- leticia@ferdinandherrera.com
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
As a result of her skills, she has also been assigned to collaborate in the execution of legislative and regulatory monitoring, following up on the activity of Congress and the emergence of policy initiatives of the Executive Branch that may be relevant to the firm’s clients, making a monthly report for each client.
Prior to joining FHC, Ms. Lemoine worked in the public and private sectors, having collaborated in the public sector in the preparation of reports on projects in the energy sector and coordinating with the various areas involved in them. In the private sector, she worked as manager of a team focused on customer service, with emphasis on achieving goals and optimizing productivity.