Join us to hear from Baker McKenzie, RSM US, and Barnes & Thornburg on what topics are hot today and what you need to prepare for going forward. The session will be introduced by Ambassador Reyna Torres, Consul General of Mexico here in Chicago.

Panelists

About the Panelists

Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil

Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil took office as Consul General of Mexico in Chicago on July 14, 2019.

During her diplomatic career she has held various positions in the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including General Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Deputy General Director for International Policy on Human Rights, and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Foreign Relations. She was posted as Deputy Chief of Mission in the Mexican Embassy in the Czech Republic, and as political liaison in the Embassy of Mexico in the United States. Ambassador Torres also served as General Director for Protection of Mexicans Abroad, and before her current position in Chicago, was Consul General in San Antonio, Texas.

Ambassador Torres Mendivil was a resident Fellow at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and participated in the Hemispheric Security Program at the Inter-American Defense College in Washington, DC. She graduated from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM) and holds a Masters degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

Edgar Lopezlena

Edgar Lopezlena is based out of RSM US’s Schaumburg, IL, office. He leads RSM’s Mexican Tax Practice, which specializes in assisting clients in addressing the tax implications of doing business or working in Mexico. He also specializes in helping Mexican companies navigate through the intricacies of doing business in the US, analyzing tax and business ramifications on both sides of the border. Edgar is also the National Leader of RSM US’s Mexico Country Desk, which focuses on providing a seamless service experience for internationally active companies that have a footprint in Mexico, as well as those Mexican companies contemplating expanding their international footprint into the US.

Before joining RSM in December 2005, Edgar, a native of Mexico City, practiced in Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico, with two other international accounting and consulting firms. He has more than 20 years of experience providing tax structuring and planning services for companies (mainly from the US and the European Union) that have any type of economic activity in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Edgar is fluent in both Spanish and English and is equipped to identify the potential tax risks and tax-saving opportunities that present themselves when doing business to and from the US and Mexico.

Mayra Pena

Mayra Pena is a member of RSM US’s International Tax team in the Chicago office, where she supports the Mexico Country Desk helping clients expand business ventures into Mexico and Latin America. Mayra assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, reviewing legal entity structures and completing tax due diligence procedures to determine tax inefficiencies and recommending legal entity optimization strategies. In the context of expansion, she works with local legal and tax counsel to implement tax-efficient structures to manage the overall tax implications of global business ventures.

Prior to joining RSMUS in February 2022, Mayra was an International Tax Senior Manager at Baker Tilly in Chicago. Most of her experience has been focused on middle market clients primarily in the consumer goods and technology industries. Particularly in recent years, Mayra has spent a lot of her time advising clients on structuring alternatives and assisting with implementation of new structures and procedures as businesses grow and expand into new markets.

Ana Baca

Ana brings a decade of experience in Mexico and in the U.S. working on global and domestic transactional matters to help clients expand and manage their global operations. Ana leverages her knowledge and skill, including being bilingual, to assist clients in a variety of industries, including freight, logistics, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, software, music, and telecommunications. Ana came to the U.S. because she realized the potential of improved trade and business relations between U.S. and Latin America and wanted to work with clients on win-win business opportunities.

Ana’s experience focuses on acquisitions (including due diligence), joint ventures, mergers, spinoffs, and various corporate reorganizations. Ana also advises on a wide variety of commercial contracts. Ana takes pride in working to achieve the best, most beneficial results for her clients. She looks beyond the obvious issues and concerns her clients are facing, to think creatively and strategically and work diligently toward a resolution.

Ana received her Mexican law degree from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey and U.S. law degree from DePaul University College of Law. She also holds a Master of Law and Certificate of Business of Administration from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and Kellogg School of Management.

Roberto Cantú-Dessommes

Roberto Cantú-Dessommes joined Baker McKenzie in 2011 and is currently an associate in the firm’s Real Estate and Infrastructure Practice Group. His background includes work for a law firm in San Diego, California, and work as in-house counsel for a transnational company in Monterrey, Mexico. He is seasoned in general corporate law and has knowledge of foreign investment regulations as well as real estate law.

Mr. Cantú-Dessommes provides legal assistance in real estate transactions, including leasing, purchase and sale, construction, donation, and trust agreements. He has also provided legal assistance related to real estate due diligence matters, agrarian law, and national waters law.

Joel Virgen

Joel Virgen is a seasoned research economist with over a 20-year career in the financial sector and has extensive experience at the global, regional, and country levels. He specializes in macroeconomics, trading economics, economic policy, and political analysis and is also very experienced in the financial sector and academia. In the US, Joel worked as the Mexico Chief Economist for BNP Paribas (2017- 2020) and, most recently, as the Head of Latam Research and Strategy at TD Securities.

He has also built a strong professional profile while working for the Economic Research Division at Citibanamex (CitiGroup Global Markets) in Mexico City during the period 2005-2017. In each instance, Dr. Virgen has played a leading role in terms of client interactions, media coverage, and contributions to periodical columns for specialized media. He has received recognition for his teaching excellence in both Mexico and the UK. He is currently a Professor of Professional Practice of Trading Economics at Riskmathics Financial Institute. Previously, he worked as an Associate Professor of International Economics, Financial Econometrics, and Macroeconometrics at the prestigious Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM). Additionally, he was an awarded teaching fellow in experimental economics and microeconomics at the University of York (UK).

Joel Virgen holds a PhD in Economics from the University of York (England) and a Master's in Econometrics and Economics from the same university. He also has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM). His opinions can be followed every week in El Financiero newspaper in Mexico, where he has contributed for over a decade with a weekly column, and every month in Forbes Mexico magazine.