GlobalSource Partners’ Central America Analyst Fernando Naranjo is a premier authority on Costa Rica’s economy and politics. In a distinguished career reaching the highest levels of government, private sector and academic service, he has been a principal voice in the understanding of Costa Rica and its position in the region, as well as globally.

Based in San José, Dr. Naranjo is also President of Consejeros Economicos y Financieros, S.A. (CEFSA), a leading consulting firm devoted to the analysis of the Central American economies. He served the Costa Rican government as its Minister of Foreign Affairs under President José María Figueres and as Minister of Finance under President Óscar Arias. Prior to that, he was Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Costa Rica, and was also Executive President of the Costa Rican Social Security System.

In other service to his country and the region, Dr. Naranjo was an advisor to the Economic Cabinet of the Government of Nicaragua on Foreign Debt and was also the Chief Foreign Debt Negotiator of Costa Rica with the international commercial banks and the Paris Club. He has served as a consultant to the United Nations and to the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Dr. Naranjo was a full professor at the School of Economics, University of Costa Rica and a visiting professor at INCAE Business School in Costa Rica. He holds a B.A. in Economics and Social Sciences from the University of Costa Rica, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.