Ruth de Krivoy

Ruth de Krivoy is the founder and Non-Executive Chair of Síntesis Financiera Caracas, C.A., a Caracas-based consulting firm established in 1984, focused on Venezuela country risk, politics and policy, and the financial sector.

Ruth is a founding member of GlobalSource Partners, a global network of independent emerging market economists. She serves on the company’s advisory board and is its local partner in Venezuela.

She is also an honorary member of the Venezuelan Academy of Economic Science.

As President of the Central Bank of Venezuela during the early 1990s – the first woman appointed to this position in Venezuela – she was instrumental in establishing the central bank’s independence. Her direction of monetary policy fostered confidence and stability in the midst of political and financial turbulence and a severe banking crisis. In previous years, she had served as head of economic studies and advisor to the President of the Central Bank.

Prior to her tenure at the helm of the Central Bank, Ruth participated in Venezuelan government committees on foreign debt restructuring in the mid-1980s, state reform, and fiscal sector reform. She also chaired the Venezuelan Presidential Commission on Industrial Competitiveness in 1991.

She has advised multilateral and regional financial institutions: International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Interamerican Development Bank, Andean Development Fund, and Financial Stability Institute. In her various capacities, she worked with the governments of Brazil, China, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, and Panama, on financial sector reform, crisis management, and contingency planning.

She held leading positions in Venezuelan banks. She also served on the board of directors of C.A. Nacional Teléfonos de Venezuela (Verizon’s operation in Venezuela), where she headed the audit committee and was instrumental in ensuring Sarbanes-Oxley compliance by the Venezuelan subsidiary.

She was Vice-Chair of the Toronto International Leadership Center for Financial Supervision and Chair of the Center’s Bank Advisory Board. Her passion is supervisory leadership, implementation and enforcement of sound financial regulation and supervision, and financial crisis prevention and management.

Ruth holds a degree in economics from Universidad Central de Venezuela, where she was the first woman to graduate Summa Cum Laude. She served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Monetary Theory at her alma mater and has written many papers and articles on monetary, financial and regulatory topics, as well as the book Collapse: The Venezuelan Banking Crisis of 1994, published by The Group of Thirty, Washington, D.C. The Spanish edition of the book was co-sponsored by The Group of Thirty, The Development Bank of Latin America and the Institute for Superior Management Studies (IESA).

Ruth’s firsthand experience in running large and complex organizations, her decision-making skills, and her deep understanding of the interaction between politics and policy in Venezuela, help clients manage economic, financial, and regulatory challenges in the Venezuelan market. Clients include major international oil companies, global financial institutions, asset managers, buy side firms, and family offices, as well as multinationals and Venezuelan corporations operating in Venezuela in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, personal care, agribusiness, and retail.

Her career has been characterized by her expertise, leadership, and dedication across multiple domains, making her a highly influential figure in economics, finance, and policy in Venezuela and beyond. Her ability to understand complex challenges, make informed decisions, manage risk and anticipate trends has been a guiding light for professionals and organizations alike. Her multifaceted career has given her a deep appreciation for the need to adapt and evolve in response to changing circumstances, an invaluable skill in today’s fast-paced and dynamic business environment.

Her legacy is one of wisdom, resilience, and a relentless commitment to excellence.