Saba's founders and principals are made up of leading entrepreneurs in the cross-border region.
Alan Abbott
President and Founder of Lynwood Garden Investments
Since 2009, Mr. Abbott has served as a special limited partner at Cottonwood Technology Fund, a venture capital firm investing in early stage technology companies in the Southwest U.S. and Europe. Mr. Abbott also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of El Paso Children’s Hospital and a member of the Board of Directors (and past Chairman of Investment, Audit and Finance Committees) for Paso del Norte Health Foundation, a private non-profit health foundation providing leadership and funding for preventative health programs. He is the President and Founder of Lynwood Garden Investments, a multi-family housing management and ownership organization, in which position he has served for more than 43 years. Mr. Abbott previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of Paso del Norte Foundation, a public charity focused on improving the quality of life in the region through healthy living. He is the past Chairman at Sunland Optical Company, a national wholesale and retail optical company, in which position he served for more than 44 years. Mr. Abbott is a board member of The Medical Center of The Americas. He also served as an advisory Director for State National Bank (now known as BBVA Compass) from 1999-2010. He was a Director and shareholder at Montwood National Bank and Valley Bank of El Paso from 1982 to 1999, including serving on the executive board and the loan, audit, and investments committees. Mr. Abbott has served on various other boards and in leadership positions for community and non-profit organizations during his career. He is a CPA and an American Board Certified Optician. Mr. Abbott is a graduate of Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts and the University of Texas at El Paso with a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.
Estuardo Alvelais
Transtelco Director since 2009
Age 33. Estuardo is a graduate of Tufts University and holds a BA in Economics. He began in the financial services industry at a multiple family office on the East Coast from 2005 to 2007. Upon returning to the US-Mexico border in 2007, Estuardo has been involved in closely-held private and public companies doing business on both sides of the border in the bottling, marketing, glass-manufacturing, real estate and telecom industries. In 2011 he joined the board of recently merged Arca Continental, Latin America’s second largest Coca Cola bottling operation. He currently also sits on the boards of several other companies including Novamex, a company that markets leading Latin-American food and beverage brands for national distribution in the US.
Alvaro Ivan Bustillos
CEO of Vaquero Trading, LLC
is the CEO of Vaquero Trading, LLC, one of the top providers of Mexican Cattle to farmers, ranchers and feedlots in the United States. Alvaro holds a BBA in Economics from the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. Has completed two Executive Management courses at Instituto Panamericano de Alta Dirección de Empresas (IPADE), and the Owners President Management (OPM) and Harvard Business School. Alvaro is now an Active Member of TCFA (Texas Cattle Feeders Association, USA) and an Active Member of UGRCH (Union Ganadera Regional de Chihuahua, MX).
Edward Escudero
President and CEO of Sierra Finance
is President and CEO of Sierra Finance, a finance company that specializes in providing various types of capital alternatives to small companies. Escudero received his B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Texas at El Paso. Ed is also the Executive Vice-President and CFO of C&R Distributing. Serves on several boards including Texas State Securities Board, YWCA Foundation of El Paso, El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and University of Texas at El Paso (Internal Audit Committee). Escudero is also a member of several associations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the El Paso Chapter of the TSCPA. Prior to his current positions, Escudero was the Secretary and CFO of Petro Stopping Centers, L.P. In 2007, Escudero was instrumental in assembling the sale of Petro for over $700 million.
Miguel Fernandez
CEO of Transtelco
serves as CEO of Transtelco, a telecommunications carrier he co-founded in 2001. The company is one of a small number of telecommunications service providers that cover both the U.S. and Mexico, providing voice and data services to Fortune 1000 companies, Telecommunications and Cable companies over a fiber optic network that spans 10,000KM between both countries. In this position Mr. Fernandez is responsible for the execution and implementation of the strategic goals and objectives of the organization, including overall budgets and mergers and acquisitions.
He graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1998 with bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance.
Rodrigo Fernandez
CFO of Transtelco
is responsible for overseeing Transtelco’s financial management, reporting and controls and administration. He has been with the Company since Day 1, overseeing all regulatory and compliance commitments relating to the Mexican Government concession as well as raising capital to execute on the Company’s growth strategy. Member of the El Paso del Norte Group – an El Paso based organization of businessmen. Graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a B.A. in Finance and Business Administration. Managed a multimillion dollar cross-border acquisition in 2013 and ensured all synergies were completed within a six month turn around.
Ricardo Mora
CEO and Founder and Technology Hub Juárez
a serial entrepreneur, is CEO and founder of RM International, a diversified services company with subsidiaries in telecommunications, cellular, and food service industries.
Ricardo is the founder of Technology Hub Juárez (T-Hub), which is the first of its kind bi-national tech transfer incubator in Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua, México. Born in El Paso, Texas and raised in Cd. Juárez, Ricardo holds a BBA from the University of Phoenix, received the “Building High Performance Business” recognition by the Dartmouth Tuck School of Business (2007). Serves on the Board of the Instituto Promotor de Educación Chihuahua, Hub of Human Innovation, Fundación Paso del Norte para el Bienestar y la Salud, Fundación Axcel and Borderplex Alliance A.C.
K. Alan Russell
President and C.E.O. of the Tecma Group of Companies.
The Tecma Group of Companies provides manufacturing support and consulting services throughout Mexico for foreign manufacturing and energy services companies across the world. Alan co-founded The Tecma Group in 1986 and serves as President and CEO. Over the past 30 years, Alan has grown the company to more than 5,500 employees, over 50 Clients with more than 2.5 million square feet of manufacturing space in Mexico. Alan and his wife Patty financially support several education programs, and have co-founded a number of non-profit organizations dealing with border health issues. Alan is a member of the Texas Lt. Governor Advisory Board. Additionally, Alan continues to serve on the board of directors for several organizations.
In recognition of his leadership in promoting aviation through education, Alan was inducted into the El Paso Aviation Hall of Fame. Alan also accepted, for the second straight year, awards from Mexican entities on behalf of his company for the leadership in environmental achievements as well as the coveted “Great Place to Work” recognition. Additionally, he was honored as their Distinguished Alumni for his Alma Mater, Southeastern Oklahoma University.