Introduction

Jorge Quintanilla Nielsen started the independent asset management firm Capital SAFI in 2007. Now a leader in Bolivia’s closed-end funds industry, with a total of $430 million in assets under management, Quintanilla planned to expand into other countries, like Peru and Colombia. He knew that governance would be one of the main aspects potential partners would evaluate.

Capital SAFI’s board had evolved over time with the establishment of a governance committee, an assessment process for the board, professional development offerings for board members, tools to manage governance risk, and succession plans for board members and company executives. Would local and foreign investors be impressed by those measures or were additional improvements needed?

Harvard Business School professor V. G. Narayanan discusses the importance of corporate governance in his case, “Building the Governance to Take Capital SAFI to the Next Level.”