Events

Jonathan Fried is a Senior Advisor at DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group, a founding member of DGA Group, and is based in Ottawa. He draws on a long career in government service, diplomacy and multilateral trade policy to help clients anticipate risk, make business decisions and navigate trade landscapes in international markets, with particular expertise in Canada. Mr. Fried joined DGA-ASG after a long and distinguished career of public service in Canada. He was most recently Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s personal representative for the G20. Previously, he served as Canada’s Ambassador to the World Trade Organization, where he played a key part in multilateral trade negotiations, serving as Chair of the WTO’s General Council in 2014. Mr. Fried was also Canada’s Ambassador to Japan and the Executive Director for the Canadian, Irish and Caribbean constituency at the International Monetary Fund. Earlier in his career, he served as Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Paul Martin in Canada’s Privy Council Office and as Associate Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Among numerous other foreign affairs and trade roles across the Canadian government, Mr. Fried was Canada’s G7 and G20 finance deputy, Assistant Deputy Minister for Trade, Economic, and Environmental Policy, Director General for Trade Policy, and Chief Counsel for NAFTA. He also led negotiations for China’s WTO accession.

Justin McCarthy is a Partner at DGA Group Government Relations and is based in the Washington, DC office. With a distinguished career spanning public service and the private sector, Mr. McCarthy brings a wealth of expertise in trade, tax and health policy to advise clients dealing with complex, high-stakes issues. He is based in Washington, D.C. Most recently, Mr. McCarthy served as a Senior Advisor at Akin in Washington, D.C. He also has a background in the private sector, having served as Director of Government Relations at Pfizer Inc., where he managed healthcare, intellectual property, international trade and tax issues. Prior to joining Akin, Mr. McCarthy served as Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs during the George W. Bush administration, acting as a principal liaison and advocate of the President to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. In that role, he had primary responsibility for developing, coordinating and executing White House strategy on priority issues. While at the White House, Mr. McCarthy led efforts on the free trade agreements with Colombia, Korea and Panama, as well as on Trade Adjustment Assistance in the House and Senate. In addition, he led efforts on tax issues, the Farm Bill and the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Prior to joining the White House staff, Mr. McCarthy was appointed by President Bush as the assistant U.S. trade representative for congressional affairs. While at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, he led efforts with Congress on free trade agreements with Colombia, Korea, Oman and Panama, and with the Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations and Permanent Normal Trade Relations with Ukraine and Vietnam.

Alvaro Vertiz is a Partner at DGA Group and is based in Mexico City. An accomplished business and legal professional with deep expertise across the region, he serves as Head of Latin America & the Caribbean. Mr. Vertiz specializes in navigating complex interactions and unlocking material opportunities with a wide range of stakeholders, including corporates, governmental bodies, regulatory entities, and both public and private market sectors. His expertise enables clients to achieve competitive advantages and sustainable success, even in challenging environments. Prior to joining DGA, Mr. Vertiz served as a member of the board and Chief Operating Officer at BlackRock Mexico, where he was responsible for business strategy, strategic partnerships, and managing the company’s day-to-day operations and key relationships. A recognized leader in Mexico’s business community, Mr. Vertiz is an authoritative voice on matters of business strategy, finance, ESG and social license to operate. He has made significant contributions to the field of sustainable investing, notably leading the UN Global Compact Sustainable Investing group for two years, during which he published a key paper on best practices in sustainable investing. In addition to his professional roles, Mr. Vertiz is a professor of Strategy and Corporate Governance at Universidad Panamericana and a regular columnist on business and financial topics for El Heraldo de México as well as other major publications such as El Financiero and El Economista. He is a frequent commentator in various media outlets, including newspapers, radio, and TV, with appearances in Expansión, Milenio, ADN40 and El Financiero Bloomberg. Mr. Vertiz’s accolades include winning the Regulatory (Financial Services) award at the ninth annual Latin American Counsel Awards by the Association of Corporate Counsel with Lexology, and being featured in the General Counsel Power List published by Legal 500.

Craig Weeks is the Senior Vice President – Trade for the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT). Craig is also a Transaction Banking subject matter expert for Fitch Learning and an Executive Practicum Adviser of the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative of North Carolina State University. Craig served as SVP and Manager of the International Banking Group of US Bank as well as serving at Citibank and JPMorgan as Global Trade Sales Head for both institutions. Craig worked for Continental Grain Company, in New York, as Assistant Treasurer for Bank Relations, and in Geneva, Switzerland as Trade Finance Risk Manager. Craig has a Masters of International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management (Glendale, AZ) and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College, (Carlisle, PA) where he is an Emeritus Trustee. Craig also studied at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (Medellin, Colombia). Craig was a board member and former Chair of the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT). Craig is a Disaster Services volunteer for the American Red Cross Serving Western North Carolina and an avid hiker and golfer. He and his wife Lorraine reside in Weaverville, NC USA.