Fernando Oris de Roa

Fernando Oris de Roa came to diplomacy from international agribusiness. At Continental Grain he worked in the United States, Spain, Brazil, and Switzerland. In 1993 he led investors acquiring the financially troubled Tucumán citrus company San Miguel and became its chief executive. He later founded the poultry business Avex in Córdoba and served on the board of lithium company Orocobre. He also earned a master's degree in public administration at Harvard and participated in the governance of educational and policy institutions. ¹

Before President Mauricio Macri appointed him ambassador, Oris de Roa worked as investment undersecretary for the Buenos Aires city government in 2016–17. On taking up the Washington post in January 2018, he identified exports and investment as tools for reducing unemployment and poverty. He drew on his previous involvement in the citrus industry's campaign for U.S. market access and said that the embassy would continue pressing the biodiesel issue after the United States imposed high duties. ^{1, 2}

Beef promotion became a visible part of his assignment. In early 2019 he received a container of Argentine beef at Philadelphia following the reopening of the American market, and he was scheduled to lead a presentation at the embassy with the agriculture secretary and the Argentine Beef Promotion Institute. The accompanying business mission sought buyers, including specialty retailers. ³