Waldemar Jezler

President, Libra Capital LLC

For almost 30 years, Brazilian-American investment banker Waldemar Jezler has worked in the finance sector. Jezler earned his Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of São Paulo in Brazil and then went on to attend Harvard Business School for his MBA. While at Harvard, Jezler was highly involved in extracurricular activities, including a term as President of the Ibero American Club. Returning to São Paulo after graduate school, Waldemar Jezler worked for Bank of America's Brazil Representative Office as Vice President of Investment Banking. Jezler focused his responsibilities on new business development, creating highly profitable countertrade transactions between Brazil and several Eastern European countries. This business process initiated the trading and conversion of defaulted Brazilian debt. Waldemar Jezler continued to polish his focus throughout the Brazilian Debt Crisis of the 1980s, preparing for a decades-long career in this particular field. In 1988, Waldemar Jezler relocated to the U.S. for a position with First National Bank of Chicago, where he specialized in debt conversion transactions with Brazil. In one year as Vice President of Investment Banking, Jezler yielded profits of over $5 million through trading Brazilian defaulted and restructured debt. Earning a bonus for his professional excellence, Waldemar Jezler used the money in 1989 to found his own company, Libra Capital, LLC. Libra Capital, LLC, an investment banking firm, currently focuses on the structure and trading of financial instruments in the Brazilian fixed income market. The main instrument used in these investments is Brazilian Federal Precatórios—court orders issued against the Public Treasury for funds that pay the beneficiary's legal claims. Waldemar Jezler also currently participates in the Banking and Capital Markets Committee of the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce. His relationship with his alma mater remaining strong, Waldemar Jezler regularly writes a blog on the Harvard Law School website chronicling his business interests and holds a membership with the Harvard Business School Club of Brazil.