Donald Guerrero is an entrepreneur, economist, and post-secondary institution professor who formerly served as minister of finance in the Dominican Republic. A highly educated professional, he holds a master’s degree in finance from the University of Maryland, prior to which he was a standout student at Santo Domingo Institute of Technology (INTEC). Donald Guerrero completed postgraduate studies in business administration at INTEC after earning a bachelor of science in economics from the university. He also taught at INTEC and other academic institutions in the Dominican Republic.
At INTEC, Donald Guerrero taught postgraduate courses in international and corporate finance. He also taught microeconomics and business economics at the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National University (UNPHU) and business strategy at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. Mr. Guerrero has practical experience in both business and finance.
As an entrepreneur, he leverages more than 25 years of experience to lead Axis Holding, LLC, a Puerto Rico car dealership group that includes companies such as Autocentro Chrysler, Autogermana, Mid America Insurance, and Smile Collision Center. Combined, these businesses sold upwards of 10,000 vehicles in 2019.
Mr. Guerrero also has several years of experience as an executive in the finance industry. He previously served as executive vice president of Listín Diario and vice president of credit at Banco Intercontinental. He also held executive-level leadership roles at Chase Manhattan Bank, where he was vice president of corporate banking, second vice president of institutional banking, and credit director. Donald Guerrero also worked as commercial director of Reid & Pellerano.
Because of his wide-ranging experience and expertise in business and economics, Donald Guerrero was appointed minister of finance in the Dominican Republic in 2016 via Presidential Decree 201-16. He served a four-year term in this position, during which time he introduced a variety of measures to improve the country’s fiscal health, strengthen financial ties with other nations, and reduce rates of poverty.
Among other initiatives, Donald Guerrero led efforts to improve the ability of the Dominican Republic’s two tax collecting agencies to collect taxes. These agencies, internal revenue and customs, historically didn’t work well together in the past, resulting in an estimated 42 percent loss of sales tax to evasion. He also worked on improving processes and regulations to better control state spending.
Under Mr. Guerrero’s leadership, the finance ministry passed an anti-money laundering law with support from the World Economic Forum and banned bearer shares, meaning the ultimate stock beneficiary must be disclosed, improving transparency in the stock market. Public spending in the Dominican Republic was also among the lowest in the region prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ultimately, Donald Guerrero greatly improved the Dominican Republic’s financial position and spending power and was recognized for his efforts in this regard. AméricaEconomía, one of the premier business and finance magazines in the region, selected him to their “2016 Ranking: The Best Finance Ministers of Latin America” list. In addition, The Banker, a British magazine published by the Financial Times editorial group, picked Donald Guerrero as the 2018 Minister of Finance of the Year for the Americas.
