profile
Hugo Besana is an accomplished, commercially driven Chief Financial Officer and operational leader with over 20 years of international experience piloting financial strategy across Europe and Latin America. Recognized for his ability to engineer robust financial controls and accounting infrastructures, Hugo blends high-impact fiscal stewardship with a keen focus on revenue expansion, business restructuring, and market-share growth.
Throughout his progressive career, Hugo has specialized in transforming the finance function into a true strategic partner for business leaders. For 16 years, he served as the CFO of Mercado Abierto Electrónico S.A. (MAE) in Argentina, where he managed a $50M budget and directly oversaw finance, controlling, HR, and procurement functions. Founded in 1989, MAE is Argentina’s premier electronic trading platform for fixed-income securities (government and corporate bonds), foreign exchange (FX), derivatives, and interest rates. Unlike a traditional retail stock exchange (like the BYMA/Merval), MAE is an institutional over-the-counter (OTC) electronic market. Its clients and owners are the heavyweights of the financial sector: national and international private banks, provincial banks, currency exchange houses, and major brokerages. If the Central Bank of Argentina wants to issue debt or intervene in the currency market, or if major banks need to trade millions in foreign currency, it heavily happens through MAE’s secure technological rails.
His extensive foundational expertise also includes nearly a decade with global packaging leader Tetra Pak, directing financial and controller operations in both the UK and Latin America, where he successfully led major corporate initiatives, including global SAP implementations and complex international tax and IAS reporting.
An MBA graduate from Universidad del CEMA and a certified Public Accountant, Hugo is fully bilingual in English and Spanish. He is highly regarded for his capability to execute under pressure, lead multidisciplinary teams, and deliver balanced oversight across audit, compliance, and growth-oriented value creation.
