The Woman Fixing Puerto Rico’s Finances Knows Not to Waste a Crisis
Natalie Jaresko shares what she’s learned from managing the troubled debts of Ukraine and Puerto Rico.
Natalie Jaresko, who’s helping manage Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy process, knows more than most about the risks government borrowers can face. The Chicago-area native lived in Ukraine for 25 years, where she co-founded a private equity firm and then served as minister of finance, overseeing the country’s debt restructuring and its International Monetary Fund program as war drained its resources.
In early 2017 she agreed to move to Puerto Rico to lead the federal oversight board tasked with reducing the commonwealth’s $74 billion in debt and $50 billion of pension liabilities. Months later, Hurricane Maria slammed the island, ripping apart its electrical grid and killing thousands.