Leo Naut

Leo is an experienced economic development and government relations professional who has focused in policy-building initiatives related to foreign direct investment and private sector competitiveness. He has worked extensively with public and private sector stakeholders around the world addressing international trade and investment facilitation. Besides that, he is also a social media and tech enthusiast.

Leo has collaborated in implementing free trade agreements, negotiating bilateral investment treaties, and enabling international public-private dialogue. He has implemented trade and investment facilitation initiatives in over 45 countries.

Currently, Leo serves as Deputy Executive Director at the Caribbean Export Development Agency, where he leads the Agency's Subregional Office in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and serves a Programme Manager for the implementation of the Trade and Private Sector Component of the Haiti-DR Binational Programme being implemented under the 11th European Development Fund. Prior to this role, he worked as Deputy Head of Investment Promotion for US East at Invest Hong Kong, where he led the Consumer Products, Tourism & Hospitality, and Creative Industries portfolios for the eastern half of the United States. Leo was also an International Relations Associate within the Government Contracts Team at the Business Council for International Relations (BCIU) in New York City. Before stepping into a leadership position, Leo had worked at Caribbean Export as an Competitiveness and Innovation Advisor. He also served as a Trade and Investment Policy Specialist at the Dominican Republic Export and Investment Center (CEI-RD).

Leo's volunteer work spans across several organizations that range from food security and social justice. He currently is an active volunteer of God's Love We Deliver. He also served as the President of the Board of Directors of People Theatre's Project (PTP), a vibrant non-profit that raises awareness of the shared struggles of under-represented communities (primarily immigrant Latinos) through collaborative theater-making.

Leo holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Boston University and a Doctorate of Law from Universidad Iberoamericana in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.