Execution Group
Astris Finance was incorporated in 2000 as a US LLC domiciled in Washington DC, USA. Astris maintains a permanent staff that constitutes the Execution Group, based in Washington, Mexico and Paris. All support activities are orchestrated from Washington DC. Astris management receives strategic guidance and support from the Company’s Advisory Board. Our Advisory Board gathers a select number of highly qualified senior professionals with diverse backgrounds in the financing, government and industry spheres. Where relevant, Astris Finance also relies on a network of sector specialists associated with the firm.
Vice President
Romain Papassian joined Astris in 2005 and worked on several transportation projects, including toll roads and mass transportation systems, prior to being reassigned within the Dexia Group where he spent three years until rejoining Astris in 2009. At Dexia, Mr. Papassian was in particular responsible for the origination, structuring and placement of infrastructure credits in Europe, with a focus on project finance and regulated corporates such as toll road operators, water and electricity utilities. Romain Papassian has been directly involved in the arranging and placement of more than USD 3.5 billion of debt in Europe and Latin America. At Astris, Romain Papassian has been involved in a variety of projects in Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Colombia and the Caribbean, with a specific focus on capital markets, securitization and agency financings. More recently, Romain has been involved in the Transjamaican Highway Refinancing (Jamaica, 2011), in the BTA Toll Road Project (Dominican Republic, 2010), as well as in several bidding contests including the Viadom Concession (Dominican Republic, 2009).
Mr. Papassian holds a BS/MS in infrastructure planning and finance from the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (ENPC, 2007) in Paris. He is fluent in French, English and Spanish, and conversant in Portuguese.
