Skip to main content Skip to search

Mr. Filippo Alario
Chairman & CEO

Mr. Filippo Alario is the Chairman & CEO of the Belize Bank Limited. Mr. Alario previously held the position of Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Risk Officer of the Belize Bank where he was responsible for strategic leadership of risk management, including policy setting, governance and reporting.

Throughout his banking career, Mr. Alario has held several executive management positions at leading international and regional financial institutions in the Caribbean. He has a wealth of experience in the areas of Corporate and Investment Banking, Capital Market, Risk Management, and Compliance.

Read more

Mr. Michael Coye

Chief Financial Officer

Michael Coye was appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of the Belize Bank in 2014, a role in which he oversees the planning and financial reporting, as well as financial management and regulatory reporting.

Mr. Coye joined the Belize Bank in 1993 and has served in various capacities including Financial Controller. Prior to joining the Belize Bank group, Mr. Coye was a Senior Auditor with the public accounting firm of Price Waterhouse in Belize.

A graduate of Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, Mr. Coye has a degree in Accounting and holds a Masters of Accountancy from Arizona State University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts, as well as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Belize.

Read more

Mr. Jose Cardona

Chief Information Officer

Mr. Jose Cardona has worked with The Belize Bank Limited for more than 35 years, and has a comprehensive knowledge of the bank’s operations, especially as they relate to the area of technology where he has worked for more than 25 years. He has played a key role in the continuous comprehensive transformation of the bank’s operations especially through the use of information systems and technology.

Mr. Cardona is responsible for directing the information technology strategy of the Group and its various component entities, and for the delivery of a secure enabling information technology services platform to the business.

Over the years Mr. Cardona has represented the interests of the Bank on a number of ongoing efforts of strategic importance to the continued development of the national financial services sector under the aegis of the Central Bank. Most recently Mr. Cardona was consulted extensively on the Working Group for National Payment System.

Mr. Cardona has served on a number of Boards including seven years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of St. John’s College.

He serves the community as a Justice of the Peace.

Read more

Mr. Abner Peralta

Company Secretary and Regulatory Compliance

Mr. Peralta is an Attorney-At-Law with over 18 years of experience. Mr. Peralta is currently the Head of Corporate and Regulatory Compliance and the Company Secretary for The Belize Bank Limited.

Mr. Peralta holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of London and a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of Law, Guildford, England. Mr. Peralta is also a member of the Bar Association of Belize.

Read more

Mrs. Agata Ruta
Chief Operations Officer

Mrs. Agata Ruta joined the Belize Bank in 2021 and currently oversees the operations of the Bank. She is also the Head of Digital, Business and Retail Banking. She has over 15 years of successful experience in financial consultation, financial control and operational management and worked with leading global financial providers and investment companies.

Ms. Agata has also worked internationally in mergers and acquisitions and at the same time brought operational and financial excellence for fintech company “Naspers” and managed online payments for Europe, India and South America. She specializes in working with emerging markets bringing financial inclusion and creating unique value propositions, unveiling the growth potential.

Mrs. Ruta’s background and experience in managing global teams and multi-million dollar projects demonstrates her mindful and competitive approach. She is a strong believer in customer centric strategies in the financial sector, creating unique value propositions and focusing on financial inclusion.

Mrs. Ruta holds her MBA from Georgia State University, Masters in Economics, and is certified in E-commerce Management from Harvard Business School and Strategic Planning from American Management Association. Moving forward, Ms. Agata will create a pathway for Belize to move towards digital banking and introduce new and innovative banking solutions.

Read more

Mr. Rony Aguirre

General Manager of Internal Audit

Since February 2016, Mr. Aguirre has held the position of General Manager of Internal Audit responsible for providing direction in the execution of the department’s mission to evaluate the Bank’s risk management mechanisms, control and governance. Mr. Aguirre has over 15 years’ experience in different roles in accounting and auditing. Most recently he acted for over 6 years as Chief Accountant for The Belize Bank performing duties in budgeting for group companies, financial reporting and management financial data.

Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Aguirre was a Senior External Auditor for 4 years at PKF Belize where he managed audits in several industries including financial institutions, hospitality, insurance and manufacturing. Prior professional experiences include costing and financial accountant for companies in the agro business in the south districts of Belize and self-employed accounting consultancies.

Mr. Aguirre possesses a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Belize. He holds a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) certification from ACAMS, the leading global organization against the threat of money laundering and terrorism finance.

Read more

Mr. Richard Look Kin
Chief Risk Officer

Mr. Richard Look Kin joined the Belize Bank in April 2023 as Chief Risk Officer.  He has over two decades of experience in the financial services sector including corporate and investment banking, investment management and enterprise risk management. He has held management positions at a number of financial institutions including Citibank, RBTT Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, First Citizens Bank and First Citizens Investment Services. He has also served as a director on the boards of the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago (AMCHAM), CFA Society Trinidad and Tobago and Term Finance Holdings Limited.

Mr. Look Kin graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance and Economics) and also completed his Masters of Business Administration (with distinction) from the Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has completed the Professional Risk Manager (PRM) examinations.

As Chief Risk Officer, Mr. Look Kin is responsible for the governance of the Group’s Enterprise Risk Management framework.

Read more

Mrs. Hertha Gentle
General Manager of Human Resource

Ms. Hertha Gentle joined The Belize Bank Limited in 2022 and is responsible for the Banks’ human resource function in the capacity of General Manager – Human Resource.  Ms. Gentle is a human resource and labour administration specialist with over 15 years’ experience in senior leadership in the human resource field working with government and private sector entities.  She is a results-focused leader who delivers talent acquisition, retention and motivation solutions that helps to harness the full power of one of the most valuable assets – the people.  While serving in her main capacities, Ms. Gentle was also able to contribute to the development of others via her roles as Facilitator, Adjunct Lecturer and consultant in several areas including Labour Administration, Organizational Behavior, Strategic HRM, Discipline and Industrial Relations.

She continues to lead efforts to enhance the function and impact of HR across the company to support business objectives, as well as the needs and aspirations of it’s over 450 employees. Her approach includes embedding culture change through well-defined HR strategy and policies that incorporates continuous business growth, employee engagement and wellness, talent management, operational efficiencies and labour relations.

Ms. Gentle holds a Master Degree from Chulalongkhorn University in Labour Economics and Human Resource Management.

Read more