The finance industry holds critical importance in the global economy and in society at large due to resource allocation, wealth creation, risk management, etc. The eminence of financial leaders goes beyond personal success or the companies they lead. Their influence on policy creation, job allocation, and philanthropic efforts showcase their unraveling commitment to betterment of the society and leave a far-reaching impact on the world economy.
Yeidy Ramírez (CEO of Dexter Global Finance ) is an exemplary woman who has risen to the top by breaking through the glass ceiling of the male-dominated finance industry. Her achievement as “The Most Iconic Women Leaders in Finance Industry – 2023” throws a spotlight on her remarkable journey as a leader and her contribution to this ever-evolving finance industry.
Alternative Financing with Private Capital
Dexter is a financial management and intermediation company, primarily focused on alternative financing with private capital. The company manages and represents over fifty investment funds, debt funds, and private equity firms. It primarily supports growing companies as well as firms undergoing internal restructuring and aids in their revitalization.
When Dexter was established, financial intermediation had a low level of professionalization in Spain, unlike other European countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, and, of course, the United States. Dexter Global Finance manages over fifty investment funds, debt funds, and private equity. It focuses on providing financing exclusively to companies, not individuals. Dexter prioritizes rigor, transparency, security, and solvency. The company has a skilled team of experienced executives and professionals in their field. It has provided a very robust corporate structure to a sector in which this was not a common feature.
Factors that Triggered the Growth
Dexter experienced a few moments during its journey that triggered its growth. The company constantly views the market through the lens of anticipation—being the first to detect market shifts, identify new niches, and seize new business opportunities. This proactive approach allows the company to explore and establish a footing in areas that competitors might only venture into later.
While operating in a sector characterized by discretion and, at times, strict confidentiality, Dexter’s journey over the last five years exhibits unstoppable growth. The volume of its operations has tripled, and the financial yield of each operation has significantly amplified. Its current client portfolio not only boasts larger numbers but also reflects enhanced quality and strength. It is genuinely pleased with the robustness and swiftness of its territorial expansion.
Building Loyalty and Utilizing Talent
The essence of the success of Dexter is encapsulated in its continual efforts to attract, align, retain, and foster talent, ensuring it resonates with the vision of the company. It focuses on building loyalty and utilizing talent for growth—both in turnover and brand value. These things play a major role in the long-standing success of the company as it emphasizes them particularly. To foster competitiveness, it is imperative to harbor colossal ambition, clear ethical boundaries, and both individual and collective responsibility.
Dexter offers a wide range of services to its customers that are different from its competitors. The company offers a wide range of financial products, mainly focusing on two types: mortgage-backed loans and corporate-backed loans. The former largely caters to real estate financing across all sectors (commercial, residential, logistic, hotel, industrial), while the latter targets medium and large-sized companies. The broad spectrum of options differentiates the company from its competitors, who offer a narrow or limited range. This wide array ensures that the solutions offered by Dexter are the most personalized, effectively catering to the real needs of clients.
A Pioneering Entity
The private equity financial industry in Spain has evolved from a period of limited professionalization to a more advanced stage, where Dexter notably emerged as a pioneering entity. The company navigated through market transitions and took the helm in catalyzing a shift towards refined professional and corporate structures dedicated to private capital financing.
Initially, only a few corporations provided a genuine and high-quality alternative to regular bank financing. This landscape cultivated a prime environment for Dexter to not only adapt to market metamorphoses but also spearhead crucial changes. These changes prominently included leading the orchestration of new professional and corporate architectures that facilitate private capital financing. The proactive stance of the company has set it apart and positioned it as a trendsetter in enhancing the professionalism and quality of financial offerings in the private equity sector within Spain.
Promoting M&A Services
Dexter is following a twofold path by expanding its services in the future. First, it aims to broaden and deepen its current product and service offerings. Secondly, it aspires to identify market needs and fulfill them. Currently, the company is vigorously promoting its M&A services, with a dedicated Dexter Committee orchestrating mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring operations from strategic, legal, accounting, and consulting angles. Its spirit in new product and service creation remains constant to provide added value.
Dexter has a distinctive corporate image and a unique identity in the market. However, a cornerstone of its growth lies in collaboration, cooperation, and the cultivation of synergies with prominent third-party companies in Spain, spanning various sectors. Through these partnerships, the company has established a growth ecosystem that attracts a larger clientele and expands the service network of Dexter continuously.
Highly-Skilled Team
At the helm of Dexter, Yeidy Ramírez consistently emphasizes that within a well-established and mature organization, there exists a central or core department. It consists of the Risk Analysis Department, which plays a pivotal role in assisting the presidency, vice-presidency, and the overall executive management in avoiding errors. Dexter boasts a highly skilled team, equipped with cutting-edge, innovative programs and databases, particularly in the realm of compliance, ensuring sound decision-making.
The enduring dedication of Dexter has been to communication, marketing, and advertising. Yeidy Ramírez believes that transparency is a fundamental concept for any organization that is in a competitive market in the 21st century. This transparency must be applied outside the walls (towards public opinion, towards stakeholders, towards clients) and equally within. She elaborates, “I think that to maintain alignment in your organization, and in a professional area as sensitive as ours, communication and control are very important in your team, and maintaining as a common thread a principle that for me is capital: that of loyalty.”
Yeidy Ramírez looks after her employees and plays a crucial role in building a strong team at work. According to her, the best way to encourage and commit executives of the company and the entire staff to the mission is to lead by example. She adds, “If they see in you as a leader that desires for progress, for improvement, if they respect you with clarity of ideas, dedication, and perseverance, permanent effort, it ends up being internalized, imitated by everyone. I think, without a doubt, that a compact and united team is unbeatable.”
A Dedicated Department for New Technologies
Various trends and technical aspects are driving today’s finance industry. With modesty, Yeidy underlines that Dexter is a pioneer in contributing to these financial trends and leaving a significant impact on the industry. It is the first company in the alternative financing sector to have a dedicated department for New Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, and Robotics, led by an independent director. The company focuses more on the present than the future.
The financial sector already has a very strong link with the technological world and that bond will be indissoluble. Therefore, it works with the most advanced and sought-after tools and programs on the market. Dexter has been preparing for this challenge for years and it approaches them with strengths and advantages over the competition.
A Vocation to Grow
Speaking about a leadership philosophy, Yeidy Ramírez thinks that it is an overused concept in recent times. She says, “I think an entrepreneur, in essence, has to have a vocation to grow, to innovate, to explore and open new paths that others will then follow. You should not be averse to risk or conformity. And, above all, you must have great confidence and security in yourself and in the most important people who accompany you on your path.”
Yeidy Ramírez has been trained as an engineer. However, she felt deeply attracted to the company when she was just 20 years old. In various productive sectors, she has been employed as a senior manager and owner. In Sweden, Yeidy Ramírez has run her own company with hundreds of employees. More than 20 years ago, she moved with her family to Spain, to the capital of the Costa del Sol, Marbella, and began her career in the financial sector.
Initially, she ran her own investment fund with transcontinental operations, maintaining a strong connection to London. For five years now, she has been the CEO and founder of Dexter Global Finance, a financial management and Intermediation Company, a leader in private equity in Spain.
Financial Value to the Society
As there are many ways to make money in significant amounts and numerous productive sectors with powerful profit margins, Yeidy Ramírez advises budding entrepreneurs to think about what financial value they can contribute to society. She adds, “If you enter the financial sector, beyond the ability to generate impressive numbers for your company, think about the service you provide to society.” The role of the entrepreneur is essential.
While governments and administrations may not always be cooperative, financial corporations can be the exception. Therefore, Yeidy Ramírez believes that those who lead the main firms ultimately have a certain inclination towards the service that is provided to the community.