In this episode, host Stacie Nevadomski Berdan interviews Margarita Oliva Sainz de Aja. Margarita is a native of Spain and began her career in Granada — but things took a global turn early in her career when she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and decided to pursue a Master of Law from Harvard University. What began as a few years overseas turned into a successful international career in the US working for some of the biggest law firms based in New York. She's now a partner of DLA Piper, LLC, where she applies her 25 years of experience in finance transactions in emerging markets, particularly Latin America, and leads the regional practice. As Margarita shares her global story, practical tips and advice come across, including the need for having an open mind and being able to build relationships with people who are different, the necessity of grit and perseverance because a global career can be quite challenging, and the value of exploring the Latin American region as the great region to grow your career.
About Our Guest
Margarita Oliva Sainz de Aja is a Partner at DLA Piper US, serving as the US-LatAm Practice Group Regional Co-Leader, Finance, and the US-Iberian Initiative. Based in the New York office, Margarita brings over 25 years of extensive experience in project finance, advising financial institutions and corporations on complex financing and commercial transactions across the Americas. Her expertise lies in structuring and negotiating multijurisdictional infrastructure and energy transactions, working with major multilateral agencies, commercial financial institutions, sponsors, project companies, and export credit agencies (ECAs). Margarita also provides counsel on general bank finance, capital markets, and corporate transactions, including cross-border mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and outsourcing. She holds a degree from the Senior Executive Program (SEP) Women in Business Scholarship from IESE Business School (2013), an LL.M. from Harvard Law School (1995), where she was a Fulbright Scholar and received an honorary scholarship from Real Colegio Complutense, and a J.D. from Universidad de Granada (1992). She is admitted to practice in New York. In addition to her professional achievements, Margarita is the Chair of the Women’s Council at the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce, a position she has held since 2021. Her contributions to the legal field have been recognized by The Legal 500 Latin America ranking, where she is recommended for the category Latin America: International Firms Projects and Energy (2023-2025). She has also been named among the Top 100 Female Lawyers in Latin America by Latinvex (2013-2024) and one of the 100 Top Latinas in the US by Hola USA (2020).
About the Global Careers Podcast Series
Hosted by Stacie Nevadomski Berdan, the GW-CIBER Global Careers podcast presents inspiring stories from seasoned professionals who have embraced a global role and reaped the benefits. We offer practical advice and insider tips across a broad swath of industries and fields around the world about what it is like to work globally. If you love adventure and thrive on taking risks and operating outside your comfort zone, join us as we explore the ins and outs of pursuing an international career!
About GW-CIBER
The George Washington University Center for International Business Education and Research (GW-CIBER) promotes the nation’s capacity for international understanding and economic enterprise related to the theme of Institutions, Resilient Globalization and Sustainable Competitiveness.
