María del Carmen Herrerías Salazar has extensive leadership knowledge in the finance and hospitality industry. Like any great ideas, the notion of her startup was conceived in a social gathering with friends, at a barbecue in Mexico City. They began discussing different ways to update the hospitality industry, taking the best of Airbnb’s short-term rental model of individual units and pairing it with the quality control and standards that guests expect from a hotel chain.

The rest is history! They founded Casai, a company that provides travelers with premium accommodations, locally sourced designs, and smart home technology. In 2020, T=they raised $23 million to expand its business across Latin America.

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She began her career at Compass Investments and later became the FP&A manager at both Grupo Presidente and AT&T. Earned her bachelor’s in administration at the University of Iberoamericana and holds a postgraduate degree in finance from the University of Anáhuac.