Buenos Aires — She has spent little time in Latin America and her Spanish, by her own account, is just “mas o menos”. She had never coaxed a deal out of proud, broke governments. Yet in a single week, Jennifer O’Neil, 39, helped seal the debt restructuring of Argentina and Ecuador, propelling her into prominence at BlackRock and in the clubby, male-dominated world of sovereign bond negotiations.

Her role was particularly noteworthy in Argentina, which had defaulted on $65bn held by dozens of investment firms, including BlackRock, where she is an MD. It was the country’s ninth default and, amid the pandemic, the Peronist-led government wasn’t sending signals of flexibility...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.