Fredy Sierra Fernandez is an independent consultant, research strategist and interim executive on large-scale public-private projects in infrastructure and energy. He has gained 10+ years of experience in analyzing, intervening, and managing projects for the Dutch state. Besides this autonomous position, he is also the managing partner of Factstory Business Recovery BV. His affiliation with UvA is as an External Ph.D. candidate. 

Fredy was born and raised in the gas region of the Netherlands, Groningen. There he took an interest in natural resources, and specifically how a developed state such as the Netherlands manages them. His Chilean background compelled him to also focus on Latin America. A region of much natural wealth, social inequality, and opportunity. Hence, during his undergraduate and graduate studies, the political economy of natural resource management dominated his study career. After traveling to Latin America, Asia, and many countries in Europe during his studies and years of working in strategic management consultancy, he started thinking about his dissertation. 

Several talks with Prof. Dr. Roel van der Veen inspired Fredy to start working on a Ph.D., next to his busy career in strategic management and consultancy. Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Roel van der Veen (UvA) and Dr. Konstantin Mierau (RUG), he plans to finish his manuscript in 2024. The working title is: Natural Resource Management in South America. The Political Economy and the importance of Statecraft

Fredy holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hanze University for Applied Sciences 2004), a Bachelor of Arts, and a Master of Arts in International Relations and International Organization (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen 2009). To obtain these degrees, he lived a while in Barcelona, Spain, and in Santiago de Chile, Chile.