Román F. Macaya
Ambassador Roman Macaya is a Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In May 2022 he concluded his term-limited mandate as Executive President and Chairman of the Board of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (the Costa Rican Social Security). The “Caja” is an autonomous institution with a workforce of 63,000+ employees and an annual budget of $8.5 billion. In that role, he was responsible for the provision of all public health care and the management of the largest pension system in Costa Rica. He led the Nation’s health care response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Roman also led the most important reform in the pension system in over 20 years, ensuring sustainability of the pension fund through 2050. Under Ambassador Macaya’s leadership, the “Caja” deployed $900 million in investment in physical and technological infrastructure. He promoted biomedical research and innovation, and revamped both the health care delivery and pension systems for a rapidly aging population.
Prior to leading the “Caja”, Roman served as Costa Rica´s Ambassador to the United States. He promoted science diplomacy and educational ties between both nations, strengthened cooperation in security, and supported the attraction of foreign direct investment. Roman developed relationships in Congress, the White House, and throughout the different Departments of Government under both Democrat and Republican Administrations.
Roman has developed a multidisciplinary career as a biomedical scientist, businessman, diplomat, advocate, and public servant. Roman has led R&D teams in biomedical research and has held leadership roles in the fields of clinical research, private equity, health care consulting, and agribusiness. He has a strong understanding of regulatory matters in both the pharmaceutical and crop protection industries. Roman is first author on numerous scientific publications and lead inventor on several patent applications.
Roman holds an MBA in Health Care Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from UCLA, and a B.A. in Chemistry from Middlebury College. He is married and has four children.