Álvaro Cedeño

Partner and Former Ambassador | Tactic Legal

Alvaro Cedeno Molinari is a lawyer by profession and partner at Tactic Legal Studio, where he leads talent development for innovation. He is a board member at the National Biodiversity Institute (INBio), and a founding member of FUNGUANA, a foundation focused on natural conservation of marine turtles and jaguars in Costa Rica. 

He obtained his Law degree from the University of Costa Rica and has two masters degrees, one in Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation from the University of Tromsø, Norway, and another one in Public Policy Management from Carnegie Mellon University in Adelaide, Australia.  

He has served in the public sector as Chief of Staff for the Ministry of Foreign Trade. His first diplomatic posting was as Commercial Counselor, integrating the first mission to the Costa Rican Embassy in Beijing, China, where he also opened Costa Rica’s first trade promotion agency in Asia. He then served as Ambassador to Japan, where he led the establishment of a bilateral green growth strategy valued at US$800 million. His last posting was as Ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, where he launched and led two coalitions, one on electronic commerce that has now become a plurilateral negotiation among 80 countries; and another one on sustainable trade, that has evolved into a plurilateral formal discussion among 60 countries on climate change, trade, and sustainability. He also served for ten years as an international volunteer in intercultural competence building at CISV.org. 

 Alvaro lives in San José with his wife, two daughters, and female dog.