Ilya Espino de Marotta

Wearing an iconic helmet and pink vest, engineer Ilya Espino de Marotta is leading a male-dominated field by becoming the first woman to manage the Panama Canal, the wonder of the world that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and through which 6% of world trade passes. Since 1985, the current deputy administrator began working at the interoceanic waterway and the shipyard, and recently served as vice president of the transit business and executive vice president of engineering, during the Panama Canal Expansion Program. Among her achievements are managing “in an exceptional manner” the construction of the expanded canal, which brought the interoceanic waterway into a new era of maritime trade,” said the president of the board of directors and Minister for Canal Affairs, Aristides Royo, who appointed her to the post in 2019.