Ángela Álvarez Rojo

Ángela Álvarez is a recognized expert in finance and technology, and author of the book “Banks and Whales: Tokenization and Cryptoeconomics for Investment Bankers, Fund Managers, Aspirants, Curious People and Satoshis.”She is the Founder and CEO of Aglaia Capital, a corporate finance boutique based in Madrid, specializing in illiquid assets such as real estate, hotels, portfolios, and alternative financing, as well as DeepTech startups, Fintech, and the tokenization of financial assets. She is also the Founder and CEO of Action Monkey, a tokenization and marketplace platform for Real Assets (RWA) and Alternative Funds — a permissioned DeFi platform that powers the tokenization of financial assets to modernize private capital markets. Its mission is to transform the management and distribution of funds, real assets and their ecosystem, private banking, and corporate finance, through both primary and secondary markets. She also serves as Vice Chairman and Advisory Board Member at Fair Value Capital Ltd. (UK), a family office and corporate finance boutique based in London.

 With more than three decades of experience, Ángela Álvarez has held executive roles and developed her professional career in top-tier institutions such as BBVA, KPMG Corporate Finance, PwC Corporate Finance, Bankinter, and Citibank, in investment banking, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) — mainly of financial institutions — corporate finance, financial restructuring, investments, and alternative financing. Sectorally, she is specialized in the financial sector, real estate, hotels, Fintech, DeepTech, and cryptoassets. Her innovative approach combines traditional finance with disruptive technologies such as blockchain.

 Ángela’s extensive background has given her a privileged perspective on traditional finance — its strengths, but also its structural inefficiencies, further revealed by the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. Her early discovery of Bitcoin — and, with it, blockchain — opened her eyes to innovative solutions capable of driving efficiency and restoring data ownership to users. These experiences shaped her conviction to bridge the rigor of traditional finance with the innovation of the crypto ecosystem. Founding Aglaia Capital and Action Monkey, and authoring “Banks and Whales,”are expressions of that mission.

 Ángela Álvarez is a regular speaker at international conferences on M&A, finance, Fintech, technology, and the global economy, participating in both private and public forums such as the European Economic Association (EEA) Congress, alongside institutions like the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), European Central Bank (ECB), and various central banks, as well as technology and emerging markets summits. She has been recognized as a Top Fintech influencer in Europe and has frequently received recognition and awards for her leadership and contributions to the financial ecosystem.

 Her work promotes the adoption of decentralized solutions and digital transformation in investments and financial capital markets. It also supports a human-centric vision of the digital euro — private, secure, interoperable, and aligned with the dynamics of the crypto market — serving as a robust CBDC standard for tokenization, payments, and broader financial innovation.

 She is also an Adjunct Professor in the Master in Finance (MIF) at IE Business School, where she teaches Fintech.

 Corporate experience

• CEO and founder, Action Monkey, Spain, 2021-Present

• CEO and founder of Aglaia Capital, Spain, 2019-Present

• Vice Chairman and Member of the Advisory Board, Fair Value Capital Ltd. (UK), United Kingdom, 2014-Present

• Aglaia Capital AIFM Sarl, General Partner, Owner, Luxembourg, 2021-2022

• Practising lawyer of the Madrid Bar Association (ICAM), Spain, 2014-Present

• Senior advisor de Corporate Finance y startups international, Spain, 2013 

• Executive Director of Investment Banking, Head of Assets in Special Situations, Member of the Risk Committee, BBVA, Spain, 2010-2012

• Director of Corporate Expansion, for Banks and big size operations, Southern Europe; and for Consumer Finance and Insurance in the U.S.; Asia and Brazil, BBVA, Spain, 2008-2010

• Head of Corporate Expansion of Consumer Finance, Member of the Executive Board of Consumer Finance and Special Financial Services, Retail, and Uno-e Bank, BBVA, Spain. 2006-2008

• Head of the Spanish team of the Financial Institutions Group (FIG); Member of the European M&A FIG team, KPMG Corporate Finance, Spain, 1999-2006

• Associate, PWC Corporate Finance, PWC Advisory, y Corporate Treasury and Audit, Spain, 1994-1998

• Analyst, Citibank, Bankinter, and All Trading Agencia de Valores y Bolsa, Spain, 1992-1993

Academic Experience

• Adjunct Professor, Master in Finance (MIF), IE University, 2025 - Present 

Academic Background

• Corporate Management Program, for BBVA, IESE Business School, Spain, 2008

• Degree in Law, Business Law, diploma in Business Administration, CEU University College, attached to the Complutense University (now CEU San Pablo University), Spain, 1986-1992