Team size: 2

Career Biography

Mario Ayala Claros graduated from Universidad Dr. José Matías Delgado in La Libertad, El Salvador, a duly authorised lawyer and public notary by the Supreme Court of Justice of El Salvador, with a Master of Business Administration from ESI School of Management and special studies in Management of Gas and Oil from the European Business School (EUDE). She has more than 20 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, working in the Salvadoran legal courts, the national registration office and in the Superintendence of the Financial System of El Salvador. She is experienced in the assessment and drafting of documents, acquisitions and mergers of companies, financing structures and contracts and legal opinions and resolutions related to family law, civil law, commercial law, corporative law, banking law, among others.

Since 2017, Ayala has led all legal and corporate affairs for Invenergy in El Salvador. Invenergy is a Chicago-based company recognised for delivering large-scale, transformative power projects worldwide. In this role, he has been a key player behind some of the country’s most sophisticated energy investments: the “Energía del Pacífico” project, which is an integrated platform encompassing a modern natural gas-fired power plant; the BW Tatiana, an offshore floating storage and regasification unit and the first of its kind in Central America; and a network of critical supporting infrastructure.

Ayala has guided the legal and strategic execution of said projects from inception through to commercial operations, leading complex negotiations across power purchase agreements, LNG supply arrangements, EPC and O&M contracts, and project financing, while ensuring alignment with an evolving regulatory landscape. He has also played a defining role in stakeholder engagement, permitting, land and rights-of-way acquisition, and the structuring of social impact initiatives. Notably, his involvement in shaping the regulatory framework, which enabled the country’s first marine concession for an FSRU, stands as a historical milestone achievement for the company.

Through his leadership, Ayala continues working to position the company at the forefront of the energy transition, advancing resilient infrastructure and championing the adoption of cleaner, more sustainable energy solutions with an ESG-driven strategy that supports the sector’s long-term growth and modernisation.