A partner-led firm
In corporate finance the work that matters — framing the problem, challenging an assumption, defending a number in front of a counterparty — depends on the judgement of whoever does it. That is why Valnova operates as a boutique: few engagements at a time, handled directly by the partners, rather than greater volume delegated downward.
Both partners trained outside the Dominican Republic — in France, the United States and Canada — and have worked on the Dominican and Caribbean market since 2019. The combination is deliberate: analytical frameworks are international, but the assumptions fed into them are local.
Partners
Nicolas Diaz Garelli, CFA
An economist specialising in corporate finance and asset management, with more than 15 years of experience in private equity transactions, valuation, investment structuring and project finance. He has acted as financial adviser to family-owned businesses in the Dominican Republic, and as sole adviser to boards of directors and family boards through decision and sale processes.
Franck Diaz Garelli, PhD
An assistant professor of health informatics analytics. His work translates research into applications that support business development and operational improvement, and he has developed data-science methodologies for assessing information quality. At Valnova he brings the analytical and data component of the financial work.
What each background contributes
The pairing is not incidental. Most engagements — a valuation, a financial model, preparing a company for a sale — rest on information that has to be reconstructed, normalised and verified before anything can be projected from it. In closely held companies that information rarely arrives in order.
Corporate finance judgement determines what to ask and what the answer means; data discipline determines how far the available information can be trusted and how to handle it when incomplete. The same logic underpins our work in value-based management, where analysis has to become indicators management actually uses.
Professional standards
The firm works to the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. In practice that means three things: independence of judgement, confidential treatment of client information, and stating the limitations of an analysis rather than omitting them.
Valnova does not audit, broker securities or distribute financial products. What that independence means in practice is set out in more detail about the firm.
Strategic partner
On engagements that call for it we collaborate with Moonshot Advisory, an advisory firm based in Santo Domingo. Several of the transactions in our track record were carried out with them.