Panama Canal Authority: Excellent choice in appointing Ilya Espino de Marotta as new Canal Administrator

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Panama Canal Authority: Excellent choice in appointing Ilya Espino de Marotta as new Canal Administrator

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Panama Canal Authority

Excellent choice in appointing Ilya Espino

de Marotta as new Canal Administrator

Company Update

Panama’s President announces first woman Administrator. 26 May 2026

Last week, Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino announced the appointment of Ilya Global Emerging Markets | Corporate

Espino de Marotta as the next Administrator of the Panama Canal. We believe this is an Credit

excellent appointment given Espino de Marotta’s 40-year experience with every aspect LatAm | Panama

Transportationof the Canal’s operations and expansion. She is currently the Deputy Administrator of

the Canal and Chief Sustainability Officer. She has worked at the Panama Canal since Anne Milne

1985 and was critically important with the expansion into the larger Neopanamax lock Research Analyst

BofAS

system. She is currently involved in the Canal’s US$8bn+ investment program, including +1 646 855 4096

all aspects of the Rio Indio water expansion project. The appointment came after a anne.milne@bofa.com

global search including more than one hundred candidates. Espino de Marotta has a

degree in Marine Engineering from Texas A&M and a master’s degree in Economic

Engineering from the Universidad Santa Maria La Antigua.

Outgoing Administrator Vásquez has many successes. Panama Canal Authority: Strength

amid global turbulence highlights

Ricaurte Vásquez, the outgoing Administrator, has successfully guided the Canal through

strategic importance of the Panama

difficult periods. This includes a historical drought from 2022-2024 leading to lower

Canal 29 April 2026

water levels and fewer canal transits. In 2025, Panama received threats from U.S.