Román Macaya Hayes is a

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

n scientist, entrepreneur, diplomat, and public servant. From 2018-2022 he served as the Executive President and Chairman of the Board of the Costa Rican Social Security aja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) the institution that finances and provides universal coverage of public health care services in Costa Rica and manages the largest pension fund of the country. In this role he led the health care delivery response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Macaya spearheaded key priority programs, such as deploying the largest investment in physical and technological infrastructure in the history of the CCSS, promoting innovation throughout the institution, implementing the most ambitious digital transformation agenda, and revamping both the health care delivery and pension system to respond to a rapidly

aging population Population ageing is an overall change in the ages of a population. This can typically be summarised in a single parameter as an increase in the median age. Causes are a long-term decline in fertility rates and a decline in mortality rates. Most ...

. Prior to leading the CCSS, Macaya served as Costa Rica's Ambassador to the United States, a post he held from 2014 through 2018. As ambassador, Macaya promoted science diplomacy between both countries in

biomedical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of ...

, space, water, biodiversity, and technology. He also strengthened cooperation in security, migratory matters, environmental conservation, and the arts, in addition to supporting the attraction of foreign direct investment. Macaya worked with the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

, and

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

to strengthen Costa Rica´s capabilities in drug interdiction, resulting in the largest multi-year appropriations for Costa Rica in over 30 years. Macaya has held leadership positions in the fields of health care and agriculture. In the healthcare field, in addition to leading Costa Rica´s single payer/single provider of public health care services, he has served as a biomedical scientist in the biotechnology industry, and as a businessman/entrepreneur in clinical research, private equity, and health care consulting. In the field of agriculture he led the growth and development of a crop protection company, served on the Board of Directors of Costa Rica's National Chamber of Agriculture and Agro-industry, and founded and presided over the National (Costa Rican), Latin American, and Global industry associations that engaged with governments and multilateral institutions such as the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

(Geneva),

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(Geneva), and

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

(Rome) on regulatory matters.

Early life and education

Román Macaya was born on September 19, 1966, in the State of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and grew up in a bicultural household, son of a

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

ian mother and a Costa Rican father. His family moved to the port town of

Puntarenas Puntarenas () is a city in the Puntarenas Province, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Puntarenas canton, it is awarded the title of city, which comprises the Puntarenas, Chacarita and El Roble districts. A ...

in Costa Rica when he was three years old, and later moved to the town of Guadalupe on the outskirts of San José (Costa Rica), where he grew up until graduating from high school. Macaya attended

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, where he obtained a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in chemistry, a minor in modern art, and played varsity tennis. After college, Macaya attended the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Ca ...

(UCLA), where he obtained a Ph.D. in biochemistry. At UCLA, Macaya determined the solution structure of novel triple- and quadruple-stranded DNA structures in the laboratory of Professor Juli Feigon. Macaya later attended the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

in health care management. Macaya is first author on numerous scientific publications and lead inventor on several patent applications.

Public service

On March 4, 2009, Román Macaya announced his intention to run in the first primary election of the Citizen's Action Party to seek the presidency. He ran against

Ottón Solís Ottón Solís Fallas (born 31 May 1954 near Pérez Zeledón) is a Costa Rican politician. He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Costa Rica in 1976 and gained a master's degree in economics from the University of Manc ...

, the founder of the Party, and other well-known party leaders. He was ultimately defeated on May 31, 2009, during the Citizens' Action Party's National Convention. While he never ran again in a primary election, he has served in the administrations of President

Luis Guillermo Solís Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera (; born 25 April 1958) is a Costa Rican politician and educator who was the 47th President of Costa Rica from 2014 to 2018. He is a member of the Citizens' Action Party (PAC). Solís led the field in the 2014 pre ...

(2014–2018) as ambassador to the United States and of President

Carlos Alvarado Quesada Carlos Andrés Alvarado Quesada (; born 14 January 1980) is a Costa Rican politician, writer, journalist, and political scientist who served as the 48th president of Costa Rica from 8 May 2018 to 8 May 2022. A member of the Citizens' Action Pa ...

(2018–2022) as the executive president and chairman of the board of the Costa Rican Social Security.

Family

Roman is married and has four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macaya, Roman 1966 births Living people People from Florida Costa Rican businesspeople Costa Rican biochemists Middlebury College alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Wharton School alumni Costa Rican people of American descent