Sergio Massa seems to have put the electoral race which ended with his defeat in late 2023 behind him. Starting in March he’s heading in a different direction: he will work on 10 projects for Greylock Capital Management, a USinvestment fund that played an active role in the 2020 restructuring of the country’s private debt.
Over the weekend, Massa – who lost last November’s presidential run-off to rival Javier Milei – will also meet with leaders from his Frente Renovador party and next month, he will publish his first book.
Sources from Massa’s party confirmed last week that the unsuccessful Unión por la Patria presidential candidate will be working for Greylock Capital, though not on topics linked to Argentina.
“He works for Greylock but he can’t work in Argentina. He was assigned 10 projects dealing with the real economy. In order to comply with the public ethics law, he could almost not work anywhere in the country,” they argued.
His involvement in those projects is aimed, the sources claimed, “especially at green bonds and the real economy.” His first work-related trip for this new gig is set to take place in late March.
Rumours of Massa working for an investment fund were already circulating In late November 2023, after he lost the presidential race. According to information published by Forbes magazine at the time, the most interested party was “Renaissance Fund” – a subsidiary of Greylock Capital Management, which is headed by its founding partner Hans Humes, a veteran Argentina investor.
By then, Humes, CEO of Greylock, mentioned the now former economy minister and stated: “We believe he would be a great addition for us. We know other institutions have been talking to him about future opportunities. But given the unique structure of our fund, we’re sure it’s the optimum adjustment for someone with his skills.”
Humes, known in the trade as a “diplomat” of debt restructuring, implemented in 2020 the Argentine Creditors’ Committee (ACC). He supported Massa’s presidential bid and his backing pre-dates the ex-official’s time heading the Economy Ministry.
From Frente Renovador, they added that the offer is due to Massa’s work profile and connections, which is why he has been contact by Central American countries and parties interested in green bond transactions.
Little more than three months after he lost the run-off to Javier Milei, Massa was due to reappear” at a meeting in Roque Pérez, Buenos Aires Province, over the weekend alongside 20 Frente Renovador mayors, including Maximiliano Sciaini, from that district.
The goal of the meeting, according to party sources, is to debate the economic situation, with a focus on the labour market and the impact of the government’s measures on the middle class. In Buenos Aires Province, the focus will be on education, security and the province’s IOMA health insurance scheme.
These days, according to sources from his party, Massa is talking to former vice-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and allied provincial governors.
“He’s talking to Cristina and all the governors,” they said. “The path is consensus and dialogue is the axis.”
March will also bring other projects for Massa: he is working with Fundación Encuentro, a think-tank centred on macroeconomics on a project in which ex-Production minister José Ignacio De Mendiguren and Massa’s former Economy Ministry deputy Gabriel Rubinstein are also involved.
In addition – and in line with the approach of a number of former government officials such as Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Mauricio Macri and María Eugenia Vidal – Massa is preparing a book that will address his unsuccessful presidential campaign and Argentina’s future. It is expected to be in bookshops by late March.
by Anabella González & Gabriel Irungaray, Perfil
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