Ignacio Tornero

Ignacio Tornero is a lawyer and business professional, and the founder and CEO of the business and legal consulting firm, East Consulting. He has more than 10 years of experience advising Chinese companies operating in the Latin America region and Latin American enterprises doing business in China. Before founding East Consulting, Tornero helped Chile’s largest law firm to establish a presence in China. Between 2009-2018, Tornero spent six years working in Nanjing, Beijing, and Shanghai.

He was one of the first Chilean students to get enrolled in a Chinese-language program in China. He was also the winner of the Chilean stage of the Mandarin contest “Chinese Bridge”.

He is an adjunct professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, affiliate professor at its Center for International Studies (CEIUC), and member of its Center for Asian Studies (CEAUC). He also sits on the advisory committee of the Tsinghua University Latin America Center. His main research interest is Chinese foreign direct investment in Latin America.

He has been a speaker at several national and international conferences, and has published numerous articles, book chapters, and op-eds regarding Sino-Latam relations. He is a regular columnist at Chile’s main finance newspaper, Diario Financiero.

Tornero received his LLB from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and an International MBA from the University of British Columbia in Shanghai (first in his class). He also has Mandarin language training at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) and Nanjing University.

He speaks Spanish (native), English (working proficient), and Chinese (advanced communication).