RAI Founding Co-Chairs

Alexander G. Leventhal

Alexander G. Leventhal is Partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Paris office. In addition to being one of the founders of the Rising Arbitrators Initiative, Alexander acts as Chair for Continental Europe of Young ITA (the young members group of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration) as well as CIArb (Chartered Institute of Arbitrators) YMG (Young Member Group)’s Steering Committee Member for France. Alexander writes and speaks frequently on topics of arbitration in English, French, Portuguese, and Arabic and guided a team that prepared a submission to UNCITRAL Working Group III on behalf of the European Federation for International Law and Arbitration (EFILA). Alexander was also appointed to act as an Officer on the International Bar Association’s Mediation Committee and the Rules Committee of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR), which revised CPR’s Fast Track Rules.

Ana Gerdau de Borja Mercereau

Ana Gerdau de Borja Mercereau is a senior associate at Derains & Gharavi. She has over 13 years of experience in domestic and international arbitration.

She has acted as counsel, arbitrator and secretary to arbitral tribunals in arbitrations under the ICSID, the ICC, the LCIA-MIAC, and the ICDR/AAA rules, and under the most important Brazilian institutions’ rules (CAM-CCBC, CCMA CIESP/FIESP, CAMARB, Câmara FGV, CAM-BM&FBOVESPA and CMA from São Paulo’s Instituto de Engenharia). Her cases have included commercial transactions, joint ventures, large infrastructure projects (in construction, renewable energy, oil & gas and transportation), M&A deals, and projects in real estate and for mining research and exploration.

She is a member of the ICC Commission on International Arbitration and ADR, upon nomination of the Brazilian Committee, of its Task Force entitled “Corruption in International Arbitration” and co-coordinator of Track 5 of the same Task Force, upon nomination of the Task Force Co-Chairs. Ana is one of the founders of the Rising Arbitrators Initiative (https://globalarbitrationreview.com/new-group-offers-support-young-arbitrators) and former co-chair of its Executive Committee. In February 2021, Ana was appointed a member of the ALARB (Asociación Latinoamericana de Arbitraje) – Siguiente Generación. She is also a former Vice-Chair of CIArb’s YMG Global Steering Committee.

Ana is listed on the LCIA database of arbitrators; on the list of arbitrators of the Arbitration Centre of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Portugal), on the list of arbitrators of CAMARB, CAM-CCBC, CBMA and ARBITAC (Brazil), and on the list of arbitrators of the Centre of Arbitration Amcham Perú and of the Arbitration Centre of the Chamber of Commerce of Lima (Peru).

She currently sits as sole arbitrator in ICC expedite proceedings. She has acted as a member of ad hoc committees deciding on the challenge against arbitrators, upon appointment of Brazilian arbitral institutions.

Ana holds a Ph.D. and an LL.M. (International Law) from the University of Cambridge and speaks French, English, Portuguese and Spanish. She is admitted to the Bars of Brazil (São Paulo) and Portugal (Porto) and is registered with the Paris Bar (Directive 98/5/EC).

Rocío Digón

Rocío Digón is a legal consultant for White & Case and a research associate at Leicester Law School. Based in Rome, Rocío has experience as counsel in commercial and investment treaty arbitration under the rules of leading arbitral institutions, including ICSID, ICC and ICDR/AAA and has acted as sole arbitrator under the rules of the CAM. Rocío’s research at Leicester Law School is part of a project investigating the social and psychological underpinnings of commercial arbitration in Europe. Prior to joining White & Case, she was an Associate Research Scholar at Yale Law School and previously spent three years as the first Managing Director and Counsel of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, SICANA, Inc., where she was responsible for administering cases for the North America region and directing SICANA’s promotional activities. Rocío writes and speaks frequently on topics in international and commercial arbitration. Rocío is also a co-founder of the Rising Arbitrators Initiative.
Rocío holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and an LL.M. from Leiden University in Public International Law. She speaks English, French, Spanish and Italian and is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and New York.