Elias Alcantara

Elias Alcantara currently serves as Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Macquarie Group. In this role, Elias focuses on implementing a government affairs strategy that builds on the Group’s existing presence in the Americas marketplace while also exploring new investment opportunities.

Prior to joining Macquarie, he was the founder and CEO of Bronx Element Strategies (BESt), a social impact and justice strategy consulting firm. Through BESt, he advised a portfolio of private, philanthropic and public-sector stakeholders and organizations across the country to sustain social justice reform. Clients included the National Basketball Association, Columbia University, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Previously, Elias served in the Obama White House as Senior Associate Director in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. During his five-year tenure, Alcantara was President Obama’s liaison to local elected officials, serving as a primary interface to mayors, county and local officials across the country. During this time, he established and managed strategic partnerships with local and national leaders on key policies including immigration reform, workforce development and criminal justice reform with a focus on policing and reentry.

Elias is active in local and national efforts aimed at promoting and expanding social justice, equity and economic mobility in underserved communities. He serves as a member of the Lehman College Foundation Board, Trustee for the Sing Sing Prison Museum Board, a member of the Sankofa.org Board of Advisors and member of the Hostos Community College Community Advisory Council.

Elias is a graduate of Lehman College of the City University of New York (CUNY) and completed coursework for a Master of Arts in International Affairs at the Universidad de Chile. He is originally from the Bronx, New York where he currently resides.