Cecila Ugaz Estrada holds a PhD in economics from Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in France as well as graduate degrees in economic modelling from France and Peru. Prior to joining UNIDO, she served as the United Nations Resident Coordinator as well as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative for Paraguay.
She also served as the Deputy Resident Representative for UNDP in Argentina and as Deputy Director for the Human Development Report Office in UNDP headquarters in New York. Ms. Ugaz Estrada has also held various positions in academia in Switzerland, United Kingdom and Finland as well as with the World Bank in Washington DC.