The Bacalia Group founder on education, talent retention and why attracting capital is only the beginning of an economic-development strategy.
What should Puerto Rico’s economy become capable of doing, and what would persuade its talented people to build their futures there? For Giuseppe Cicatelli, Founder and Principal of Bacalia Group, those questions belong at the center of the island’s next economic chapter.
In this written Q&A, Cicatelli makes the case for connecting education, tourism, technology and infrastructure investment to a broader objective: creating productive businesses and careers that give both capital and talent reasons to stay.
When you say Puerto Rico needs a new economic model, what do you mean?
We should start with a different question. Not simply, “How do we bring more money to the island?” but, “What do we want the economy to become capable of doing?”
I would judge an economic model by whether it helps businesses become more productive, creates opportunities for people to build careers and develops goods or services that customers outside the island want to buy. Investment is a means of achieving those objectives, not the final measure of success.
That does not mean abandoning everything that works or searching for one industry that will solve every problem. It means building a clearer connection between the capital we attract and the capabilities we develop.
Where do tax incentives fit into that approach?
I would not frame it as being for or against incentives. I would ask what each incentive is intended to accomplish and how we know whether it is working.
Does it help create skills, supplier relationships, export capacity or a business that becomes competitive on its own merits? An incentive can help an investor choose a location. It should not be the entire reason a business remains viable there.
Attracting wealth and creating productive capacity are not interchangeable. I want local entrepreneurs to have a realistic path to participate, rather than judging success only by the amount of outside capital announced.
Could education become a stronger engine of the economy?
Absolutely. I see an opportunity to attract more students from Latin America and Hispanic communities in the United States through high-quality education at a competitive total cost, particularly against more expensive mainland alternatives.
Puerto Rico has an engineering tradition to build on. UPR Mayagüez traces its origins to the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1911, and its engineering offerings include aerospace engineering among its minors or curricular sequences. I would build on strengths like these through investment in faculty, laboratories, research and relationships with employers.
The proposition should be quality and value, not simply low tuition. Housing, language support, academic outcomes and career preparation matter too. We should aim to become a destination students choose for what they can learn and become.
How do you connect that ambition with retaining Puerto Rican talent?
By treating education and employment as parts of the same strategy. We should invest in developing talent while creating compelling reasons for that talent to build a future in Puerto Rico.
That means more than a first job. It means pathways into paid internships, research, skilled employment and entrepreneurship, with opportunities to progress. Engineering, aerospace and technology are areas where I would look for closer university-employer collaboration.
I would not ask a young Puerto Rican to stay out of obligation, or suggest that working abroad is a failure. The goal should be to make staying a genuine choice and returning a credible opportunity. People should not feel that pursuing an ambitious career necessarily means leaving.
Where does tourism belong in this new model?
I believe Puerto Rico has substantial tourism potential that has not yet been fully realized, and nautical tourism should be an important part of that opportunity. The ambition should go beyond attracting more visitors to encouraging longer stays, repeat visits and stronger connections to local businesses.
For nautical tourism, I would look beyond the berth: sailing, charters, diving, excursions, food, accommodation and the services that keep vessels operating. The opportunity is to develop these activities together, so investment in one facility creates opportunities beyond its boundaries.
Training in hospitality, marine trades, languages and business management should accompany investment in facilities. The objective should be skilled careers, locally owned businesses and protection of the coastal environment. Tourism belongs in a diversified economic model, not as a substitute for one.
How does energy security affect the investment case?
I would put energy near the beginning of the conversation. Puerto Rico’s dependence on imported fuels makes external energy exposure a structural consideration.
For an investor, the questions are cost, reliability and the ability to plan. If geopolitical tensions caused a prolonged price shock, I would examine not only immediate expenses but also which expansion decisions became harder to justify.
Energy investments should be assessed partly by the competitive capacity they enable. The objective is a system that lets businesses make long-term commitments with greater confidence, not a promise that one technology can solve everything.
Could a more open Venezuela change Puerto Rico’s prospects?
Potentially, but a regional opportunity is not a development strategy on its own. If Venezuela achieved a sustained economic opening, supported by workable commercial rules and dependable transactions, I would examine the possibilities for trade, services and investment across the Caribbean.
Puerto Rico would still need to offer something commercially useful. Which customers would it serve? What could businesses deliver competitively? What would need to be built, and who would pay for it?
A more connected Caribbean could create demand and competitors at the same time. I would welcome the opportunity, but I would not build Puerto Rico’s strategy around a political outcome it cannot control.
What role could artificial intelligence play?
I would start with adoption rather than branding. Before asking how Puerto Rico becomes an “AI hub,” I would ask how its businesses can use technology to produce more value.
That could mean helping smaller companies improve administration, making professional services more efficient or training employees to use new tools. The benefits would need to be demonstrated, not assumed.
I would apply the same discipline to technology infrastructure. A project should not qualify as economic development simply because it has AI in its description. I would want to understand its customers, energy requirements and local contribution, including opportunities for students, researchers and skilled workers.
What would turn this into a practical agenda?
A small number of priorities, clear responsibility and measures of results. I would begin with obstacles that businesses and educational institutions can identify precisely, rather than another broad list of ambitions.
In education, I would look beyond enrollment to completion, research partnerships and graduates’ career opportunities on the island. For commercial projects receiving public support, I would ask what private activity that support enables and whether the activity can continue without indefinite assistance.
Local businesses should help shape the agenda. They can distinguish an impressive announcement from a change that makes operating easier. My preference is fewer promises, clearer responsibilities and evidence that investment is becoming more productive.
What would convince you, over the next decade, that the model was changing?
Businesses making long-term commitments because the operating environment supports them, not just because the initial terms are attractive. Puerto Rican graduates building careers on the island, experienced professionals finding reasons to return and students from abroad choosing its universities.
I would favor investments that solve an identifiable problem today and remain useful under different political and economic scenarios. Education, energy resilience, technology, specialized services and tourism infrastructure all deserve consideration, but none should receive a free pass because of its sector label.
The question is whether an investment leaves the economy better able to generate its next opportunity. That is the purpose of a new model: not simply bringing capital into Puerto Rico, but building an economy that gives both capital and talent compelling reasons to stay.
