Meet the Group

Antonio J. Sifre

787-413-5262

Antonio J. Sifre is a business, transactional and entertainment attorney with more than 25 years of experience in commercial lending, mergers and acquisitions, securities, intellectual property, licensing, private equity, tax incentives, music, and film and television production and financing. Mr. Sifre handles the placement of tax credits and related compliance filings for his clients.

Mr. Sifre has extensive experience in the music, film and television industries, and is internationally recognized as one of Puerto Rico’s leading entertainment attorneys. He advises studios and film producers in the financing and corporate structures necessary to benefit from the incentives and tax credits available in Puerto Rico. Mr. Sifre frequently participates as a speaker and panelist in international film and television production, financing and incentives seminars. Some of his clients have been: 20th Century Fox, ABC Studios, Disney, CBS, HBO, NBC, New Regency, Relativity Media, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Turner, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures, among others.

Mr. Sifre is a Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor (CM&AA), as designated by the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors (AM&AA), a National Business Incubation Association Certified Business Incubator Manager, and a graduate of the UC Berkeley Venture Capital Executive Education Program.

He volunteers as Vice-Chairman of Incubadora de Empresas Creativas de Mayagüez, Puerto Rico’s first incubator and accelerator specialized in the creative and cultural industries. Mr. Sifre is an instructor of the Guayacán Venture Accelerator Exit Planning and M&A yearly workshop. Mr. Sifre has been executive producer of feature films, a music producer, and is a drummer.

Mr. Sifre holds a Bachelor in Arts in Economics from Boston College (1989) and a Juris Doctor (Cum Laude) from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law (1992).

Maritere Ysern

Maritere Ysern is an intellectual property and entertainment attorney at The Sifre Group where she combines her two passions: law and film production development advisory. Ms. Ysern has more than 10 years of varied production experience, having worked in commercials, corporate and music videos, short and feature films, and television series, including as writer and director. In 2015 she won an Emmy for Screenwriting for her work in the Telemundo television series Incógnita.

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Ms. Ysern, for seven years (2009-2016), taught a course in Film Production at Notre Dame High School in Caguas, Puerto Rico. She has been a team mentor and guest lecturer at the annual short films festival “Ponte Los Cortos”, and is frequently invited to give filmmaking, production legal and copyright workshops.

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Ms. Ysern holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law (2016) and a Bachelor of Arts in Audiovisual Communications with a Certificate in Film Studies from the University of Puerto Rico (2008).

Isaura Pérez, CPA

Isaura Pérez, a Certified Public Accountant, has over 15 years of experience providing tax advisory services to clients in the United States and Puerto Rico. She specializes in strategic tax planning for legal entities and individuals, negotiating and obtaining tax incentives government grants, buying and selling tax credits, elections for special tax treatment, and structuring mergers and acquisitions. Mrs. Pérez has expertise in a wide range of industries including tourism, energy, manufacture, real estate, film, and private equity. Her focus is providing clients creative and tax efficient solutions resulting in significant tax savings.

Mrs. Pérez started her career at the “Big Four” international accounting firm Deloitte and continued her career at BDO Puerto Rico, where she led as Director of the Tax Advisory Services Department.

Mrs. Pérez is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico with a Bachelor in Business Administration.

Claudia S. Picó

Claudia Picó is the Executive Assistant and Marketing Coordinator at The Sifre Group. Ms. Picó oversees project workflow, and performs research and paralegal work, including the preparation of contracts, tax credit transfer documents, and the coordination of closings.

Ms. Picó has been actively involved in the music industry for more than six years, working closely with executives from various companies in the industry, including Sony Music Entertainment Puerto Rico, ASCAP, and The Recording Academy.

Following her passion for both marketing and music, Ms. Picó spent time in New York City working at Superfly, a creative company that curates culture through experiences, where she immersed in the production and programming of live music events and helped create award winning campaigns for some of the most recognized brands in the world, including Adobe, Citi, and Bose.

Ms. Picó holds a Master of Music in Music Business and Entertainment Industries from the University of Miami (2017) and a Bachelor of Business in Marketing and a Certificate in Business Communications from the University of Puerto Rico (2014).