Alejandro Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo Group
Colombian-American Alejandro (net worth $4.6 billion as of 2015) manages his family's Santo Domingo Group, a conglomerate of companies in media and brewing, and previously the controller of airline Avianca until it was sold to Germán Efromovich. It controls the Bavaria Brewery and has a 14 percent stake in SABMiller.
Santo Domingo also serves as managing director of New York-based Quadrant Capital Advisors.
He is heavily involved in philanthropy, serving on the Colombian Board of Directors of Endeavor, member of the Latin American Conservation Council, Delete Blood Cancer and his family's own foundation, dedicated to helping Colombia's poor.
José Alberto Velez, CEO Grupo Argos
Velez leads the Colombian conglomerate Grupo Argos, a firm with investments in cement and energy, and present in Colombia, Panama, U.S., Central America and the Caribbean. The company reported $3.7 billion in revenues in LT's most recent Top 500 Companies ranking.
Velez was named Investor of the Year in the 2015 BRAVO Business Awards, for leading the transformation of a cement company into a large, successful diversified conglomerate. The judges acknowledged "the smooth execution of a string of six acquisitions, and a recent equity offering, that placed Grupo Argos as a leading multilatina operating in Colombia, the United States, Central America and the Caribbean".
He studied Adminsitrative Engineering at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and then a Master's in Engineering Science at the University of California. He has also completed specialized courses at Harvard, the MIT, Columbia University, Northwestern University, Unversité La Sobrone and received an Honoris Causa Diploma from the Metz National School of Engineers, France.
Chile
Enrique Cueto, CEO LATAM Airlines Group
Cueto was one of the main agents in the deal to fuse Brazil's TAM Lineas Aereas with Chile's LAN. The deal was reached in 2012 and LATAM is now the region's largest carrier in terms of passenger traffic and fleet size.
Cueto holds a Commercial Engineering degree from the Pontífica Universidad Católica.
Iris Fontbona and family, owners of Antofagasta
The Fontbona family, led by Iris, own the mining conglomerate Antofagasta.
The firm ranks 109 in the Latin 500 with $5.2 billion in revenues, and is one of the largest copper miners in the world.
Iris Fontbona's fortune is valued at $11.7 billion as of 2015.
Andrés Navarro, CEO Sonda
Navarro is the founder and CEO of Sonda, a Chilean IT giant that reported $1.4 billion in revenues in Latin Trade's most recent Top 500 ranking. He also serves as director of SalfaCorp, one of the largest Chilean firms in construction and real estate.
Other posts Navarro has held include director of LAN Airlines, Chilevisión and Viña Santa Rita.
Navarro holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Pontífica Universidad Católica.
Horst Paulmann, Founder Cencosud
German-Chilean business magnate Paulmann founded Cencosud, the largest retailer in Chile, and the fourth-largest in Latin America with revenues of $17.6 billion in Latin Trade's most recent Top Retailers ranking.
Jaime Soler Botinelli, CEO Cencosud
Botinelli has been the CEO of Latin America's fourth-largest retailer since the beginning of 2015.
Under his leadership are the company's hundreds of stores in a variety of formats, as well as department stores, offices, malls and the firm's own financial service arm.
Botinelli holds a Commercial Engineering degree from the Universidad de Chile, and also graduated from the Executive Development Program from the Kellog Graduate School of Management of the Northwestern University.
Sandro Solari, CEO Falabella
Solari is at the helm of Falabella, the eighth largest retailer in Latin America and second in Chile, according to Latin Trade's Top 50 Retailers. The company registered revenues of $11.5 billion.
Solari studied Civil Engineering at the Universidad Católica de Chile, and also holds an MBA from the MIT's Sloan School of Management.
Roberto Angelini Rossi, President Inversiones Angelini
Roberto Angelini heads one of South America's largest conglomerates with operations in energy, forestry, mining, fisheries, technology, insurance and agriculture.
Angelini studied Civil Engineering at the Pontífica Universidad Católica de Chile.
Luis Enrique Yarur Rey, President Banco de Crédito e Inversiones
Yarur is President of Banco de Crédito e Inversiones, BCI, a Chilean instutition created by his family specializing in several services such as securities brokerage, insurance and asset management. BCI is number 23 out of 100 in Latin Trade's Top 100 Banks of 2015, with assets worth $39.2 billion. It is Chile's third-largest privatley owned bank.
Under Yarur's leadership, BCI acquired Miami-based City National Bank in October last year for $947 million.
Yarur holds an MBA from the IESE Business School.
Alvaro Saieh, Chairman Itaú Corpbanca
Saieh is Chairman of Itaú Corpbanca, one of Chile's largest commercial banks.
He also controls media group Copesa, which publishes the most read news outlets in the country.
In the tourism sector, Saieh owns the Four Seasons Buenos Aires, Four Seasons Carmelo and the Grand Hyatt Santiago.
Eliodoro Matte, President CMPC
Matte (net worth $2.7 billion as of 2015) is the President of Chilean forestry firm CMPC, a company founded by his father Eliodoro Matte Ossa.
The company he heads ranked 120 in the Top 500 Companies of Latin America, with revenues of $4.8 billion.
He studied Civil Engineering at the Universit of Chile and an MBA at the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago.
Domincan Republic
José León Asensio President Grupo Leon Jimenes
Asensio is Chairman of Grupo Leon Jimenes, one of the Dominican Republic's largest business conglomerates which dominates the country's cigarette and beer businesses.
Asensio holds a degree in Business Management from Babson College.
The Leon Jimenes brewery division, the largest in the Caribbean, makes Heineken, Bohemia, Miller and Presidente, while its tobacco division makes Marolboro cigarettes and León Jimenes cigars.
Felipe Vicini Lluberes
Feipe belongs to the third generation of the Dominican Republic's wealthiest family. He is President of Vicini Group and the Comité de Estrategia e Inversiones.
Grupo Vicini is present in the food and beverages, tourism, real estate, energy, finances, retail and communication industries.
Felipe studied Communication at the Northwestern University in Illinois, U.S.
El Salvador
Ricardo Poma, CEO Grupo Poma
Mr. Poma is CEO of family-business conglomerate Grupo Poma, which operates automobile dealerships, real estate development and construction, industrial manufacturing and hotels, as well as non profit organizations.
The company car division, Excel Automotriz, is the biggest automobile distribution company in Central America, and represents leading brands such as BMW, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Ford.
The hotel division, Real Hotels and Resorts, operates Marriott International, InterContinental and Choice Hotels in Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and Miami, Florida.
Poma has an industrial engineering degree from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He was honored as Social Responsibility CEO of the Year at the 2014 Bravo Business Awards for his dedication to culture, education, and health programs in his native El Salvador.
France
Jean-Charles Naouri, Chairman & CEO Groupe Casino
Naouri has been the CEO of French retailer Groupe Casino since 2005, and also serves as the firm's controlling shareholder.
Casino ranked 12 in the Latin 500 ranking of 2015, with revenues of $27.5 billion, and number two in Latin Trade's Top 50 Retail Companies.
Naouri studied at Harvard University and a PhD in Mathematics in France.
He has served as a civil servant in France, and was the designer of the reforms in the French financial markets in the 1980's, helping liberalize the country's markets through the elimination of credit restriction and easing currency controls.
Guatemala
Dionisio Gutierrez Mayorga, Co-President Corporación Multi Inversiones (CMI)
Agro-industrial conglomerate CMI, co-led by Gutierrez, is one of the largest corporations in Central America. It operates in the milling, livestock, restaurants, real estate, finance and energy industries.
One of the company's recent moves was a pet food factory, it's first move to expand towards Latin American and the Caribbean.
Its restaurant division runs the Pollo Campero chain, present in Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Costa Rica and the U.S.
Gutierrez holds a PhD in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Salamanca.
Mexico
Carlos Slim Helú
President and CEO of Grupo Carso, América Móvil, Telmex and Samsung México, all telecommunications companies. He is the most powerful man in Latin America with a fortune of $77.1 billion, after increasing his wealth by $2.4 billion over the past year. Since 2008 he has been buying shares in The New York Times. In 2012 he acquired the Spanish soccer team Real Oviedo and 30% of the Leon and Pachuca teams in Mexico. In 2014 he consolidated his energy-related companies into Carso Energy.
Germán Larrea Mota-Velasco, President Grupo México
President and CEO of Grupo México, the country’s largest mining company and the third largest copper producer in the world. The Group’s Ferrocarril Mexicano, is the largest rail transport operator in the country. He also is majority shareholder in MMCinemas and Cinemex. He is the second richest man in Mexico even though his fortune recently declined from $14.6 billion to $13.9 billion. He owns 75% of the American company Southern Copper Corp, is a director of Banco Nacional de México, and in 2014 stepped down from Grupo Televisa’s Board of Directors.
Alberto Bailléres González, President Grupo BAL
President of Grupo BAL, a conglomerate of companies in mining, retail, finance, fashion and insurance. The most prominent of these are Peñoles, GNP and El Palacio de Hierro. He is a member of the Board of Directors of BBVA Bancomer, Televisa, Femsa and Grupo Kuo. 2015 BRAVO Business Award winner, “Transformational CEO of the Year” http://latintrade.com/transformational-ceo-of-the-year-alberto-bailleres-gonzalez-chairman-grupo-bal/
Ricardo Salinas Pliego, President Grupo Salinas
President of Grupo Salinas, which has companies in telecommunications such as Total Play; the media, including TV Azteca and Proyecto 40; transportation, including Italika; and financial and retail services, Banco Azteca and Elektra. His wealth stands at $8 billion, and last year his companies provided earnings of $700 million.
Eva Gonda de Rivera, Shareholder Femsa
Shareholder with a 50% interest in Femsa, the largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola products in the world, and owner of the retail chain Oxxo, which operates in Mexico and Colombia. Femsa has interests in the beer industry, through its ownership of the second largest equity stake in brewer Heineken, with operations in over 70 countries. When her husband Eugenio Garza died in 2008, she and her four daughters inherited his fortune, including 50% of Femsa’s shares. She is the richest woman in Mexico with assets of $6.7 billion.
María Asunción Aramburuzabala Larregui, President Tresalia Capital
President of private equity Tresalia Capital. It focuses on funding startups, early growth and buyout investments. Previously she was shareholder and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Grupo Modelo-AB InBev; Vice-Chair of the Board of Televisa; shareholder and adviser of América Móvil and ICA; and board member of Banamex. Her net worth is $5.6 billion.
Daniel Servitje Montull, CEO Grupo Bimbo
President and CEO of Grupo Bimbo, the largest maker of bakery products in the world, with a presence in 22 countries. His fortune is valued at $4.9 billion. In 2014 Bimbo acquired Canadian Canada Bread, and Vachon, and Ecuadorian Supan, and more recently Spanish Panrico. Grupo Bimbo increased its revenue by almost 14% in 2015 measured in Mexican pesos, and rendered a 30% plus 1-year return to investors. 2009 BRAVO Business Award winner, “CEO of the Year”
http://latintrade.com/ceo-of-the-year-daniel-servitje-baker-to-the-world/
Juan González Moreno, President Grupo Maseca
President of the corn flour producer Grupo Maseca (Gruma) since his father and founder of the company, Roberto González, died in 2012. He has led an impressive international expansion that has taken Gruma to the U.S., Europe and China, while maintaining a solid financial performance. The world’s largest tortilla maker gets close to 75% of its revenues outside Mexico, and has been a notable outperformer in the Mexican Stock Exchange for the past five years.Juan Gonzalez has a 12.8% stake in Banorte. In 2015 his wealth came to $4.7 billion.
Jerónimo Arango and brothers, President Grupo Cifra
President of Grupo Cifra and member of the Board of Directors of Walmart de México y Centroamérica, the country’s largest retail supermarket chain. Arango and his family sold part of their retail business to Walmart in 1991. The Cifra package included supermarket chains Superama, and Bodega Aurrerá, and clothing stores Suburbia. Together with his brothers Manuel and Plácido he has a fortune of $4.3 billion.
Antonio del Valle, President Mexichem
President of Mexichem, one of the world’s largest producers of plastic tubing and one of the biggest chemical manufacturers in Latin America. The company has implemented an audacious expansion strategy. Since it is a producer of basic chemicals, Mexichem gained margin and market strength, systematically acquiring clients and suppliers. It built its presence in more than 30 countries, where it holds over 120 production plants. Antonio del Valle’s wealth is tallied at $3.7 billion. He also participates in the finance industry with Grupo BX, is a partner in Banco Popular Español, in oil with CP Latina, and is a minority owner of the chemical distributor Grupo Pochteca.
Emilio Azcárraga Jean, President and CEO Grupo Televisa
President and CEO of Televisa, the largest television company in Latin America. Televisa exports its programs and formats to the U.S. through Univisión and, directly, to other 50 countries. Aside from advertising revenue on TV, Televisa operates a cable network and a direct-to-home satellite television system, among many other business lines. Emilio Azcárraga has a fortune of $3.1 billion. In 2014 he pulled out of other telecom business areas, when he sold a 50% stake in Iusacell to Grupo Salinas for $717 million. Azcárraga is a member of the board of Grupo Financiero Banamex.
Carlos Hank Rhon, President Grupo Financiero Interacciones
President of Grupo Financiero Interacciones, a group founded in 1992, which comprises an insurance company, a brokerage house and a bank. Aseguradora Interacciones, Aisa, is one of the largest auto insurance companies in Mexico. Hank owns Hermes, a conglomerate involved in construction, energy, transportation and tourism. His wealth has been estimated at $2.1 billion.
Álvaro Fernández Garza, CEO Grupo Alfa
CEO and board member at Grupo Alfa, one of the largest diversified Mexican conglomerates, operating in aluminum components for the automotive industry (Nemak), petrochemicals (Alpek), branded foods (Sigma) telecom (Alestra) and hydrocarbons (Newpek), in over 25 countries. Fernández served in several positions within the Group such as CEO and President at Sigma Alimentos, Vice President of Consumer Small Business Market of Alestra. He has been a Director of Vitro, of Grupo Mexicana, PYOSA, Consejo Regional de BBVA Bancomer and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey. He is Director of Alestra, Alpek Campofrio Food Group, and Cydsa, among others. He is also a member of the Latin American Board at Georgetown University. 2013 BRAVO Business Award winner, “CEO of the Year”
Armando Garza Sada, chairman Grupo Alfa
Chairman of Grupo Alfa, one of the largest diversified Mexican conglomerates, operating in aluminum components for the automotive industry (Nemak), petrochemicals (Alpek), branded foods (Sigma) telecom (Alestra) and hydrocarbons (Newpek), in over 25 countries. He served in various in the group in Sigma, Alestra and Alfa itself. He is board member at Puerto de Liverpool, Gigante, Cydsa, and the University of Monterrey. He holds a degree form MIT and an MBA from Stanford University.
Carlos Slim Domit, Grupo Carso
Chairman of Grupo Carso (holding), Grupo Sanborns (retail), co-Chairman América Móvil (telecom), and Teléfonos de México (telecom). Grupo Carso, the flagship of the conglomerate, built in 30 years by Carlos Slim Helú, is present in retail, industrials, energy, and infrastructure and construction. It’s one of the largest groups in Latin America.
2012 BRAVO Business Award winner, “Investor of the Year”
Francisco José Calderón Rojas, Member of Femsa Board of Directors
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Franca Industrias. He has been Director of Alfa , Alpek and Femsa. He also holds a 7% stake in Femsa, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the world, and owner of the retail chain Oxxo and of 200-store drugstore chain, Farmacon.
Rufino Vigil González, President Industrias CH and Grupo Simec
President of Industrias CH and Grupo Simec, Mexico’s largest steel producer with a presence in the United States and Canada. His fortune totals $1.25 billion. In 1999 his company merged with the steelmaker Grupo Ruvi, and in 2001 he bought Simec.
David Peñaloza Alanís, President and CEO Pinfra
Chief Executive Officer and General director of Promotora y Operadora de Infraestructura, Pinfra, a construction company in which he replaced his father David Peñaloza Sandoval in 2013. Pinfra operates 18 toll-road concessions in Mexico, and has been involved in the construction and operation of ports and other large infrastructure projects. The company has assets in cement and concrete, and road maintenance. The Peñaloza family fortune has been calculated by Forbes at $1.2 billion.
Panama
Pedro Heilbron, CEO Copa Holdings and Copa Airlines
Heilbron has been with Panama's flagship carrier Copa since 1988.
Under his leadership, Copa acquired Aero República, the second-largest airline in Colombia, in 2005, as well as Copa's IPO in the New York Stock Exchange in the same year.
He also led the carrier's partnership with Continental Airlines in 1998.
Copa ranks 210 in the Top 500 ranking, with $2.6 billion in revenues in 2014, up 16 percent from the previous year.
Currently the airline serves 73 destinations in 31 countries in the Americas with a fleet of over 100 airplanes.
Heilbron holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and an MBA from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
2006 BRAVO Business Award winner, “CEO of the Year”
Stanley Motta, President and Director Motta Internacional
Stanley Motta is the President of international importer and distributor of consumer goods Motta Internacional. The company operates duty-free stores in more than 25 airports in Latin America and the Caribbean. Motta is majority shareholder and Chairman of the Board at Copa Holdings, ASSA Group, Inversiones Bahia, among others. Stanley Motta founded the Central America Leadership Initiative. He is member of the Advisory Board of EGADE Business School (Tecnologico de Monterrey) and the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. Motta is board member of the Trust for the Americas, affiliated with the Organization of American States and a member of the Latin America Conservation Council.
Jorge Quijano, Administrator of the Panama Canal Authority
Administrator of the ACP, the branch of the Panamanian government that manages the Panama Canal, one of the world's major commercial thoroughfares. Nearly 5% of world trade crosses the Isthmus through the Canal. In fiscal year 2015, it moved more than 340.8 million tons, up 4.3% from 2014. The position of head of the ACP took on a new challenge in 2006, when Panama announced the expansion of the Canal by creating a new lane of traffic which would allow 14,000-TEU vessels (triple the current Panamax vessel capacity) to transit the 80-kilometer (50-mile) waterway. The project should be completed in 2016, some 1.5 to 2 years past the original target date. The final cost is not clear, as the builders’s consortium of Sacyr, Impregilio, Jan de Nul and Constructora Urbana, have outstanding claims that exceed $2.3 billion. The original price tag of the project was $5.2 billion.
Peru
Eduardo Belmont Anderson, owner of Belcorp
Belmont is the owner of Belcorp, a Lima-based direct sales cosmetics company, which he founded in 1968. The company is now present in 16 countries in the Americas, and has more than one million female beauty consultants. The company is reported to have revenues that exceed $2 billion. Belmont holds degrees from both Harvard Business School and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
2015 BRAVO Business Award winner, “Social Sustainability CEO of the Year”
http://latintrade.com/social-sustainability-ceo-of-the-year-eduardo-belmont-ceo-belcorp/
Roque Benavides, CEO Buenaventura
About 11% of Peru's GDP, 50% of its foreign reserves and 20% of its fiscal revenues comes from extractive industries. Buenaventura, the company controlled by Benavides, is the largest owner of mining rights in Peru among precious metals companies. The company operates five wholly owned mines, three other with partners, and is developing the Tambomayo and San Gabriel Projects. The Company also owns 43.7% of Minera Yanacocha, a precious metal producer, and 19.6% of Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde, a Peruvian copper producer.
Benavides is a Board Member of Banco de Credito del Peru, Unión Andina de Cementos and Sociedad Minera El Brocal, as well as serving as Board Member of the Mining and Petroleum Society of Peru since 1988. He holds a B.S. in Engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and an M.B.A. from Henley Management College, UK.
Eduardo Hochschild, Chairman, Hochschild Mining
Eduardo Hochschild leads mining firm Hochschild Group, which has investments in silver and gold projects and operates in Argentina, Peru and Chile. He is also a majority shareholder in Peru's second-largest cement maker, Cementos Pacasmayo, which became the first Peruvian cement company to trade in the New York Stock Exchange in 2012.Since 2003, he is the director of the Banco de Crédito del Perú, and insurance company Pacífico-Peruano Suiza Compañía de Seguros y Reaseguros. Hochschild holds a Bachellor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Physics from Tufts University.
Carlos Rodríguez Pastor, Chairman, Intercorp, Peru
Rodriguez Pastor is the head of Intercorp, one of the largest Peruvian holding companies.
He served as Vice-President at Citibank, and, Managing Director at Banco Santander in New York. Since 1995 he is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Intercorp. He is also Managing General Partner of the Nexus Group, Chairman of Interbank, and director of Casa Andina, Supermercados Peruanos, Innova Schools and NG Restaurants. According to Forbes, his current net worth is $2 billion. Grupo Intercorp is one of Peru's largest companies, and operates in finance, hospitality, restaurants, real estate, entertainment and education. Rodríguez received a BA degree in Social Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from Dartmouth College, Tuck School of Management.
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