HISTORY LUIS J. ECHARTE
April 23, 1945
Luis J. Echarte is born in Havana, Cuba.
1959
Fidel Castro comes to power when dictator Fulgencio Batista flees.
1960
Luis leaves Cuba on a flight to New York City, United States.
1967
He graduates from The University of Memphis where he studied Science.
1969
He finishes the bachelor’s degree in Engineering and Architecture at the University of Florida
He begins working at Caldos Construction Company, where he helps to develop several residential buildings.
Luis J. Echarte gets married.
1970
His first son, Luis, is born.
1971
He founds the company Echarte Development Co., and begins a new adventure in development and construction.
October 1973
His daughter Jenny is born.
1979
He is invited to work at Bacardí Imports.
1980
Bacardí Rum becomes the best-selling brand of alcoholic beverages in the United States.
1986
He becomes President and CEO of Bacardí Imports.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Debut of Bacardi Tropical Fruit Mixers, non-alcoholic beverages: they generated an additional revenue of 54 million dollars in one year. The Wall Street Journal acknowledged it as one of the best new products of the year.
1991
Luis leaves Bacardi and moves to London to take a sabbatical.
He meets Ricardo Salinas at the Young Presidents Organization convention.
1992
He learns meditation with Buddhist monks in Nepal.
1994
He accepts Ricardo Salinas’ invitation to join what would later become Grupo Salinas.
November 1994
He becomes (CFO) of Grupo Elektra.
1995
ACHIEVEMENTS
In 1995 he negotiated with First Data Corporation the merger with Western Union in Mexico, receiving a payment of US$162 million for the money transfers made between the United Stated and Mexico.
Between 1997 and 1999
ACHIEVEMENTS
Luis performed the first securitization in Latin America of accounts receivable of Grupo Elektra consumers, achieving collections for US$250 million.
June 1999
Luis marries Claudia.
2000
He becomes CFO of TV Azteca..
ACHIEVEMENTS
During his term, TV Azteca received the prize “Excellence in Corporate Governance in 2000” granted by Thomson Financial.
Under his lead, The Economist, acknowledged TV Azteca for its efficiency in cost reduction during the first semester of 2001.
2001
Launching of Azteca America Network in the United States. He holds the position of President and Executive Director until 2006.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Launching of Fundación Azteca America in the United States.
He takes over the position of Vice-president and Director of Public Relations of Grupo Salinas.
June 2003
He is diagnosed with cancer. After a successful surgery and 5 months of recovery, he overcomes it.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Successful lobbying effort for Grupo Salinas in Washington DC., through his participation as member of the Board of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), Hispanic Federation, Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI), Woodrow Wilson and Aspen Institute Latino & Society.
2005
ACHIEVEMENTS
Azteca America obtains the status as national network by reaching 77% of the Hispanic population in the USA, through its stations in 39 cities.
2007
He appears on the cover of the “Latino Leaders”, magazine, due to the broad reach of Azteca America in American television.
2012
He publishes his book “Starting Over: A Way of Life”, which tells the story of his successes, failures and life lessons, written from the reflections after a terminal cancer diagnose.
ACHIEVEMENT
He is a member of the Board of Directors of all the public companies of Grupo Salinas.
2014
The magazine Central publishes an article about Luis’ life and his book “Starting Over: A Way of Life”.
ACHIEVEMENT
After the presentation of the Esperanza Azteca Orchestra at the Clinton Global Initiative,, the city of Los Angeles collected funds to inaugurate the first orchestra in the United States.
Thanks to the efforts of Luis and his team, a new venue of The Aspen Institute is inaugurated in Mexico, where Ricardo Salinas is a member of the Board.
2015
ACHIEVEMENT
There is a presentation of the Esperanza Azteca Orchestra at the White House, an event where President Barack Obama acknowledged the talent of the more than 16 thousand Latin American students that belong to these orchestras.
2017
He starts offering mentoring and coaching to senior executives of Grupo Salinas.
ACHIEVEMENT
After the earthquakes on September 7 and 19, Luis collected almost half a million dollars, from different personalities in the United States, to rebuild houses in the affected regions in Mexico.
2018
After visiting his natal Cuba in 2017, where he had not gone back after 57 years, Luis writes his second book: My Grandfather’s Havana.
He is the CEO of the first event of First Robotics outside the United States. This contest took place in Mexico City and gathered participants from more than 160 countries.
He is appointed CEO of the Office of the Family of Ricardo Salinas in Grupo Salinas.
2020
ACHIEVEMENT
He mentors and coaches more than 60 senior executives of Grupo Salinas.