Gustavo Cisneros, a businessman who expanded his family business into one of the biggest and most diversified holdings in Latin America in the late 20th century, has died.
His company, the Cisneros Group, confirmed his death Friday on social media, calling him a “leader who transcended business, characterized by his strategic vision and commitment to innovation”. A cause of death was not reported.
Cisneros became President of Grupo Cisneros when he was 25 years old. The company, one of the largest privately held media entertainment organizations in the world, has been headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida, since 2000.
Cisneros co-founded Univision, the first Spanish-language media company in the U.S. in 1992. Three years later, he launched DirecTV Latin America, the first all-digital direct-to-home satellite television service in Latin America.
Grupo Cisneros held a 25% stake in Univision and 12.5% stake in the Univision Communications (now TelevisaUnivision). Grupo Cisneros’ stake in Univision led to the broadcast of Venevision telenovelas from Venezuela, and eventually, to the co-production partnership of Venevision International and Univision Communications of telenovelas. The consortium sold Univision for $13.7 billion in 2007.
He also acquired American brands including sporting-goods retailer Spalding, baby products firm Evenflo and manufacturer All-American Bottling Corp., according to the company’s website.
The Cisneros Group, founded by his father in the 1930s, included the Miss Venezuela beauty pageant and the Venevision TV network.
His media deals spread from Argentina to Chile, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Cisneros was a graduate of Suffield Academy in Connecticut in 1963 and Babson College in Massachusetts in 1968.
He is survived by his daughter Adriana, current CEO of Grupo Cisneros, his wife Patricia Phelps de Cisneros and children Carolina and Guillermo.
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Source: DLine
