Council of the Americas Announces First Group of Honorees of the 2018 BRAVO Business Awards

USA - English

• Latin America - español
• Brazil - Português

MIAMI, July 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Council of the Americas (COA) is pleased to announce the first group of distinguished leaders from the Americas who will be honored at the 24th BRAVO Business Awards ceremony on November 2, 2018, in Miami. This annual event and preceding one-day symposium will gather leaders from diverse sectors to recognize outstanding corporate achievements in the Hemisphere.

"Our 2018 BRAVO Business Award honorees are extraordinary. They reflect a diverse group of visionaries and leaders," said Americas Society/Council of the Americas President and CEO Susan Segal. "We are honored to recognize their achievements and highlight each one of them as role models in their fields and in the Hemisphere."

Fabio Schvartsman, CEO of Vale, will be recognized as CEO of the Year for his accomplishments as leader of the multinational company. Schvartsman implemented a series of changes, bringing Vale to the highest level of governance at the Brazilian stock exchange, the Novo Mercado segment, by almost doubling the value of the company stocks from 43.8 billion to 78.8 billion dollars during his first year in charge. Under Schvartsman, Vale's iron ore production hit record levels in 2017 and its EBITDA increased by 28 percent to 15 billion dollars with free cash flow generation achieving the highest level since 2011.

Eduardo Tricio, Chairman of Grupo Lala, will be honored as the Transformational Leader of the Year for his impact on business and society. Under his leadership, Grupo Lala has experienced strong domestic performance as well as significant expansion. Additionally, Fundación Lala has raised millions of dollars to provide quality education and fight hunger and poverty.

Patricia Menéndez-Cambó, Vice Chair of Greenberg Traurig, will be awarded Visionary Leader of the Year for her contributions to private sector growth and expansion, as well as her leadership promoting diversity in the Americas. Menéndez-Cambó has advised clients on significant cross-border investments, mergers and acquisitions in Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Moreover, she serves as a mentor for the next generation of women leaders in the Americas.

Eugenio Von Chrismar, CEO of Banco de Crédito e Inversiones (BCI), will be presented with the Financier of the Year award for his culmination of BCI's internationalization strategy. Under his leadership, BCI has become an innovator in banking in Latin America. The expansion over the last several years built on BCI's digital transformation program, positioning the bank as a cutting-edge financial institution and an example in the region.

Carlos Mario Giraldo Moreno, CEO of Grupo Éxito, will be awarded Dynamic CEO of the Year for leading his company's diverse portfolio of brands across many countries and its internationalization strategy that boosted the company's expansion to Brazil and Argentina, creating a "Multilatina". Grupo Éxito's presence has resulted in more than 1,500 stores across four countries in the Americas, and in 2017 reached a net revenue of nearly 20 billion dollars, an increase of 9.4 percent relative to the net revenue of 2016.

Sponsors: HSBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, LLORENTE & CUENCA, The AES Corporation, The Boston Consulting Group, Bombardier, Emerson, Florida International University, Microsoft, and SAP.

Media partners: CNN and Financial Times.

Symposium Partner: Inter-American Development Bank.

For more information, please visit: www.as-coa.org/bravo

Press inquiries:
Yndira Marin | [email protected] | 1-646-386-6523
AS/COA Media Relations | [email protected] | 1-212-277-8384 | 1-212-277-8333

Council of the Americas (COA) is the premier international business organization whose members share a common commitment to economic and social development, open markets, the rule of law, and democracy throughout the Western Hemisphere. The Council's membership consists of leading international companies representing a broad spectrum of sectors, including banking and finance, consulting services, consumer products, energy and mining, manufacturing, media, technology, and transportation.

SOURCE Council of the Americas