Reuven Bigio
Chairman
Mr. Bigio is Chairman of GB Group. He has been an active member of the group’s management team and Board since 1998. As Chairman of the Group today, Mr Bigio oversees the general administrative and strategic activities of the group’s investments and operations regionally. Mr. Bigio completed his education in Europe and the United States. He also functions as the Honorary Consul General of the State of Israel in Haiti and played a significant role in the establish-ment of the Israeli Defense Forces Field Hospital in Port-au-Prince immediately after the January 2010 earthquake.
Clement Beyda
Executive Vice President
Mr. Beyda is President of Huileries Haitiennes, S.A., Agro Products & Services and Southern Commercial Corporation. He has led the Group’s growth in the consumer goods industry for the last 27 years. He is a 1976 University of Rhode Island graduate with a degree in Industrial Management Production and Operations Control.
Pablo Portes
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Portes is CEO of GB Group. Pablo enjoys more than 19 years of executive experience working in the USA, London, The Hague & the Dominican Republic at Royal Dutch Shell for downstream, trading, gas & power. His experience also encompasses the upstream side of the business in regions such as: the Caribbean, Central America, Andes, United States, Europe, and global markets. Mr. Portes’s most recent educational achievement is his MBA from Western Michigan University, MI.
Laurence Bigio
Executive Vice President Marketing
Laurence Sarah Bigio is President of Marketing, responsible for the Group’s image, concentrating on maintaining an active leadership role in our home market while shaping a business environment that upholds the company’s mission and vision. She first joined Agro Products and Services over 20 years ago as Vice President of Business Development before assuming the Marketing duties for the GB Group. She is also CEO of Caribbean Media and was responsible for the direction and publishing of Challenges Magazine – Haiti’s premier news magazine during its envisioned lifespan.
Yael Bigio
Executive Vice President
Mrs. Bigio Garoute is CEO of Immocaraibes. She oversees the Group’s housing product offerings and real estate development activities for the residential and commercial retail markets. She is currently designing a unique high end residential and tourism project on the famous island affectionately called “Ibo Beach,” located just 20 minutes north of Port-au-Prince. Mrs. Bigio Garoute has been active in this field for the last 11 years and has delivered turnkey housing projects all over the country.
Andress Appolon
General Manager – LIFZ
Mrs. Appolon serves as General Manager of Lafito Industrial Free Zone and Lafito Commercial Free Zone. With nearly two decades of experience with major infrastructure projects for US State treasuries, the Haitian Executive branch, and Multinational Development Banks, Mrs. Appolon provides unique knowledge & expertise for the strategic growth of the Group’s industrial power business. Mrs. Appolon holds an MPP in Business and Government Policy from Harvard University.
Juan Carlos Chang
Corporate Planning, Systems and IT Director
Mr. Chang brings thirty years of experience in the field of ERP systems and Financial controls having held various senior positions in Finance and IT at Royal Dutch Shell prior to joining the GB Group. His role is to constantly challenge existing practices to find better ways to add value to shareholders’ and executives’ decision-making processes by providing high quality Management Information. Thanks to his specific skills and experience he is responsible for all matters related to management information systems, financial planning and IT application support and projects.
Luis Fernandez de Castro
Operations Director - GB Energy
Mr. Fernández is the Operation & Supply Director for GB Energy. He is a mechanical engineer with over 25 years of executive experience working for The Shell Company (WI) LTD in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. His experience includes Management of supply and distribution operations, terminal engineering, road transport operations and HSSE.
Victor Dominguez
CEO - Bandari
Mr. Dominguez has 40 years of experience in the oil industry, 22 of them serving at Shell acting in different managerial roles from Operations to Sales & Marketing. In April 2019, Victor joined GB Energy to become Bandari's CEO. A graduate from the University of Puerto Rico with a BA in Economics, Victor is a recognized leader in Puerto Rico and Haiti being an active member of the Haitian Association des Importateurs des Produits Petroliers (APP), the American Chamber of Commerce in Haiti, the Puerto Rico Manufacturing Association and the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce.
Deborah Fouche
Business Manager – Citadelle United SA
Mrs. Fouché, with a management degree from Miami and over 25 years of experience in sales both in the United States and Haiti, started with the company in 2010 as the General Manager. Citadelle is a joint investment between GB Group and DOMICEM belonging to the Colacem Group and Dominican families: Vicini, Oller and Macarrulla. In 2017, she was promoted as the Business management of the cement plant overseeing sales, production and logistics.
Jean Marc Glaudon
GM – Acierie d’Haiti
Mr. Glaudon has been in the building materials industry for the last 15 years, acting as Chief Operating Officer for Acierie d’Haiti. As a result, he has one of the leading experiences in the group related to the marketing and distribution of goods within this sector and is one of the Board’s top advisors in matters related to Business Development. Mr. Glaudon was also a key contributor to GB Group’s supporting role to the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) rescue mission in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake.
Rosanna Grullon
General Manager - GBE St. Maarten
Ms. Grullón is Chief Executive Officer of Sint Maarten. She enjoys 21 years of experience in the industry working with Texaco, Chevron and GB Group. Rosanna has a Marketing degree as well as a Masters in Business Administration in International Commerce. Before being promoted to CEO in St. Maarten, Ms. Grullon served as Operations Director for Texaco for 20 years in the Dominican Republic.
Richard Henriquez
Supply & Trading Advisor - GB Energy
Mr. Henriquez has been in the Downstream Oil industry for over 15 years having previously dedicated his time to working for Chevron Products in Houston, Texas as planner in the Supply Optimization team overseeing the Latin American market. In addition to supply and trading, his areas of expertise include working with multifunctional teams, business analysis, demand forecasting, lubricants, marketing support & accounting.
Edmundo Jiménez
Aviation Director - GB Energy
Mr. Jimenez is GB Energy’s current Director of Aviation. He joined the group as a team member of GB Energy’s acquisition of Chevron assets. He was formerly Shell’s Aviation Regional Sales Manager for the Caribbean, Central America and South American countries and kept a position within the company for over 18 years. He enjoys 24 years of experience in the oil business, including 16 years in the Aviation Business.
Beth Johnson
CFO
Ms. Johnson is CFO of GB Group and comes to us with a wealth of experience accumulated over the course of her career across multiple industries, having served most recently as CFO of World Fuels Land operations. She has held leadership positions in Audit, Finance, Internal Control, Operations and IT in both public and privately owned organizations. Beth is a CPA and obtained her MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Peter Kratz
Sr. Supply & Trading Advisor - GB Energy
Mr. Kratz has decades of experience in physical crude oil and refined products trading and supply and is familiar with all related operational, financial and commercial aspects, as well as with business development. He was previously associated with major trading companies and a power utility in regions such as Europe, Africa, North and South Americas and the Caribbean.
Jodi-Lynn Kurzweil
Controller - Agro Products
Ms. Kurzweil is the Financial Controller for Agro Products and Services. She began her career with the Group 30 years ago in May 1990 and since has held various roles in Accounting, Office Management, and Human Resources. Ms. Kurzweil combines strong expertise in the Finance and Accounting domains with deep knowledge of the Group's operations. She holds a BS in Business with a concentration in Finance from the University of Florida, and while working for the Group pursued an MBA from Barry University with a concentration in accounting. She is also a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Florida.
Benson Lothin
CFO - Aciérie d’Haiti & GBG Haiti
Mr. Lothin joined GB Group in May 2013 bringing over 20 years of experience in the finance and treasury fields having served as Assistant Vice President in Haiti's largest commercial bank as well as Deputy and Financial Controller for Brasserie Nationale d'Haiti. He also served 15 years in the Haitian banking system holding several managerial and executive positions in renowned institutions such as Bank of Boston. Mr. Lothin is a CPA with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Université d’Etat d’Haiti and holds a DESS in Bank & Financial Systems from Université Paris, Panthéon-Sorbonne.
Alberto Merida
Corporate Controller - GB Group
Mr. Merida is the Corporate Controller for GB Group. He joined the company in January 2016 as Controller of the Energy division, becoming the Group Corporate Controller a year later. For two and a half years, Alberto was the CFO of Puma Energy in Puerto Rico and USVI. For the previous 14 years, he worked with Motorola Inc., supporting international markets in multiple finance roles.
Richard Noritake
EVP Capital Markets
Mr. Noritake enjoys over 20 years of experience in investment banking, as well as strategic planning and operations. At Citibank, Mr. Noritake was head of their Structured Trade Finance Division and Co-Head of Loan Structuring and Syndications in Latin America completing over $12 billion in complex cross-border transactions. At Standard Bank of South Africa, Mr. Noritake was the Managing Director responsible for all the bank’s lending activities in the Americas including acquisition and project finance.
Agustin Núñez
CFO - GB Energy Dr
Mr. Núñez enjoys more than 20 years of executive experience working in the global apparel industry in USA, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. In addition, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director for the Caribbean and Central America for Brightstar Corp., the world's largest wireless handset distributor and leader of the value-added services in the Telecommunications Sector. Mr. Núñez is a CPA with a Bachelors degree in Accounting with a specialty in Organizational Development and a Masters in Business Administration.
Gerson Oviedo
CFO – Port Lafito
Mr. Oviedo has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Honduras in addition to a certificate in Business Direction from Barna Business School in the Dominican Republic. He joined Port Lafito in 2018 as Chief Financial Officer after 16 years of experience leading complex areas such as finance, accounting, supply chain management and IT for both public and multinational companies in the garment and cement manufacturing industries in Central America and the Caribbean.
Mauricio Pulido
General Manager - GBE DR
Mr. Pulido is the current General Manager for GB Energy Dominican Republic, the Group’s downstream Petroleum distribution company in this territory. He enjoys more than 22 years of executive experience working in USA, Colombia & Venezuela with Chevron Corporation for downstream activities such as: portfolio management, retail, consumer & industrial, LPG, and lubricants. Mr. Pulido holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Los Andes University of Colombia.
Gilson Ribeiro
CEO - GB Energy
Mr. Ribeiro enjoys more than 30 years of experience in the marketing, distribution, and commercialization of petroleum products and its derivatives such as its varied fuels, lubricants, and downstream operations. Before joining GB Group, Gilson had been CEO for Chevron in the Caribbean, Central, and South America.
Julián Rojas
HSSE Manager - GB Energy
Mr. Rojas enjoys more than 18 years of experience in Occupational Health, Safety, Security and Environment management in the Caribbean and Europe. He has acquired experience in diverse sectors including consultancy, construction and the oil industry having previously held leadership positions in Shell. He holds a degree in Civil Engineering and Masters in Occupational Health, Safety, Ergonomics and Applied Psychosociology. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Civil Engineering at the University of A Coruña, Spain.
Robert Soussan
Shareholders Representative - Port Lafito
With over 35 years experience in the shipping industry, Mr. Soussan has predominantly worked in the operations field implementing safe working procedures in various locations, starting projects in ports and managing vessel operations from major shipping line headquarters. Mr. Soussan has gained vast experience in Central & Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean, having extensive knowledge in managing, organizing and negotiating with multi-cultural enterprises always prioritizing safety and business ethics.
Bela G. Szabo
General Manager - GBE Jamaica
Mr. Szabo enjoys more than 20 years of executive experience in the insurance, telecommunications and petroleum industries having worked both in the United States and the Dominican Republic overseeing the Caribbean, Central America and USA markets. He has served in many senior roles most recently, prior to joining GB Energy, as Vice President of Corporate and International Business at Tricom S.A. in the Dominican Republic. Mr. Szabo’s holds an Electrical Engineering bachelor's degree, a masters in Marketing and an MBA from Les Heures Universidad de Barcelona.
Guy William
General Manager - Port Lafito
With a Bachelors degree in Finance & Business Administration from InterAmerican University in San Juan, PR, Mr. William is Port Lafito’s General Manager. Previously, he had served EXXON Haiti in 1989 through 1993 as Sales Supervisor and dedicated 11 years to being plant manager for SEAGRAM Canada in both Haiti and Dom. Rep. In 2005, Guy joined DINASA’s propane gas segment, as Sodigaz’s Director and subsequently as Director of New Business Development. Today, after working a few years in the public sector, he is proud to push Haiti’s Panamax Port, a virtuous endeavor, forth.
