Alvaro Saieh Bendeck is one of the wealthiest businessmen in Chile; his ancestors are from Palestine. He has been serving as the First Vice Chairman of the board of directors in Corpbanca S.A.
It is one of the most important banking institutions in the country. Apart from that, he has also served as the Chief Executive Officer at Copesa, a media conglomerate, and as a President of the Corp S.A. He has been involved in numerous economic activities about the development of real estate and the country’s financial sector.
He has given an incredible overall performance while he was in charge of the Banco Osorno earlier than it was sold to the Banco Santander. He has contributed to yet another region of the country’s financial industry, that the pension fund.
He managed the AFPfor as long as six years and eventually sold his equity stakes of 40% to the BBVA Group withinside the year 1999. He owns well-known companies such as The Four Seasons Buenos Aires, the Grand Hyatt Santiago, and the Four Seasons Carmelo.
A Continuing Zeal for Success
Among his latest feats, his venture into retail activities is the most remarkable. He introduced Unimarc in 2007 with a share of only 1%. By 2008, the organisation showed a share of 20%, which was pretty commendable. Unimarc is regarded as the country’s third retail chain and had a funding plan of more than $300 from 3 years of its inception.
Saieh is likewise the director of the Chilean Stock Exchange and an adviser on the Sociedad de Fomento Fabril. He is one of the key contributors to the International Institute of Finance. Not only is he a hit businessman, but he is also properly educated. He has a diploma in business engineering from the Universidad de Chile.
Academic Honors
In 2006, the title of Professor Emeritus was bestowed upon him at the University of Chile. The audience consisted of diplomats, academics, congress members, and business leaders.
There was a unanimous vote among the Faculty Council to honour him as an appreciation of his thirty-five years of commitment towards the University. He has also completed his doctorate in Economics from Chicago University.
Stakes in Companies
Today, Alvaro Saieh Bendeck claims as much as fifty per cent of Corpbanca. He built the Chilean bank in 1995 after he bought Banco Concepcion. In 2012, the Columbian unit of Banco Santander was added by him. It is expected that the Corpbanca will merge with a team of Itau, a Brazillian bank, by 2015.
Itau Holdings have reportedly agreed to pay $2.2 billion for the Corpbanca. It will also receive a stake of 33.58% in the bank. The insurance holdings of Saieh have a good majority interest in Corpvida and Corpseguros.
He is also the president of SMU, a supermarket chain in Chile ,and owns the majority sof hares of it. Alvaro has been a force to reckon with in the world of banking and retail in Chile.