Jorge Horacio Brito (born July 23, 1952) is an Argentine banker and businessman,CEO of Argentina’s largest bank, Macro Bank (Banco Macro). He was also the President and Chairman of Argentine Banking Association (ADEBA) from 2003 to 2016.
As businessman, he has investments in real state through the firm Vizora, in agriculture and livestock (with the companies Inversora Juramento, Frigoríficos Bermejo and Cabañas Juramento) and wind power, a renewable energy generated by the corporation Genneia Inc.
In 2016 he won the Fortuna Lifetime Achievements Awards because of his trajectory in Argentinean business community.
In 2017 Forbes Magazine placed Nº. 1.567 of the World’s Billionaires list. In Argentina, he is the 7th richest businessman of the country.
Early life and education
Jorge Brito was born to an upper-class family in Buenos Aires in 1952 and was raised by his mother, who was widowed in 1962.
Career
Banking and finance
He founded Anglia, a brokerage firm, in 1976 and, in 1985, purchased a competing brokerage, Financiera Macro, forming Macro Bank (Banco Macro). He was named Chairman of the Board of Directors in June 1988 and cultivated close relationships with leading officials in the governments of both Raúl Alfonsín and Carlos Menem. During the Menem presidency, Brito came under criticism for allegations of favorable treatment for one of Macro’s largest borrowers, leather manufacturer Emir Yoma (Menem’s brother-in-law), particularly after Macro’s 1995 rescue by the Central Bank of Argentina.[7] Under Brito’s leadership, Macro Bank grew steadily with the acquisition of numerous provincial banks privatized during the 1990s, including the Bank of Salta (his native province) and of neighboring Tucumán Province.
Macro Bank grew to become one of the major private banks of Argentina, with several branches around country. Brito is the chairman of Macro Bank’s board of directors, its Chief Executive Officer, and a member of its executive committee and senior credit committee.
Brito became chairman of the Argentine Banking Association (ADEBA) on April 8, 2003 until 2016, when was succeed by Daniel Llambías, chairman of Grupo Financiero Galicia owner of Banco Galicia. ADEBA was founded in 1972 and is part of the G-6 Group, which unites the main Argentine business entities such as the Argentine Industrial Union, the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, the Argentine Construction Chamber, the Argentine Chamber of Commerce, and the Argentine Rural Society. The Group organizes debates related with domestic economy and development.
Brito serves as chairman of the boards of directors of Banco del Tucuman S.A., Inversora Juramento S.A., and Banco Privado de Inversiones S.A. He is the founder and CEO of Banco Macro, and oversees investments in diverse activities such as real estate (through Vizora), and in farming and cattle raising through Inversora Juramento Inc., Frigoríficos Bermejo Inc. cold storages and Cabañas Juramento Inc. butcher shops. Moreover, he owns a share of Genneia Inc., an energy sector company. He also serves as chairman of the board of directors of YPF, long the largest petroleum producer and refiner in Argentina. Brito was among those who expressed interest in the purchase of 20% of the Madrid-based Repsol’s ownership of the former state oil concern, when these shares were offered for sale in 2007.
Between 2012 and 2014, Jorge Brito was the president of the Latin America Banking Federation (FELABAN), a non-profit organization whose aim is to ease and promote relationships between all Latin American financing entities.
Brito was mentioned in cables written in 2008 and 2009 by the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, later made public by Wikileaks, as having had a close connection to the late President Néstor Kirchner and a less intimate relationship with current President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
Summary
| Jorge Horacio Brito | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 23, 1952 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Nationality | Argentina |
| Occupation | Banker and businessman |
| Known for | founder and CEO of Banco Macro, Former President and Chairman of ADEBA |
| Net worth |  US$1.37 billion |
| Spouse(s) | Marcela Carballo |
Source: