Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series
The Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series was established in 1995 through the generous support of the Honorable Julia Chang Bloch and Stuart Marshall Bloch, A.B. '64, and designed to provide recognition to a University of Miami alumnus/a who has distinguished themselves and their alma mater through lifetime achievement and professional accomplishments.
Guillermo de Aranzabal Agudo, M.B.A. '84
President and CEO, Grupo La Rioja Alta, S.A.
January 19, 2012 at 6 p.m.
Newman Alumni Center
6200 San Amaro Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146
The University of Miami Alumni Association is pleased to host Guillermo de Aranzabal Agudo, M.B.A. '84 as the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Lecturer on January 19, 2012 at the Newman Alumni Center.
In 2005, Mr. Guillermo de Aranzabal became president and CEO of Grupo La Rioja Alta, S.A., his family's wine company located in Haro, Spain. Since 1890, the year in which the bodega was founded, Mr. Aranzabal's family has been involved in the company, as small growers, co-owners, and directors. He is now the fifth generation managing the company.
In 1995, he was inducted as the youngest member of La Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino, an order established to give recognition to those persons in the U.K. Trade who have shown exceptional endeavor in promoting the quality wines of Spain. In 2006 he founded the Association of Centenary and Traditional Wineries and appointed a member of the Basque Academy of Gastronomy. In 2007 he founded and chaired the Asociación para el desarrollo turístico Barrio de la Estación; an association dedicated to the development of tourism in the city of Haro, La Rioja, one of the top touristic wine-destinations in Europe. He was also former president of La Fundacion para la Cultura del Vino, an organization made up of public and private entities that seek to communicate and train the community on wine culture, serve as a link between consumers and the wine industry, and support quality Spanish wines.
Mr. Aranzabal has been a guest lecturer on "International Trade and Marketing" at the University at Santiago de Compostela, The Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior, The Faculty of Economics at the University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, and at various prestige's events and symposiums in Spain.
He is a graduate of the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain, where he earned degrees in Law and Economics. In 1982, he also studied Management at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, and in 1984, he received a master's degree in Business Administration at the University of Miami.
Past Distinguished Alumni Lecturers
2010-Joseph J. Echevarria Jr., B.B.A. '78, Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte Services, LP
2008-T. Kendall "Ken" Hunt, B.B.A. '65; Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, VASCO Data Security International, Inc.
2008-Matt Rubel, M.B.A. '80; Former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Collective Brands, Incorporated
2006-Hal Rosenbluth, B.G.S. '74; Co-Founder, Chairman of the Board
Take Care Health Systems
2005-Jack Creighton, M.B.A. '66; former Chief Executive Officer for Weyerhaeuser Company and United Airlines
2002-Barry Richard, A.B. '64, J.D. '67; Litigation Partner, Greenberg Traurig, P.A.
2000-Barbara Milo Ohrbach; '61, Author
1998-Lari White, B.M. '88; Singer, Songwriter & Lecturer
1997-Stephen J. Dresnick, M.D. '75; President, C.E.O. & Chairman of the Board, Sterling Healthcare Group, Inc.
1997-Dawnn Lewis, B.M. '82; Actress, Singer, & Lecturer
1995-Michael R. Klein, Esq., B.B.A. '63, J.D. '66; Partner, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering
