Andy Unanue is the current Managing Partner of AUA Private Equity Partners, an operationally-focused, lower middle-market private equity firm that targets Hispanic-oriented and family-owned companies. Unanue is the former Chief Operating Officer of the family-owned

Goya Foods Goya Foods, Inc. is an American producer of a brand of foods sold in the United States and many Spanish-speaking countries. It has facilities in the United States, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Spain. It is under third-generation ownersh ...

, the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States. In 2008, he flirted with candidacy for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey.

Biography

Unanue was born and raised in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, the grandson of

' founders, Spaniards Prudencio Unanue Ortiz and Carolina Casal, and son of

Joseph A. Unanue Joseph Andrew Unanue (March 14, 1925 – June 12, 2013) was a New York-born son of Spanish parents who was the president of Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic–owned food company in the United States. After a Catholic upbringing and education i ...

. He attended St. Joseph School in

Bogota, New Jersey Bogota is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 8,187,Alpine Public School The Alpine Public School District is a community public school district serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade in the Borough of Alpine in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, c ...

and

Bergen Catholic High School Bergen Catholic High School is an all-male Roman Catholic high school in Oradell, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Col ...

. Unanue received a bachelor's degree from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, ...

and an MBA from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management.Business Wire, July 18th, 2000 He began working in his father's company in their Miami office, working his way up to President of Goya de Santo Domingo. After his brother Joseph F. Unanue died of myelodysplastic syndrome in 1998, he became Executive Vice President. Unanue became Goya's COO in 1999. In February 2004, Unanue left Goya to establish a family office. Through his family office AU & Associates, LLC, he has made investments in companies such as Opt-Intelligence, Inc., BigFish Games, Inc. and eSchoolData, LLC. He was also a former Operating Executive of Palladium Equity Partners. In August 2007, Unanue formed Trufoods LLC, which now owns the franchises Wall Street Deli, Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips, Ritter's Frozen Custard, and Pudgie's Famous Chicken. In October 2010, he married Marie O'Mara in Mayakoba, Mexico.

Candidacy for United States Senate

In 2008, Unanue was briefly a Republican primary candidate to face incumbent

Frank Lautenberg Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was or ...

in that year's U.S. Senate election. Unanue announced his candidacy after the withdrawal of moderate Republican Anne Evans Estabrook, who was initially the New Jersey GOP establishment's choice but quit the race due to a mini-stroke. Unanue was reportedly considering dropping out of the Senate race to make way for

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

biotechnology executive John Crowley, but after Crowley signaled that he would not run, Unanue announced that he had filed petitions for the race on April 7, 2008. However, on April 11, Unanue dropped out of the race, and his committee on vacancies designated former

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivale ...

Dick Zimmer Richard Alan Zimmer (born August 16, 1944) is an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey, who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature and in the United States House of Representatives. He was the Republican nominee for t ...

to enter the race under the Unanue petitions.

AUA Private Equity Partners

In April 2012, Unanue officially announced the formation of AUA Private Equity Partners by partnering with the former principals of Gotham Private Equity Partners, L.P., who integrated their operations into AUA Equity. Unanue and Gotham had been working together for over 3 years. AUA Private Equity Partners is an operationally-focused, lower middle-market private equity firm. The firm invests primarily in companies in the consumer, media and business services sectors, with a particular focus on Hispanic-oriented companies and family-owned businesses located in the United States."AUA Private Equity Partners"
/ref> AUA Private Equity Partners currently manages five portfolio companies, including Two-Twenty Records Management, LLC, a records information management business and Brighter Dental Solutions LLC, a regional dental practice management company.

References

External links

Website for AUA Private Equity Partners
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unanue, Andy Living people American people of Spanish descent Puerto Rican people in New Jersey politics Bergen Catholic High School alumni New Jersey Republicans People from Alpine, New Jersey University of Miami alumni American chief operating officers Thunderbird School of Global Management alumni Year of birth missing (living people)