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Isabel Noboa Pontón de Loor is an Ecuadorian businessperson, the founder and chief executive officer of the , one of the largest business groups in Ecuador. She is considered one of the most prominent women entrepreneurs in Latin America, and is known for philanthropic initiatives.


Biography

Isabel Noboa is the daughter of Ecuadorian businessman , founder of the Noboa Corporation, and Isabel Pontón Ávila. She was one of six siblings, one of whom is businessman and politician
Álvaro Noboa Álvaro Fernando Noboa Pontón (born November 21, 1950) is an Ecuadorian businessman and politician. Noboa has been actively involved in politics, unsuccessfully running for the office of President of Ecuador in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2009 and 2013 ...
. She left Ecuador at age 12 to study at St. George's School in
Clarens, Switzerland Clarens-Montreux or Clarens is a neighborhood in the municipality of Montreux, in the canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. This neighborhood is the biggest and most populated of the city of Montreux. Clarens was made famous throughout Europe by the i ...
. Later she would take distance learning classes in economics from the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...
. After her return to
Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...
, she married at age 21, and had three children. In 1968, she opened an English and French language academy at their residence. In 1974, she closed the academy and began philanthropic work with a foundation in support of adoption. In 1994, after the death of her father, Luis Noboa, disputes occurred between his heirs, until they finally reached a settlement agreement in 1997. This happened while Isabel Noboa's marriage was going through a severe crisis. Under the terms of the agreement, she was assigned some of the companies of the former Noboa Corporation, which would become the foundations of the . She shared ownership with her sister Diana, who would later step aside due to the economic situation of the country at that time. In 1998, Noboa and Isidro Romero divorced by mutual agreement. In 2007, she married Dr. Agustin Loor in a lavish ceremony held at his mansion in La Moraleja on Via a Samborodon, attended by many members of Guatemalan and Ecuadorian high society. She has maintained a cordial relationship with Romero and his family, to the point that she and Loor are regularly invited to their parties.


Business career

From the partition of the Noboa Corporation, Isabel Noboa was assigned as the national representative of
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atla ...
, the , and , among other companies and investments. Until 1997, she had been a housewife, with no experience in the business world, but she decided to run these companies herself. For this purpose, she created the Nobis Consortium and trained in business administration by enrolling in the Advanced Management Program at
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...
. The beginnings of her business career were marked by the 1998–99 financial crisis. She and her team took care of stabilizing several companies with millions of dollars in debts. Another of Noboa's business achievements was the rescue of the historic brand. During the 2000s, Isabel Noboa emerged as a recognized figure in the Ecuadorian business scene, especially in the Guayaquil real estate market through the company Pronobis.


Philanthropy

Isabel Noboa has founded and chaired several
nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
s in Ecuador, such as the Foundation for the Adoption of Our Children (FANN) in 1974, the "Seeds of Love" Foundation for the prevention and treatment of addiction, and the Nobis Foundation, a
social responsibility Social responsibility is an ethical framework in which an individual is obligated to work and cooperate with other individuals and organizations for the benefit of the community that will inherit the world that individual leaves behind. Social ...
initiative, in 1999. Since 2000, she has organized the "Ecuador Triunfador" campaign that awards prizes annually for young Ecuadorians who develop
social enterprise A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises ca ...
s oriented toward values of coexistence.


Minister

In early 2003, during the government of
Lucio Gutiérrez Lucio Edwin Gutiérrez Borbúa (born 23 March 1957 in Quito) served as 43rd President of Ecuador from 15 January 2003 to 20 April 2005. Early life Lucio Gutierrez, in full Lucio Edwin Gutiérrez Borbua, (born 23 March 1957, Quito, Ecuador), ...
, Isabel Noboa served as president of the National Competitiveness Council of Ecuador, a position with the rank of minister. She resigned at the end of that year.


Works

* ''Luis Noboa Naranjo: Perfil de un triunfador'' (2000), Editorial Norma, , biography of her father


Awards and recognitions

* Regonized as "Most respected business leader of Ecuador" in 2007, 2008, and 2011 by
PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four account ...
of Ecuador and '' El Comercio'' Weekly Leaders * Selected as "the most innovative and respected businesswoman" among 500 businesspeople from Ecuador in a 2009 survey conducted by ' Magazine * Dr. Matilde Hidalgo de Procel Decoration for Business Merit from the
National Assembly of Ecuador The National Assembly ( es, Asamblea Nacional) is the unicameral legislature of Ecuador. It replaced the National Congress in 2009 following reforms under the 2008 Constitution. The current President of the Assembly is Virgilio Saquicela sinc ...
in 2012 * Municipality of Guayaquil Prize, 2017 * José María Roca Medal for Merit from the Latin American World Business Forum


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Noboa, Isabel 1946 births 20th-century philanthropists 21st-century businesswomen 21st-century philanthropists Ecuadorian chief executives Living people Nonprofit chief executives People from Guayaquil Women chief executives Women nonprofit executives Ecuadorian businesspeople 20th-century women philanthropists 21st-century women philanthropists