Alfredo José Anzola

Alfredo José Anzola was born on June 11, 1974.[9] His father was Alfredo Anzola Mendez,[10] and his mother was Christina Jaumotte de Galavís.[11]

Alfredo José Anzola was childhood friends[10][3] with Antonio Mugica, with whom he would later found Smartmatic.

Alfredo José Anzola Jaumotte, Smartmatic co-founder, was in a relationship with Delcy Rodríguez prior to his death in April 2008.

Alfredo José Anzola held a degree in Industrial Engineering from Andrés Bello Catholic University.[1] He also began[1] the TRIUM Global Executive MBA program which is offered jointly by the New York University Stern School of Business, the London School of Economics and the HEC School of Management, Paris.

In 1997,[12] Alfredo José Anzola, along with Antonio Mugica and Roger Piñate,[13] began collaborating in a group while working at Panagroup Corporation[14] in Caracas, Venezuela.[15][16][17][18][19]

Smartmatic was officially incorporated on April 11, 2000 in Delaware by Alfredo José Anzola.[20][21][22] Smartmatic was then a fledgling technology start-up. Its registered address was the Boca Raton, Florida, home of the father of one of the two young Venezuelan engineers who were its principal officers, Antonio Mugica and Alfredo Anzola, and it had a one—room office with a single secretary.[23] Smartmatic was a little-known firm with no experience in voting technology before it was chosen by the Venezuelan authorities to replace the country's elections machinery ahead of a contentious referendum that confirmed Hugo Chávez as president in August 2004.[23]

In March 2005,[23] with a windfall of some $120 million from its first three contracts with Venezuela, Smartmatic then bought the much larger and more established Sequoia Voting Systems, which by 2006 had voting equipment installed in 17 states and the District of Columbia.[23]

On Monday, April 28, 2008, about 14:25 universal coordinated time (UTC), a Piper PA-31-310, N6463L, was destroyed during impact with residences,[24][9][11] shortly after takeoff from Aeropuerto Internacional Del Centro Simon Bolivar (SVMI), Maiquetia, Venezuela. The certificated airline transport pilot, two passengers, and five people on the ground were fatally injured. The flight was destined for Hato Airport (TNCC), Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles.[9] According to preliminary information from the Junta Investigadora de Accidentes de Aviacion (JIAA) of Venezuela, the pilot reported a loss of engine power after takeoff, and attempted to return to the departure airport. During the return, the airplane impacted several buildings in a residential area, and a post crash fire ensued.[9]

On board the plane were the pilot, Mario Jose Donadi,[9] a convicted drug-trafficker[8] [25]in both the United States and Venezuela; Smartmatic employee Eduardo Ramirez,[9] a lawyer and consultant for the firm,[11] and Alfredo José Anzola.[9] A partner of the company, Carolina Caruci,[11] recalled that a Smartmatic shareholders' meeting was to be held that day in Curaçao,[11] where the company was registered. As there were no direct flights that morning, the plane had been hired by the Smartmatic company to make a charter flight to Curaçao.[11]

After the plane crash, the Governor of the State of Miranda, Diosdado Cabello Rondón, arranged for Anzola's transfer from a local hospital to one in Caracas.[26] The Minister of the Interior, Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, also traveled to the Periférico de Pariata to ascertain Anzola's health.[24] However, Alfredo José Anzola died at an area hospital.[24]