Lino Saputo

Emanuele "Lino" Saputo, CM OQ (Italian: [emanuˈɛːle liːno saˈpuːto]; born June 10, 1937) is an Italian-Canadian billionaire businessman. He is the founder of the Canadian cheese manufacturer Saputo Inc. According to Forbes, he is the 8th richest person in Canada and the 339th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$5.2 billion as of February 2020.[1]

Lino Saputo
Born
Emanuele Saputo

(1937-06-10) June 10, 1937
Montelepre, Sicily, Italy
NationalityCanadian[1]
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder of Saputo Inc.
Net worthUS$5.2 billion (February 2020)[1]
Children3, including Joey Saputo[1]

Early life

Saputo was born in Montelepre, Sicily, Italy, in 1937, to Giuseppe Saputo, a cheesemaker, and his wife Maria. He completed his secondary schooling in the early 1950s, and shortly thereafter, the Saputo family immigrated to Montreal, Quebec.

Career

Saputo became chairman of the board and president of Saputo Inc. in 1969, and he was named chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) in 1997[2] when the company went public. In March 2004, his son Lino Saputo Jr. was appointed to the position of president and CEO, while Saputo continued as the company's chairman. In August 2017, Lino Saputo Jr. assumed the role of chairman, and Saputo remains the majority shareholder of Saputo Inc.[1]

Possible links to the Mafia have been raised in the past, more recently in January 2020 with Radio-Canada investigative program Enquête. Saputo has repeatedly denied those allegations, writing in his book Entrepreneur: Living our dreams: "We respected the law, kept our distance from criminal organizations, and avoided crossing the wrong people".[2]

Other interests

Saputo owns a significant stake in a trucking company, TransForce, and has extensive investments in real estate, forest products, hotels and golf courses.[3]

Saputo committed C$7.5 million towards the construction of Montreal Impact's Saputo Stadium at Olympic Park in July 2006.

Honours

In 2011, he was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec.[4] He was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada (CM) in 2012, per the Government House announcement on June 29, 2012, and the Canada Gazette on September 1, 2012.

His son Lino Saputo Jr. was named "Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year" for 2019 by the Financial Post.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Forbes profile: Emanuele (Lino) Saputo & family". Forbes. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  2. "Quebec dairy mogul Lino Saputo had secret past dealings with U.S. mobster Joe Bonanno, then lied about it". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. January 16, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  3. "Canada's Richest People: The Saputo Family". canadianbusiness.com. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  4. "National Order of Quebec citation". National Order of Quebec (in French). Archived from the original on April 15, 2012.
  5. Andy Holloway Financial Post (October 10, 2019). "Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year 2019: Lino Saputo Jr". Retrieved November 8, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.