Don Alejandro E. Grullón, founder of the Banco Popular Dominicano and ad vitam chairman of the board of directors of that bank, passed away on Tuesday.
He was also the creator of the Cibao Association of Savings and Loans for Housing and the Financial Company for Development, among other related companies.
He was married to Doña Melba Segura de Grullón.
Don Alejandro E. Grullón E. was born on April 3, 1929 in Santiago de los Caballeros. He studied in that city until attending the University of Syracuse in New York, where he obtained a degree in Business Administration in 1951.
“His contributions to society have gone beyond the world of finance, becoming a real engine of development of the capabilities of our country. Therefore, from within the Association for the Development of Santiago, Inc. ( APEDI), in addition to collaborating in the foundation of important national institutions, managed to arouse interest in the creation of a private capital bank, the Dominican People’s Bank, an effort that took shape on August 23, 1963. , opening its doors on January 2, 1964 and quickly gaining representation in six major provinces, “notes a biography published by Banco Popular.
More than 50 years of contributions to the national banking system, Alejandro E. Grullón also stands out in the contribution of education, the environment and oyster sectors of society, which led them to receive important recognition from local to yoursPope John Paul II granted him the Order of St. Gregory the Great, in the rank of Knight of the Grand Cross, on August 25, 1997.
Below is a review of the work of this Santiaguero who emigrated to the Capital and founded several banking institutions such as Banco Popular, which highlights that entity.
In March 2014, Alejandro E. Grullón received honorary titles of Director Emeritus and President Ad Vitam, in the framework of the meetings of the Popular Group and Banco Popular Dominicana, where the convened shareholders approved the appointments, a proposal ‘Administration, of the lord Manuel A. Grullón as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Popular Group and Mr. Alejandro E. Grullón E. as Chairman of Ad Vitam and Emeritus Director of Banco Popular and the Popular Group.
In accordance with the company’s bylaws, the appointment as Director Emeritus granted to Mr. Alejandro E. Grullón E. is a tribute of a lifetime nature and the highest honor that the Popular Group grants to those directors who, for at least 15 years , have contributed “in a notorious and dignified way to the development of society”, and reached the age limit to be eligible. Additionally, as a special and unique distinction for his capacity as founder of Banco Popular and Grupo Popular, Mr. Alejandro E. Grullón E. was appointed Ad Vitam President of both institutions.
This institutional recognition is given to him “for his extraordinary merits, accumulated during more than five decades of professional career, for his visionary spirit and entrepreneurial character, for his significant contributions to the process of economic and social progress of the Dominican Republic” and for having distinguished “as an exemplary citizen of high social and human sensitivity”, said before the audience Mr. Manuel A. Grullón, according to the BPD portal.
Mr. Alejandro E. Grullón E. was the founder and chairman for 25 years, until 1989, of Banco Popular, the main private financial institution in the country, and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Popular Group for 40 years.
As Ad Vitam Chairman and Emeritus Director of these two institutions, Mr. Alejandro E. Grullón E. continued to participate as a permanent guest in the sessions of the Boards of Directors, and honorarily chaired the shareholders’ meetings.
Mr. Grullón assumed the presidency of the newly created Fundación Popular, Incorporada, a non-profit corporate entity, designed to influence the layout of economic, social and environmental sustainability policies, and to favor other foundations and social organizations of the Republic. Dominican Republic, acting in coordination with related national and international entities, seeks to promote a model of action and sustainable social management. ??
According to the statutes of the institution, this lifelong tribute is the most outstanding honor granted by the organization and is awarded to Mr. Alejandro E. Grullón E. as a fair recognition for his well-known career and his contributions to the financial system. national.
This tribute is given by virtue of the extraordinary merits accumulated during his long business career, which covers a space of more than five decades; for its visionary spirit and its entrepreneurial character, able to create and develop companies and institutions that have contributed significantly to the process of economic and social development of the country.
Mr. Grullón has played important roles in several commissions of notable businessmen, created to meet the country’s difficult challenges over the past 50 years.
Pioneer of Dominican private commercial banking
Due to its remarkable performance and its visionary role at the head of the first private equity bank in the Dominican Republic, which gathered from the beginning the contributions of shareholders and savers from all regions of the country, the Dominicans think of Mr. Alejandro E Grullón E. as the pioneer private commercial banking banker in the country.
His contributions to society have gone beyond the world of finance, becoming a real engine of capacity development in our country. Officially linked to family-owned timber and agricultural production, it will soon become aware of the needs of more diversified and accessible financial services for young entrepreneurs like him. Therefore, from within the Association for the Development of Santiago, Inc. (APEDI), in addition to collaborating in the foundation of important national institutions, managed to arouse interest in the creation of a bank of private capital, with representation in six important provinces, an effort that took shape on 23 August 1963.
The Banco Popular opened its doors to the public on January 2, 1964 and since its inception has focused on providing services to small industries, the rural sector, as well as opening savings and current accounts with low deposits. This meant an increase in access to financial services for the Dominican population and the consequent opening of avenues for growth and economic progress.
Mr. Alejandro E. Grullón E. is also distinguished for being the founder and president, among other companies, of Tenedora Popular, C. x A., in 1970, today Grup Popular, SA, with its Board of Directors chaired until on April 26, 2014.
In Universities
In addition, his figure has been closely linked to other important institutions in the country such as the Universidad Católica Mare and the Mestra de Santiago, of which he is a founding member and director of Ad Vitam. In 1964, he was elected director of Pro-Education and Culture Action (APEC) and, in 1978, a member of the Governing Commission of the Colonial Zone of the City of Santo Domingo and a member of the Commission for the Promotion of Foreign Investment. among other positions. .
His important role in Dominican society led him to chair the Organizing Committee of the V Conference of the Great Cities of the Americas in 1992, coinciding with the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Colonial City of Santo Domingo.
In recent decades, it has continued to support institutional initiatives aimed at improving the interests of Dominicans. Such is the case of the Monitoring Committee for the Remodeling and Maintenance Work of the Basilica Catedral Nuestra Señora de La Altagracia, the Board of Trustees of the “Virgilio Travieso Soto” Sports Palace, the Cueva de las Maravillas Board of Trustees Foundation, the Sur Futuro Foundation, the Museo de La Altagracia and the Presidential Advisory Council.
Mr. Grullón was appointed by decree of the Executive Branch to the presidency of the Board of Directors of the Sierra Plan, a non-profit institution that works for the conservation of water in the river basin of the north of the country and which today is the most important environmental sustainability project in the Dominican Republic, with outstanding annual contributions from the Popular.
Recognitions for his figure
Among the many recognitions to his person, Mr. Grullón received the Order of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella, in the Grade Commander, as well as the Heraldic Order of Christopher Columbus, in the Grade Gran Cruz Silver Plate, from the hands of the President of the Dominican Republic.
By his contributions to the Panamanian financial system, through the branch of international license Popular Bank, the president of the Republic of Panama, Mr. Martin Torrijos Espino decorated, it in 2009 with the Basque Order Núñez de Balboa, in the Degree of Grand Officer.
His Holiness Pope John Paul II awarded him the Order of St. Gregory the Great, in the rank of Knight of the Grand Cross, on August 25, 1997.
He received the Honoris Causa Doctorate in Humanities from the Pontifical Catholic University Mother and Teacher, on January 25, 1997, and the Honoris Causa Doctorate in Administrative Sciences awarded in October 2008 by the Central University of the East.
Months earlier, the Dominican Chamber of Deputies had granted recognition in August 2008, highlighting “its financial vision and high vocation for service.” Subsequently, in May 2011, the Senate distinguished him “for his contributions to the economic and social spheres of the Dominican Republic and for his impeccable life as a good man and exemplary citizen for the best interests of the nation.”
For its awareness of solidarity and outstanding social participation, the organization Solidarity with Development was awarded in July 2002 the recognition “Solidarity with Latin America”.