Abílio Santos Diniz, better known as Abílio Diniz, was a bold leader and one of the most successful entrepreneurs, revolutionizing Brazilian retail.
Who was abilio diniz
Abílio Diniz was the son of Portuguese parents, Valentim and Floripes, who met in the capital city of São Paulo and married in 1939. His father was a businessman who began his journey by opening a grocery store in the year Abílio was born.
Encouraged by his father Valentim, Abílio grew up practicing sports, improving his discipline and self-esteem, despite many years of childhood bullying. This marked the beginning of his passion for the sports world, which stayed with him until the end of his life. A São Paulo FC supporter through and through, Abílio was a regular at the team’s games and club activities.
Diniz was a religious man, actively attending Sunday masses at the Jardim Europa Parish, devoted to the catholic faith. This devotion to spiritual life was inherited from his mother, Floripes. He often said that his greatest strength was the faith he had in God.
After three weeks hospitalized at Hospital Albert Einstein with pneumonia, he passed away on February 18, 2024, due to respiratory failure.
THE BEGINNING: GROCERY STORE, EDUCATION, AND THE FIRST MARKET
In his childhood, Abilio was already active in the “grocery store business” alongside his father, participating in processes that led to his professional choice.
When choosing a course for higher education, he opted for Business Administration at the Getulio Vargas Foundation School of Business Administration in 1956. Abilio dreamed of becoming a professor, and upon completing his degree, he considered pursuing it further, but was interrupted and encouraged by his father to open his first market. So, in April 1959, the first Pão de Açúcar was born on Avenida Brigadeiro Luiz Antônio.
THE 1960S AND 1970S, FAMILY, AND THE GROWTH OF PÃO DE AÇÚCAR
In 1960, Abilio married Auriluce, and together they had four children: Ana Maria, João Paulo, Pedro Paulo, and Adriana. The second store in the supermarket chain was opened in 1963 on Rua Maria Antonia, in Higienópolis. At this point, supermarkets were attracting the middle class of the time and becoming successful nationwide. Subsequently, the family led the growth and consolidation of the retail sector by acquiring competitors such as Peg-Pag and Sirva-se. One of Abílio’s secrets for growth was the location of his stores; everything was studied and planned to evaluate if there would be a supermarket there.
In the late 1960s, he excelled in sports, winning motorboat championships and the Mil Milhas de Interlagos in 1970, alongside his brother, Alcides.
Around the same time, caring about the education of his employees, Abílio created one of the country’s first trainee programs. Later, at the invitation of his friend Mario Henrique Simonsen, the businessman got a stint on the National Monetary Council. For him, this period was dubbed as lost time, as he felt he didn’t make a substantial impact on the country and also distanced himself considerably from his company during this period.
Twists and learnings
Between 1980 and 1990, Abílio’s life underwent major upheavals that changed the course of his history. The first event was the family rupture due to succession disputes in Pão de Açúcar, involving Abílio and his brothers. This tension persisted until January 1994 when an agreement was finally reached, guaranteeing Abílio control of the company. The second was his kidnapping on December 11, 1989, during which Abílio spent seven days in captivity, leading him to abandon the idea of being invulnerable. Finally, Pão de Açúcar nearly went bankrupt in 1990. Facing these challenges, Abílio transformed his mindset so that he could face life and the world with more lightness and humility.
These experiences, however difficult and even traumatic, elevated his connection with the divine and his spiritual life.
RENAISSANCE IN PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE
The resurgence of Pão de Açúcar came in 1991 when the company recorded a profit for the year. Determination and discipline, according to the entrepreneur, guided this new phase towards expansion and profits.
In 1995, the capital of Grupo Pão de Açúcar was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, marking an excellent phase of growth and consolidation in the sector. From then on, the group started acquiring various struggling chains such as Mambo and Pamplona, which became part of the Pão de Açúcar network.
In an effort to find an international retailer to integrate with Grupo Pão de Açúcar, Abílio contacted international names, including Walmart and Carrefour, but ultimately struck a deal with Casino. In 1999, the chain bought 24.5% of Pão de Açúcar for $854 million.
“Some dream of success, we wake up early and work hard to achieve it.”
Abilio Diniz
THE 2000s: SECOND MARRIAGE, FIRST BOOK, AND THE BIRTH OF PENÍNSULA
After divorcing in 1980, the entrepreneur remarried in 2004, to Geyze Marchesi. They met at a Pão de Açúcar event where she joined as a trainee in 1996. In the same year of their marriage, Diniz published his first best-seller, ‘Paths and Choices: The Path to a Happier Life’.
In 2006, his first child with Marchesi, Rafaela, was born. In 2009, his second child with Marchesi, Miguel, was born.
That year, Grupo Pão de Açúcar took a leap and acquired the Ponto Frio and Casas Bahia chains. Abílio saw the business double in size and value.
In 2010, the Leadership 360 course was launched at FGV, developed by Abílio with the intention of training young leaders in their careers and personal projects. In the same year, his family created the Península Institute, which aims to improve the quality of Brazilian education, with teachers as the main agents of this transformation.
TO INSPIRE AND NEVER GIVE UP
In 2013, Diniz resigned from his position on the board of directors of Pão de Açúcar after being involved in one of Brazil’s most notable confrontations among business leaders. His opposition was directed at Jean-Charles Naouri, the president of Casino, who ended up acquiring a 40.9% stake in GPA.
In April, Abílio was invited to assume the chairmanship of the Board of Directors of BRF and found fulfillment in the challenge of working in a new area. In September, he left Grupo Pão de Açúcar.
In 2016, the entrepreneur published his second best-seller, ‘New Paths, New Choices’, where he shares about the achievements of recent years.
Recently, with the arrival of COVID-19, the entrepreneur and his family allocated over R$50 million to combat the pandemic. Additionally, Abílio conducted several live sessions for various sectors with the intention of delivering messages of hope and serenity amid the destabilizing times the world was facing.
“I want to be better today than I was yesterday, and tomorrow better than I am today.”
Abilio Diniz
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The article above was edited by Maria Esther Cortez.
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