Fernando Aguirre

Director, CVS Health, Barry Callebaut, and Synchrony Financial; former Chairman, President and CEO, Chiquita Brands International, Inc.
A Conversation With: Margaret Keane

Fernando Aguirre is an owner in professional baseball. He is the sole owner and CEO of the Erie SeaWolves team, the Double AA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. He is also the second largest owner and Vice-Chairman of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Advanced A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. He also owned a minority position in the Cincinnati Reds up until May 2019.

Aguirre served as Chairman & CEO of Chiquita Brands International for almost 9 years between 2004 and 2012, at the time a Fortune 500 global public company. Prior to Chiquita, Aguirre worked for more than 23 years at Procter & Gamble (P&G), in various marketing and general management roles in Mexico, Canada, Brazil and ending his career in Cincinnati when he was hired away by Chiquita in 2004.

He currently serves on the boards of CVS Health, a Fortune 10 company and Barry Callebaut, the largest chocolate and cocoa producer in the world. He is also a member of the board of Duke University Fuqua's School of Business and Coach K Center on Leadership and Ethics (COLE).

He uses his experience as a global business executive and leadership expert to speak publicly and provide advisory services on leadership, entrepreneurship, motivation, strategy, communication, marketing, branding, governance, and social media. He joined YPO in 1991 and served as the President of the Mexico City chapter in 1997. He is currently a member of YPO's Intercontinental Chapter. He attended the prestigious YPO Harvard President’s seminar for ten years earning HBS graduate status in 2009.

He previously served on the boards of Aetna, Inc., Coca Cola Enterprises, Levi Strauss & Co, Coveris, Univision Communications, and on the International Board of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. In 2001, Aguirre was a founder and the first Chairman of the advisory board to the Marshall School of Business at USC.

A native of Mexico, Aguirre obtained a baseball scholarship at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He earned a business degree with a marketing major in 1980. At SIUE, he was elected to the Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007 and the alumni Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2012, Aguirre received an honorary doctoral degree from SIUE.

Aguirre is married and has two sons. In 2010, Aguirre became the first Hispanic CEO to participate in the CBS series Undercover Boss. In 2011 he was recognized as one of the 100 Influentials by Hispanic Business Magazine, and was also honored with the Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award by the NFL. Aguirre and his family became naturalized US citizens in 2009. They make their home in Key Biscayne, FL.

Aguirre believes in the power of social media. Follow him on twitter @FdoAguirreCEO