Roberto Teran; Leading Nicaraguan Businessman
Roberto Teran, 69, who overcame natural disasters and revolutions to become one of Nicaragua’s most prominent businessmen, died Monday of a heart attack in Managua.
Teran was president of Nicaragua’s main business organization, the Private Enterprise Higher Council, and was president of the holding company Corporacion Roberto Teran G., one of Central America’s larger companies.
His holdings included Compumax stores in Miami, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras, and Miami-based American Photo. He also operated a chain of photo processing shops, an Internet service provider, a hospital supply company and a vehicle dealership.
Key facilities were destroyed by Nicaragua’s 1972 earthquake, but Teran rebuilt the company and expanded it. He faced more problems when arrival of the leftist Sandinista revolution led to antibusiness policies, dramatic restrictions on imports and rampant inflation. By 1990, when the Sandinistas lost power, Teran’s Nicaragua operations had been reduced to one store with empty shelves.
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