Early life and education
Diniz is the first of the six children born to Floripes Pires and Valentim Diniz. His father, Valentim, was born in 1913 in the countryside of Portugal, and immigrated to Brazil in November 1929. Diniz studied at Anglo-Latino school and Mackenzie high school. He graduated in 1959 from the School of Business Administration of Fundação Getúlio Vargas. In 1965, Diniz traveled to the United States to study Marketing at Ohio University and Economics at Columbia University, in New York.Career
Diniz's father, Valentim Diniz, founded the company Pão de Açúcar in September 1948. Abilio Diniz began to work for his father at Doceria Pão de Açúcar at the age of 12. In April 1959, the same year he graduated from FGV in Business Administration, he partnered with his father to create the first Pão de Açúcar supermarket store, located on Brigadeiro Luiz Antônio Avenue, in São Paulo. In 1960, after the first store was established, Diniz traveled for four months throughout Europe and the United States to observe the operation of the retail sector abroad. The second Pão de Açúcar location on Maria Antonia Street, downtown São Paulo, was established in 1963. One year later, Pão de Açúcar acquired Quiko and Tip Top supermarkets. During the 60's and 70's, Grupo Pão de Açúcar was the first supermarket chain to set up a store in a shopping mall (Iguatemi, in São Paulo), to have a 24-hour pharmacy, and to set up a data processing center. Diniz studied the operations of Paris-based Carrefour in 1967 after Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira, who worked at Pão de Açúcar, introduced him to Carrefour cofounder Marcel Fournier. Diniz was a co-founder of the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets in 1968. Inspired by the Carrefour hypermarket model, Diniz founded Jumbo, the first hypermarket in Brazil, in Santo André in 1971. In 1976 he acquired Eletroradiobraz, the second largest chain of supermarkets and hypermarkets in Brazil at the time,. The company consisted of eight supermarkets, 26 hypermarkets, 16 stores and a warehouse. In 1979, Diniz moved away from Pão de Açúcar and became part of the National Monetary Council at the urging of the Minister of Planning, Mario Henrique Simonsen. There, he coordinated the production of economic bulletins. In 1989, Valentim asked Diniz to take over the leadership of Pão de Açúcar. Valentim remained part of the group's board of directors. In March 1990 the Collor government implemented an economic plan which put Pão de Açúcar on the verge of bankruptcy. Diniz implemented the practice "cut, concentrate and simplify" and made cuts across the company. He sold the building which had served as the company's headquarters since 1986 in 1992. The company, which had 626 stores in 1985, was reduced to 262 stores by 1992. However, family conflicts threatened the company. In an agreement signed in November 1993, Diniz was given the majority control of Grupo Pão de Açúcar. His parents received 36.5% of the company shares and his sister, Lucília, held 12% of the company shares. Diniz led Grupo Pão de Açúcar through an IPO in 1997 and it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It was the first 100% national controlled company to conduct a global stock issue (in Brazil, the United States and Europe). In 1999, the French group Casino acquired 24.5% of the voting capital of the group for $854 500 million. In 2000, Diniz transitioned the company into Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição, which became one of the largest retail chains in the country. In 2005, Diniz sold a large stake to the French company Casino Group for an estimated $860 million and stepped down as CEO, but remained as chairman. In 2009, in one of the most expensive transactions of the Brazilian business history, Grupo Pão de Açúcar bought Casas Bahia from Samuel Klein, giving Abilio control of Pão de Açúcar, Casas Bahia, Ponto Frio and Extra Hipermercados. In 2012, Casino Group took control of Grupo Pão de Açúcar and Diniz no longer had operational functions within the group but remained as chairman. In 2003, Diniz became a member of the Economic and Social Development Council, a group of civil representatives which advise the President of the Republic of Brazil. In 2006, Diniz founded Península Participações, an investment company created to manage the assets of the Diniz family through private and liquid investments. He later became the chairman of the company's board of directors. In April 2013, Diniz was elected as chairman of BRF. He helped lead the company through a broad restructuring. The company's profit went from R$700 million in 2012 to R$2.2 billion in 2014. The company's market value went from R$37 billion to R$55 billion. In September 2013, Diniz signed an agreement with his partner Jean-Charles Naouri to leave Grupo Pão de Açúcar. His shares were converted into voting privileges and he resigned from his position as chairman and the position was filled by Naouri.Cowley, Matthew & Winterstein, Paulo (September 6, 2013)Writing
In 2004, Diniz released the book ''Caminhos e Escolhas – O caminho para uma vida mais feliz'' (Paths and Choices – Smart Choices for a Successful Life), which discusses major moments in his life and the transformations he went through as a result. In 2015, journalist Cristiane Correa wrote the book ''Abilio – Determinado, Ambicioso, Polêmico'' (Determined, Ambitious, and Controversial), released by publisher Sextante, which details his life from childhood to becoming one of the biggest businessmen of Brazil. The book discussed Diniz's departure from Grupo Pão de Açúcar and his career after the departure. In October 2016, Diniz launched his second book, ''Novos Caminhos, Novas Escolhas'' (New Paths, New Choices), released by publisher Objetiva (Companhia das Letras Group), which discussed the transitions in his life over the previous 12 years. In March 2017 the French version of the book was released, and later an English version was sold in the American market.Controversies
In August 2011, Diniz was notified by the Federal Public Ministry of Brazil to give explanations in a criminal investigation. Diniz's next move was to then call criminal lawyer Marcio Thomaz Bastos, one of the most well-known criminal lawyers for those who had wealth. At this time, Diniz was president of the board of directors for Pão de Açúcar. During the 2010 elections, the offices of Bastos had helped Diniz pay 5.5 million reais, to congressman Antonio Palocci to help fund the presidential campaign ofKidnapping
In December 1989, Diniz was the victim of a economical kidnapping, followed by a police rescue. He was confined for six days in a small space under a house, with a duct leading to the kitchen fan as his only source of oxygen. The kidnapping took place in the morning of the Brazilian presidential elections in Brazil in 1989. Among the kidnappers were Canadians David Spencer and Christine Lamont, who were students at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and communist activists Lamont and Spencer denied any participation in the kidnapping, but their participation was proved when a secret weapons cache in Managua exploded (among the material exposed by the explosion were documents that linked both Lamont and Spencer to the Diniz kidnapping). Faced with these revelations, Lamont admitted that they had been involved in the kidnapping. Lamont and Spencer were sentenced to 28 years in prison for their involvement, but were kept in private cells, away from the mass of the prison population. The Canadian press and public started a major movement to secure their release, straining relations between Brazil and Canada. However, two Canadian investigative journalists,See also
*References
Further reading
* Isabel Vincent, ''See no evil.'' Reed Books Canada, 1996. * Caroline Mallan, ''Wrong time, wrong place?'' Key Porter Books, 1996.External links