Carlos González Nova (14 August 1917 – 19 August 2009) was a Mexican businessman who co-founded the Comercial Mexicana supermarket chain in 1930. Comercial Mexicana is the third largest

supermarket chain A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

in Mexico as of 2009. In 2000, Gonzáles Nova was in charge of a powerboat that killed UK singer

Kirsty MacColl Kirsty Anna MacColl (, ; 10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter. The daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl, she recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop ...

in a restricted beach diving area on

Cozumel Cozumel (; ) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán Channel. The ...

, Mexico. MacColl was struck saving her son from the speeding boat. It was widely reported that the boathand José Cen Yam, who took the blame for the death, was paid to do so by González Nova.

Early life

Carlos González Nova was born on August 14, 1917, in México City. He was the second child of parents, Josefina Nova and Antonino González Abascal. He moved to Mexico with his family from Santander, Spain, when he was approximately 10 years old.

Career

González Nova co-founded Comercial Mexicana, which was originally called La Comer, with his father, Antonino González Abascal, as a

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

-products store in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in 1930. He served as the chairman of the company's board of directors until 1998. Gonzalez Nova remained the honorary chairman of the Comercial Mexicana chain until his death in 2009.

Kirsty MacColl's death

On 18 December 2000, English singer-songwriter

was killed when struck by a boat which was illegally within a designated diving area. The powerboat involved in the accident was owned by González Nova and Guillermo González Nova, Carlos' brother. One of his employees, boathand José Cen Yam, stated that he was in control of the boat at the time of the incident. Eyewitnesses said that Cen Yam was not at the controls and that the boat was travelling much faster than the speed of one

knot A knot is an intentional complication in Rope, cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including List of hitch knots, hitches, List of bend knots, bends, List of loop knots, loop knots, ...

that González Nova said. Cen Yam was found guilty of

culpable homicide Culpable homicide is a categorisation of certain offences in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the homicide (illegal killing of a person) either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a pa ...

. People who said they spoke to Cen Yam after the accident said he received money for taking the blame.

Death

González Nova died on August 19, 2009, at the age of 92. His son, Carlos González Zabalegui, continues to serve as the

executive chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

and CEO of the company as of August 2009.

References

1917 births 2009 deaths Businesspeople from Mexico City Mexican people of Spanish descent {{Mexico-business-bio-stub