Luis de Jesus Rodríguez Gutiérrez (born July 8, 1963) is a Dominican attorney, businessman, and entrepreneur. Rodriguez has served as director of the

Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza, Inc., commonly referred to as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware-domiciled and headquartered ...

franchise in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

and

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

since 1993, as well as director of car rental company

Avis Budget Group Avis Budget Group, Inc. is an American car rental agency holding company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey. It is the parent company of several brands including Avis Car Rental, Budget Rent a Car, Budget Truck Rental, Payless Car Rental ...

since 1997. He currently serves on the board of directors of Universal AFI and as managing director of Investment Fund Casa de Santo Domingo.

Early years and education

Luis de Jesus Gutierrez Rodriguez was born on July 8, 1963, in Constanza, a town located in the

La Vega Province La Vega () is one of the 32 provinces of the Dominican Republic. It is located in the Cibao Valley, the north-central region of the country, and is divided into 4 municipalities with its capital city being the namesake of La Vega. The province ...

within the central region of the

. He is the son of a Spanish immigrant and a Dominican woman. At a young age, Luis' father decided to leave his job as a farmer to work as a sales representative, and moved the family to the capital city of

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. After that, they moved to the city of

Higüey Higüey (), or in full Salvaleón de Higüey, is the capital city of the eastern La Altagracia Province, in the Dominican Republic, and has 415,084 inhabitants, according to the 2022 census. The Yuma River (Dominican Republic), Yuma River flows t ...

, in the east of the island. Luis and his brother studied at the John XXIII School, which was owned by the Catholic Church. Due to economic difficulties as a result of his father's failed businesses, Rodríguez began working from the age of twelve years as a money changer at the entrance of the local post office. In 1978, Luis and his family were evicted from their home by creditors of the property, forcing them to return to Santo Domingo. At the age of 16, Rodríguez decided to apply for the position of washer at the used car department of National Car Rental. Although initially he did not get the job, the interviewer thought Rodríguez was better suited to work in the rental department, and hired him as an assistant. Rodríguez continued studying at public night school while he worked during the day as a rental agent trainee. After finishing high school, Rodríguez started his law degree, graduating with honors at the age 21. At this time, he was promoted as general manager of National Car Rental. Currently, Rodríguez has an MBA from

CEU San Pablo University CEU San Pablo University () is a private Catholic university located in Madrid, Spain, with campuses in Moncloa (Madrid) and in Montepríncipe ( Alcorcón). It is run by the Centro de Estudios Universitarios (CEU Foundation). It was establis ...

, and a master's degree in management from the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

Business career

At the age of 22, Rodríguez decided to start a car rental business with the help of a Spanish investment group. In 1986, he founded Express Rent-a-Car with an initial fleet of 8 cars. Two years later, the business had a fleet of 150 cars and became part of the Thrifty Car Rental Dominican franchise. In 1990, Rodríguez also acquired the Thrifty franchise in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. In 1992, he sold his stake in the company to his Spanish partners to start other businesses. In 1992, Rodríguez bought the

franchise for the

, opening the first store in the country a year later. At that time, Domino's was only the second American franchise in the Dominican Republic. During that first year, they were able to open three new stores. A year later, Domino's was the first American franchise to open in the country of

. During his time in charge of the franchise, Rodríguez has received the Gold Franny Award, awarded by Domino's headquarters to the best franchise operators. His son, Luis Francisco Rodriguez, is general manager of the franchise. In 1997, Rodríguez acquired 50% of the shares of Servicolt, the operating company of the Avis Rent-a-Car franchise. In 2004, he also acquired Budget Car Rental, becoming the largest car rental company in the Dominican Republic. In 2015, Rodriguez also acquired

Payless Car Rental Payless Car Rental, Inc. is a car rental company owned by Avis Budget Group and headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. While mainly a franchise system, the company owns and operates several corporate locations. Payless Car Rental, Payless Ca ...

to consolidate business operations. Under the direction of Rodríguez, Avis has made alliances with

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

Mini Cooper Mini Cooper may refer to: *Performance Cars of the original Mini series with uprated drive train and brakes, called the "Mini Cooper", made by the British Motor Corporation and also the successors 1961–1971, and 1990–2000 *Cars of the Mini (mar ...

, and

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

. Currently, Avis has a fleet of 1,000 vehicles and 16 locations in the Dominican Republic. In 2004, Rodríguez was recognized by the organization JCI Jaycees '72, along with other young people, as one of the Outstanding Young Persons of the Dominican Republic.

Career as an investor

In 2014, Rodríguez turned his business into a private investment fund under the name Casa de Santo Domingo. The fund is focused on three portfolios: transportation, real estate, and investments. Rodríguez assumed the role of director and Asset Manager alongside a group of investors. In addition to Casa de Santo Domingo, he also started Patio Group, an investment group focused in shopping malls, and KM100 Fleet, a vehicular fleet management company in the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez is also member of the board of directors of AFI Universal, a management company of investment funds.

References

External links

Casa de Santo Domingo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Luis de Jesus 1963 births Living people People from La Vega Province Dominican Republic businesspeople White Dominicans