Born in 1936 in São Paulo, Abilio dos Santos Diniz transformed the family sweet shop into one of the biggest businesses in Brazil, Grupo Pão de Açúcar.
The businessman, who died this Sunday (18), victim of respiratory failure due to pneumonitis, had an extensive career, marked by entrepreneurship and determination. In recent years, he has also led programs at CNN, where he received businesspeople, politicians and important names from civil society to discuss and rethink the paths to economic and social development in our country.
Remember moments in Abilio Diniz’s story:
From the ship to the candy store
Abilio's father, Valentim Diniz, arrived in Brazil from Portugal in 1929. In Rio de Janeiro, he marveled at the tourist attractions of the then Brazilian capital – in particular, Sugarloaf Mountain, in Urca.
Valentim, who soon after married Floripes Diniz, was a cashier and delivery man at a supermarket. In 1949, he opened the “Pão de Açúcar” sweet shop.
Abilio was the oldest of six brothers and started working helping his father in the business, growing up in the Paraíso neighborhood, in São Paulo.
The Bread Group
After graduating from the second business administration class at the newly created FGV, Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Abilio planned to work in a multinational or pursue a career abroad, where he would fulfill his dream of becoming a teacher.
The entrepreneurial streak, however, spoke louder: Abilio's father made him the proposal to open a supermarket. The first Pão de Açúcar supermarket was opened in 1959, close to his parents' sweet shop. The business was so successful that, within ten years, the chain already had forty units and more than 1,600 employees.
In the 1990s, the family dispute over control of Grupo Pão Açúcar almost led the group to bankruptcy. But the brothers, in agreement, decided to hand over control to Abilio, who decided to open the group's capital on the Stock Exchange.
Years later, in 1999, Abilio agreed to a partnership with the French Casino chain. There have been 54 years of history at the company. Abilio left “GPA” in 2013.
Far beyond supermarkets
After definitively leaving Grupo Pão de Açúcar, Abilio assumed the presidency of the Board of Directors of BRF. But the entrepreneurial DNA didn’t stop there.
In 2014, Abilio's investment company Península Participações acquired a stake in Carrefour Brasil, eventually making Abilio Diniz the second largest investor in Carrefour globally and a member of the company's board of directors.
Dedication to Brazilian society
In addition to heading one of the largest Brazilian companies, Abilio was prominent in the country's politics: between 1979 and 1989, he was a member of the National Monetary Council. He also helped organize Tancredo Neves' campaign in 1984.
Abilio circulated in political circles and at the highest levels of Brazilian and international business. He sought to bring entrepreneurial vision and hope for society's progress.
Passion for sports
Even as a child, Abilio found his passion for sports, he practiced judo, boxing, capoeira… Abilio was a triathlete and an example of physical activity, especially in old age.
Abilio took sport as a priority in life, a habit he passed on to his children. Together with them, he founded NAR (Núcleo de Alto Rendimento Esportivo de São Paulo).
In the last years of his life, Abilio set the goal of playing in a world squash tournament after he was 90 years old.
I've always been a sportsman, I've always been an athlete. And it's not that this is a sacrifice for me
Abílio Diniz
A big family
Abilio Diniz had six children, eighteen grandchildren, as well as great-grandchildren. His youngest son, Miguel, was born in 2009, when the businessman was 72 years old.
Diniz was married twice. In his first relationship, with Auriluce, he had four children: Ana Maria, João Paulo, Pedro Paulo and Adriana. With Geyze, who he married in 2004, came Rafaela and Miguel.
Personal tragedies
In 1989, Abilio Diniz lived a traumatic experience. He was kidnapped on his way to the office. The ransom requested was 30 million dollars. Clues left by the kidnappers led the police to a house in Jabaquara, south of São Paulo, where the businessman was trapped in an underground cubicle. After hours of negotiations, Abilio Diniz was released. They spent seven days in captivity.
Another traumatic moment was the death of his son João Paulo Diniz at age 58, from a heart attack.
I always tell people. they see the glories that I have, that I achieve, but they don't see the falls that I take. this was a fall. this was a fall. I could never imagine that João could go before me. He was my best friend, my companion, my sports partner, everything
Abílio Diniz
Renovation
Abilio Diniz liked to share his experiences and impact people.
He published two books that soon became best-sellers, “Abilio Diniz – Caminhos e Escolhas” (2004) and “Novos paths, new choices” (2016), published in the year he turned 80.
Then, it was time to share the experiences in the TED Talk “I started turning 80 when I was 29”, which has already had more than 1.3 million views on YouTube.
Passionate about management, he created the 360° Leadership course at Fundação Getúlio Vargas in 2010, where he had already been a professor for 14 years.
Restless and always willing to reflect on Brazil's direction, he became a presenter on CNN . There were two talk shows. In the first of them, “Olhares Brasileiros” (2022), Abilio spoke with personalities from various sectors about the country in an election year.
Afterwards, he spoke on a new program with big names in politics and the biggest Brazilian businesspeople. There were three seasons of “Caminhos com Abilio Diniz” (2023).
From interviewer to interviewee
In December 2023, in a special edition of his interview program, on CNN Brasil, Abilio Diniz changed his position. He took on the role of interviewee and opened up about his personal life to anchors Márcio Gomes and Elisa Veeck, in addition to talking about the paths to progress and development in Brazil.
Abilio Diniz talked about longevity, leadership, business management, the loss of his son, João Paulo, among other topics.
In the edition, when asked about the legacy he intended to leave, after his passing, he said:
I love my life. I love what I do. When I die, I don’t want those people saying “Poor thing”… Put on the Gonzaguinha song… “To live is not to be ashamed of being happy. Sing and sing the joy of being an eternal learner” that I am”
Abílio Diniz
*The images used in this report were taken from Abilio Diniz’s social networks and from the work “Novos Caminhos, Novas Escolhas, by Abilio Diniz (Editora Objetiva, 2016). All images are from the businessman's personal collection.
*Published by Bruno Chiarioni, Mylene Guerra and Letícia Brito
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
