Biography

Samuel Beníquez-Méndez was born on 28 October 1971, at the Doctors' Center Hospital, in Santurce, Puerto Rico. His biological mother is Antonia Beníquez Seguí. He was adopted by his mother's uncle, Mr. Félix Beníquez Quiñones and Mrs. Ada Méndez Castro on 21 February 1973.

Beníquez-Méndez studied music from the age of six, excelling in instruments such as clarinet, flute and saxophone. He was a member of the Congregación Mita Wind Band until 1995 and received a scholarship for music at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus.

He became well known in Puerto Rico because he took a legal case of great public interest to court to defend his mother's honour. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, which decided to allow the case to be heard by the Superior Court. Thus, on 25 March 2013, Samuel Beníquez and his mother Antonia Beníquez were victorious.

He is the founder of several companies, but he got his start working in a computer centre at a very young age. Beníquez was 16 years old and still in high school when he started working as a data processor at the Computer Centre of the General Services Administration of the Government of Puerto Rico, the only teenager hired at that age and on a night shift. From there, at the age of eighteen and following his father's example, he started working at the Cooperativa de Ahorros y Crédito Hermanos Unidos, in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

There he acted in a series of positions in that field within the organisation until he went to work independently as an insurance and investment agent with Primerica Financial Services [a division of Citigroup] reaching the position of Regional Vice President while studying at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico for a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. In the meantime, he learned a lot about insurance and investments surrounded by qualified and knowledgeable people in the field.

Beníquez always had the intention of building a career and, upon success, starting his own business. That is why in 1995, together with a colleague, he created the financial institution First Home Financial, which was based in several towns in Puerto Rico and in the state of Pennsylvania, USA. There he held the position of CEO of the bank and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the corporation. From there on he was CEO of successful companies such as ER Remodeling & Construction Co., Imperial Music Studio, Imperial College, Black Dot Records, BD Authors, Imperial Recording Studios and Imperial Artists, among others, while continuing his studies at SMC University. As CEO of these companies, apart from management, he was directly involved in their marketing and media relations.

His exciting career in the corporate world from a young age allowed him to gain important experiences in management, marketing, communications and the responsibility of being in charge of the profit and loss of different companies.

As he learned from a young age, Beníquez has surrounded himself with talented and knowledgeable people. In addition, he has streamlined the organisation of the organisations he represents and fosters a team approach to problem solving and long-term strategic direction setting. Beníquez has also equipped employees with a system of policies and values and has focused them on living within the company's mission and vision, where professionalism and service excellence are paramount.