10 Facts About Lorenzo Zambrano

Lorenzo Hormisdas Zambrano Trevino was a Mexican businessman and philanthropist.

Lorenzo Zambrano took over Cemex, a regional cement company founded by his grandfather, and transformed it into one of the largest cement producers in the world by the time of his death.

Lorenzo Zambrano completed his basic studies in private schools of Monterrey, but despite his wealth his upbringing was far from nonchalant.

Lorenzo Zambrano's grandfather died in a car accident at the age of 50, barely four years after merging his company with Cementos Hidalgo of the Brittingham family, and the Bittingham's longstanding accountant, Jesus Barrera Rodriguez, maneuvered over the Zambranos to overtake control of the business.

Since 1995 Lorenzo Zambrano has served as chairman of the board.

On 15 September 1999, Lorenzo Zambrano led a ceremony in the NYSE to begin the listing of the Cemex stock.

Lorenzo Zambrano was a member of the board of directors of IBM, and has served in the international advisory board of Citigroup International, the Advisory Council of Allianz Companies and the boards of directors of Alfa, Banamex, Femsa, Empresas ICA, Televisa and Vitro.

In recognition of his business and philanthropic efforts, Zambrano received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship in 2005, the Americas Society's Gold Medal for Distinguished Service, the Excellence in Leadership Award from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the Ernest C Arbuckle Award for Managerial Excellence from the Stanford Business School's Alumni Association.

Lorenzo Zambrano enjoyed vacations in Cancun and New York City, and spent leisure time at a small country house near Monterrey, where he watched movies, read voraciously, and enjoyed long lunches and dinners with family and friends.

On 12 May 2014, during a business trip to Madrid, Spain, Lorenzo Zambrano had scheduled a corporate meeting at 7 pm local time.