Álvaro Noboa

On May 2, 2012, Noboa announced that he would be running for a fifth time to become the President of Ecuador in the upcoming 2013 Ecuadorian Presidential Elections. Noboa warned that Rafael Correa's government "will continue to use the IRS to bring to bankruptcy Bananera Noboa and not allow to defend itself in court as it shall be done. They will keep controlling 100% of the electoral tribunals. They will continue intimidating the press, they will continue to detain political parties to register themselves".

NYKCool, the Stockholm-based subsidiary of Japan's NYK Line, has been seeking payment of a 2011 arbitration award for $8.79m, plus costs, over a collapsed contract of affreightment (COA) with companies associated with Noboa, who controls the Bonita Banana brand and who was placed fifth in last year's Ecuadorian presidential elections.

Noboa's major company in Ecuador, Exportadora Bananera Noboa, faced as of February 2009, an assessment of three hundred million dollars (Ecuador was dollarized in 2000) imposed by the governmental revenue service of Ecuador, the SRI. A representative of TP Consulting, an independent audit firm, stated that what is in question is the price for a crate of bananas: that which the SRI has fixed is a number above that determined by other parts of the government (the Ecuadorian banana business is regulated by the government which sets prices paid to producers for bananas, the cost of exportation and the referential FOB price.). The representatives of Bananera Noboa have stated that exportation prices were within the range of prices of exportation of other exporters, according to information from the Central Bank of Ecuador. The audit, undertaken by TP Consulting (who were contracted to carry out a study of the transfer prices of Bananera Noboa), revealed an amount to be paid of US $139,949.00. As of 2011, Bananera Noboa is still facing charges from the SRI, but the legal representatives of the Company state that the company 'Is not Bankrupt'.

As a businessman always on the lookout for new business opportunities and concerned about the economic situation of his country, Álvaro Noboa announced his decision in October 2009 to search for new international markets for his products, organizing meetings with foreign investors to bring about new deals.

In July 2009, Noboa defended himself via a public communication directed to both the country and the entire world and published by the Ecuadorian press, in which he characterizes as vile and perverse all of the infamies that have been brought against him, either directly, or through third parties, over the course of the years.

Noboa ran for President for the fourth time in 2009, when Correa called an early election. This time, Noboa only received 11% of the vote, coming in a distant third place, behind Lucio Gutierrez, who came in second place, and Correa, who was reelected without a runoff.

On January 25, 2006 he founded the Luis A. Noboa Naranjo Museum (Spanish: Museo Luis A. Noboa Naranjo) to honor his father's memory and to exhibit for the first time, the important collection of paintings that Luis Noboa Naranjo collected over his lifetime. As of 2012, Noboa has sponsored three Biennale events over the years in order to exhibit the works of art of artists from all over the world and has recognized them with important Awards.

In 2006, he decided to run once again as presidential candidate for his party. With 99.5 percent of votes from the October 15 election officially counted, Noboa won 26.83 percent of the vote, Rafael Correa the closest opponent received 22.84 percent of the vote. The two candidates contested a run-off on November 26. With 98.91% of the votes cast, Correa had an unassailable lead with 56.8% of valid votes cast. Noboa at first refused to accept defeat, and suggested that he might challenge the legitimacy of the ballot count.

His sister is business executive Isabel Noboa. Noboa's brother-in-law, Omar Quintana, was president of the C.S. Emelec football club and served as the former President of National Congress of Ecuador in 2005.

A 2005 investigation uncovered 99 companies in Ecuador registered to fictitious addresses. All were associated with Noboa's business.

In March 2005, Ecuador's government closed one of Noboa's companies, Elaborados de Café, a coffee-processing business, for failing to file a tax return.

His exporting company, Exportadora Bananera Noboa, had sales of $220 million in 2004 and $219 million in 2005.

In 2004 Noboa offered to pay not with cash but with financial instruments which would lose up to half their face value when exchanged. Ecuador's Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the agency responsible for enforcing campaign spending law accepted Noboa's terms. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal was first headed by Nicanor Moscoso, a member of Noboa's party and his former campaign treasurer, and then by Wilson Sanchez, co-founder of Noboa's party and his personal friend.

Since 2003 Alvaro Noboa has attended the annual Entrepreneurial Meeting for Latinamerican businessmen. The summit was born in the 2003 by initiative of the Mexican Carlos Slim personal friend of Mr. Noboa.

The meeting was not meant to discuss their business concerns but rather to broach social issues in the region. It has been held at Mexico 2003, Dominican Republic 2004, Brazil 2005, Argentina 2006, Chile 2007 and Panamá 2008.

According to Forbes magazine, Luis Noboa's heirs spent $20 million in legal fees culminating in a ruling by a British court: "In November 2002 a London judge found that Álvaro rightfully owned a 49% stake in Fruit Shippers Ltd., the holding company for the family business. That stake is worth $300 million, we estimate. Noboa, who has made our billionaire's list previously, claims his assets are worth at least $1 billion. 'It was a full victory,' Noboa said."

In one 2002 incident striking workers at a Noboa subsidiary were attacked and–according to a Human Rights Watch report–several were shot by organized assailants.

In 2002 the New York Times reported on working conditions in Álvaro Noboa's banana plantations in Ecuador. The article specifically mentioned the 3,000-acre (12 km) plantation known as Los Álamos that employed about 1,300 people.

The workers of Los Álamos unionized in March 2002. Noboa's company responded by firing more than 120 of them. The article read: "When the workers occupied part of the hacienda, guards armed with shotguns, some wearing hoods, arrived at 2 a.m. on May 16, according to workers, and fired on some who had refused to move from the entrance gate, wounding two."

In April 2002 Human Rights Watch released a report that "found that Ecuadorian children as young as eight work on banana plantations in hazardous conditions, while adult workers fear firing if they try to exercise their right to organize." Chiquita, Del Monte, Dole, Favorita and Noboa's company were all accused of being supplied by plantations on which children worked.

He ran for president a second time in 2002, again reaching the runoff, though he received only 17% of the vote in the first round. He lost the November 24, 2002 second round to Lucio Gutiérrez (2,803,243 or 54.79% to 2,312,854 or 45.21%).

Noboa was fined more than $2 million for exceeding campaign spending limits in 2002. Noboa spent $2.3 million in his campaign, 98% above limit. The fine equaled twice the excess.

Noboa has been actively involved in politics, unsuccessfully running for the office of President of Ecuador in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2009 and 2013. In 2007, however, he was elected national assemblyman. In 2013 Noboa ran for office for the fifth time unsuccessfully.

Over the course of his career in public service, which began in 1998 with his first candidacy for President of the Republic, Noboa has been the object of multiple denunciations and labor- and tax-related allegations, as well as political and personal ideological attacks, from what Noboa describes as powerful and influential political and commercial adversaries within the country.

Over the course of his public service career, which began in 1998 with his first-time candidacy for President of the Republic, Noboa has been the object of multiple denunciations and labor- and tax- related allegations, as well as political and personal, ideological attacks, by what he describes as powerful and influential political and commercial adversaries from within the country who wish to do him harm via a permanent smear campaign aimed at denigrating his honor and that of his family, thereby evading his fight against corruption on behalf of the poor and undermining his aim to transform Ecuador into a developed country.

In 1998 Noboa ran for president for the first time. In the first round of elections, held on May 31, Noboa got 1,022,026 votes, 26.61% of valid ballots. That placed him second behind Jamil Mahuad (1,341,089 votes, 34.92% of valid ballots) and both battled in a runoff held on July 12. Noboa lost the runoff by 102,519 votes. Mahuad won with 2,243,000 votes.

In 1997, already owning 24% of Bonita Bananas, Noboa purchased another 25% of the shares, the holding company for the family business. Presently, he runs the Noboa Group of Companies and Noboa Corporation, with more than 110 companies in Ecuador and around the world, including branch offices in United States, Antwerp, Rome, Japan, Argentina, and New Zealand.

According to an account of Bucaram's last day in office (he was overthrown before his term expired) Noboa was the last person to leave the presidential palace in Quito before Bucaram himself left the building 30 minutes later in the evening of February 7, 1997.

While in office Bucaram used his presidential powers to sway the dispute between Noboa and his siblings. Early in his short-lived administration, when Exportadora Bananera Noboa was not yet in Noboa's hands, Bucaram ordered the Superintendent of Companies to intervene in the company citing as a pretext the lowering of the price paid for bananas in bulk. Then in January 1997 Bucaram threatened Noboa's siblings with the possibility of expropriating a large estate.

During his short tenure as head of Ecuador's Monetary Board (August 1996-February 1997) Noboa owned a small bank, Banco Litoral, and collaborated as part of an economic team that included Domingo Cavallo, the architect of Argentina's monetary convertibility policy during the 1990s and special foreign advisor to Bucaram, David Goldbaum, head of the National Finance Corporation and owner of Banco Territorial, and Roberto Isaias, then-president of now-defunct Filanbanco, one of Ecuador's largest banks, who served as economic advisor.

In 1996, Álvaro Noboa was named President of Ecuador's Monetary Board by then-President of the Republic Abdalá Bucaram.

In 1988, he established 'Revista La Verdad', a monthly magazine.

On April 22, 1988, he founded Banco del Litoral, one of Ecuador's most reliable banks.

On July 22, 1988, he established the Global Financing Company and other investment companies on an international scale. All these companies and businesses together became known as [Grupo de Empresas Ab. Alvaro Noboa P.]

In 1977, Noboa established the [Fundación Cruzada Nueva Humanidad (Crusade for a New Humanity Foundation)], which began with the philosophy of fighting misery, disease, ignorance, spiritual weakness, hatred and other misfortunes that afflict man. The Foundation is based on the Christian beliefs of love, unity and self-improvement. As of 2012, the foundation continues with its mission.

In 1973, Noboa established Promandato Global S.A., a firm that unites several real estate companies considered to be one of the largest firms in Ecuador.

Álvaro Fernando Noboa Pontón (born November 21, 1950) is an Ecuadorian businessman and politician.