Antonio Herrera-Vaillant

Antonio Alfredo Herrera-Vaillant y Buxó-Canel (born 1942) is an exiled Cuban Venezuelan business leader, writer, journalist and historian. In addition to heading the Venezuela-America Chamber of Commerce (VenAmCham), Herrera is the author of six books, including the latest Bolivar, Empresario, which author and El Nuevo Herald columnist Carlos Alberto Montaner named as his "most interesting" book of 2014. In addition to his business and writing success, Herrera is the first non-Spaniard to be honored with a Gold Medal from Spain's prestigious . Herrera-Vaillant is the president of the Venezuelan Institute of Genealogy.

1970s In 1970, Herrera-Vaillant was recruited by General William Henry Draper, Jr. to serve as Western Hemisphere Resource Development Director at the International Planned Parenthood Federation to promote fundraising on behalf of birth control throughout Latin America.

After a brief period based in Brazil, Herrera-Vaillant settled in Caracas as a founder and director of Fundación Paternidad Responsible (1971), promoting planned parenthood in Venezuela.

In 1974 Herrera-Vaillant served as commissioner for Caracas Governor Diego Arria and later as secretary general in Venezuela's newly created Ministry for Information and Tourism (1976–1978). As such, he served as chairman of the OAS Tourism Commission, of the Caribbean Tourism Association, and the Caribbean Hotel Association; and member of the executive committee of the UN World Tourism Organization, based in Madrid (1977–1978). As such, he was private sector chief negotiator in drafting the Consumer Protection, Foreign Investment and Labor laws of the time.

Between 1983 and 1986, Mr. Herrera-Vaillant also served internationally as Hemispheric Secretary General of the Inter-American Trade and Production Council (CICYP), which was the principal group representing private enterprises in the Americas and Spain. During this period the chamber grew into one of the largest overseas American chambers and the most influential business organization in Venezuela. Corporate membership grew from around 842 to 1200, participating executives rose from 2660 to close to 9000, and staff increased from 17 to 106. Service committees increased from 16 to 38, plus six regional operations were created in Maracaibo, Barquisimeto, Valencia, Puerto La Cruz, Maturín, and Porlamar and Herrera took control of Business Venezuela as editor-in-chief and re-designed it as a monthly magazine, making it profitable and second in circulation for all economic magazines in Venezuela. Herrera also created an "ALIANZA SOCIAL" to identify private sector contributions to social problems, promote corporate responsibility, and foster synergy and strategic alliances to accomplish socially valuable goals. He also created one of Venezuela's first private arbitration centers: The Business Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (CEDCA).

Herrera-Vaillant led Venamcham's to establish a U.S.-Venezuela Bilateral Investment Protection Treaty (BIT) and helped obtain the passage of a Treaty to Avoid Double Taxation between both nations (1999), as well as the solution of numerous bilateral trade and investment issues, including formation of a Bilateral Trade and Investment Council.

2000s

Herrera-Vaillant was active internationally in the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA), where served as member of the board of director and chairman of the nominating committee, and of the management committee which oversees the functioning of American chambers throughout the Americas. During this time he actively participated in lobbying on behalf of NAFTA, CAFTA and the Chile and Colombia Free Trade Agreements, and was an active speaker on Venezuelan and Latin American issues.

In 2000, as the Chamber celebrated its 50th anniversary and Herrera-Vaillant served as editor of a 500-page history of bilateral relations in Spanish: "Venezuela y Estados Unidos a través de 2 siglos".

Upon retiring from VENAMCHAM he founded the Inter American Corporate Advisory Network (I-CAN) to assist corporate regional operations through high-level consulting services in public affairs, business facilitation and opportunity development. I-CAN VENEZUELA became affiliated with the OGILVY Group of Companies; and I-CAN COLOMBIA has been a strategic ally of ARAÚJO IBARRA ASOCIADOS, Colombia's leading consulting firm on international trade.

At the same time, Herrera-Vaillant was appointed Senior International Advisor at TORRES PLAZ & ARAUJO ABOGADOS, one of Venezuela's premier law firms; and was named International Consultant at Venezuela's GLOBOVISION TV Network.

He also served for two years (2007–2009) as Regional representative for ENTERPRISE FLORIDA in Northern South America, with offices he established in Bogotá, Colombia.

In 2009 became International Partner for Venezuela, Colombia, Central America and the Caribbean at UPITE CONSULTING SERVICES S.L. (Underperformance Improving Technologies Enterprise), a Spanish consulting firm that provides revenue enhancement services to banks and other financial institutions.

Publishing

Mr. Herrera-Vaillant has continued to work within his principal avocation as a historian and writer, and is a newspaper columnist syndicated bi-monthly in EL UNIVERSAL (Caracas), NOTITARDE (Valencia), EL IMPULSO (Barquisimeto), LA NACIÓN (San Cristóbal), EL TIEMPO (Puerto La Cruz), and MIAMI DIARIO, in Florida. He served on the board of directors of the now defunct DAILY JOURNAL, Venezuela's English language daily, and is editor of VENEZUELAN DAILY BRIEF, an overview of the economy, finance, politics and more, published twice a week in association with Duarte Vivas & Asociados and The Selinger Group.

He has published numerous articles and several books, including:

"Efectos y resultados del trabajo: hacia la renovación del crecimiento económico en América Latina" (Fondo Editorial Latino n 19, Santiago, Chile, 1988 "Bolívar, Empresario: También víctima de la inseguridad jurídica", Academia Nacional de la Historia; reprinted by CEDICE and in Ecuador. "Venezuela y los Estados Unidos a través de 2 siglos", a 510-page history of bilateral relations. (Caracas, 2000), as editor). "La Estirpe de las Rojas", two volumes, published by the National Academy of History and the Venezuelan Genealogical Institute (2007) "El Nudo Deshecho: Compendio genealógico de El Libertador", published by the National Academy of History and the Venezuelan Genealogical Institute (2010) "Bolivar, Empresario", published by Editorial PLANETA in Caracas, October 2014

When asked for his favorite book of 2014, the award-winning writer and columnist Carlos Alberto Montaner named "Bolivar, Empresario." ""I found interesting an essay titled "Bolívar, Empresario" by Cuban-Venezuelan historian Antonio Herrera-Vaillant, published by Planeta," said Montaner. "It reveals the difficulties of 'The Liberator' in the fight against bureaucracy to produce from mines he owned. For Chavez it is a blow confirming that the revered Bolívar was or wanted to be a successful capitalist. The work, moreover, proves how the state can be a tremendous source of unhappiness. Maybe that's why Bolívar went on to state that 'the only thing you can do in America is emigrate.'"

Awards He serves as president of the Venezuelan Genealogical Institute, and is the first person not born in Spain to be honored with a gold medal, bestowed by Spain's Royal Academy of History. He is also a member of the board of the New York-based Venezuelan American Endowment for the Arts (VAEA).

Herrera-Vaillant has also received Venezuela's Order Francisco de Miranda, and Order of Merit at Work.

Family Herrera-Vaillant and his wife Carolina Stone Tovar, a banking and cultural executive who serves as chairman of FUDENA live in Caracas and Margarita Island. They have two children: Laura María (aka Lala Canel), a lawyer, writer and art curator; and Antonio J. Herrera-Vaillant, an engineer and free lance film director and editor in California; as well as two grandsons.