Bernard Fils-Aimé

Bernard Fils-Aimé (24 May 19538 August 2020) was a Haitian entrepreneur and activist. He was part of community assistance organizations for Haitians in America, cofounding the Haitian Refugee Center and serving on the board of the Haitian Education & Leadership Program. He also served as the managing director of Comcel Haiti from its founding in 1998 until its sale to Digicel in 2012.

Early life and activism Bernard Fils-Aimé was the youngest of four children. His father, Camile Fils-Aimé, died soon after Bernard was born. His mother, Uranie Gabriel Fils-Aimé, was the directrice of the Republic of Guatemala Primary School in Petionville. She opposed François Duvalier, and was briefly arrested for criticizing his policies. then studied at Columbia University for two years. He became involved in student activism, and remained active after he left the university. At a Haiti-related event for student organizers, Fils-Aimé met Marise Piverger; they married in 1980 despite her parents' disapproval, and moved to Miami.

Fils-Aimé later went back to school, completing his bachelor's degree He worked in various administrative positions at Miami-Dade Community College: he was director of placement at the Wolfson campus, and later served as the assistant dean of students. Fils-Aimé was also a member of the Book Distribution Committee for the Miami Book Fair International in 1992, 1993, and 1995.

Business in Haiti In 1995, Fils-Aimé moved back to Haiti, although he would regularly visit Miami. He also directed Comcel's resources toward philanthropic initiatives; when the company changed its name to Voila, Fils-Aimé became the president of the Voila Foundation.

Fils-Aimé retired from Voila's management after its sale to Digicel in 2012. He then joined the board of the Haitian Education & Leadership Program. He also served as president of the Trilogy International Foundation, which is associated with Comcel's US parent company.

Political involvement Fils-Aimé was a close friend of Haitian President René Préval.

In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Fils-Aimé was critical of the Haitian government's plan to appropriate land for building aid camps; he observed that many political conflicts in Haiti had been triggered by land disputes. He also defended a private-sector-run opinion poll for the 2010–11 Haitian presidential election in the name of transparency, as previous such polls had not been publicly released.

In 2019, Fils-Aimé published an op-ed in the Miami Herald decrying President Jovenel Moïse's responses to the 2018–2019 Haitian protests. The article was reprinted after the Herald erroneously attached a photograph of Reggie Fils-Aimé (the former CEO of the North American division of video game company Nintendo) instead of Bernard Fils-Aimé.

Personal life

He and his wife Marise had three children: daughter Erica and sons Karl and Gerard.

Fils-Aimé died from COVID-19 at the University of Miami Hospital in Miami, Florida, on 8 August 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida.