Francisco de Pando y Armand

Francisco de Pando y Armand (1900-1977) was a sugar estate owner in Cuba known for his influential leadership in the Cuban sugar industry. He was owner of four sugar producing estates, with land holdings in excess of 24,000 acres. de Pando engaged in corporate and political activities and held interests in various railways and banks.

Biography de Pando was a Cuban and the only son of Lieutenant-General Luis Manuel de Pando y Sánchez and Cecilia Armand-Roche.

Professional career As president and principal owner of the sugar estates Central Romelié S.A., and Santa Cecilia S.A. each consisting of approximately 12,000 acres with a daily production capacity of 150,000 bags and 2,600 employees, de Pando was the 97th-ranked landowner in Cuba.

de Pando served as director and one of the majority shareholders of the Cuban corporation "Compañia Cubana", owner of 2 sugar estates, which represented the 15th and 7th most important with respect to capitalization.

History In 1917, the maternal side of his family, the Armand-Roches, became co-owners of the Romelié sugar estate, along with the Brooks family heirs. The Brooks family was English, and owners of several sugar estates in the Guantánamo region, along with the McKinleys. They were partners from 1905 until the mid-1920s when the de Pando family became the sole owners of Romelie.

Personal life De Pando married Emma Ramsden y de la Torre, daughter of Frederick Wollaston Ramsden, former British Consul General and Susana de la Torre. Their only son, Luis Manuel de Pando y Ramsden later married María Victoria Quiroga and had four children. Luis Manuel was a Vice-President of the sugar estates.

On September 21, 1961, de Pando and his family were forced into exile when the Castro government announced the expropriation of all the family property and holdings. They settled in Key Biscayne, Florida. De Pando divided his time between there and Madrid until his death in Madrid in 1977.