{"id":4975,"date":"2006-07-01T14:01:33","date_gmt":"2006-07-01T18:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=4975"},"modified":"2014-11-14T16:04:19","modified_gmt":"2014-11-14T21:04:19","slug":"how-sweet-it-is-college-alumnus-leads-the-u-s-division-of-his-familys-confectionary-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2006\/07\/how-sweet-it-is-college-alumnus-leads-the-u-s-division-of-his-familys-confectionary-business\/","title":{"rendered":"How SWEET it is! College alumnus leads the U.S. division of his family\u2019s confectionary business."},"content":{"rendered":"

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Fernando Panizo<\/strong> (BBA ’00) never tires of the sweet smell of cocoa, the main ingredient in the fine chocolates produced by his family in Peru. It is this smell that he grew up with as he watched his mother, Elena, create the sweet treats in their home kitchen. Not only did he crave his mother\u2019s chocolates, but he yearned to be a part of the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n<\/span>Fernando Panizo<\/span>
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As a young boy, he helped his mother with her homegrown business by picking up materials at the print shop and delivering the chocolates. Today, he is the general manager for Helena Chocolatier in the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone wants to sell in the U.S.; this is the most important market in the world. I am involved in every aspect (of the business). I wear all of the hats, and that makes me very proud and more equipped to lead,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Three of Panizo\u2019s siblings also are involved with the company. And the creation of the company\u2019s name says much about the importance of family and the success they hope to attain as a family and as a company. \u201cElena,\u201d of course, is taken after his mother\u2019s name\u2014the creator of the fine recipes. The \u201cH\u201d represents \u201cHombre,\u201d (\u201cman\u201d translated in Spanish) and is a symbol for his father, George, who helped his mother build the company in 1975 by constructing a small factory within their large house. \u201cThe \u2018H\u2019 also represents \u2018Hilton,\u2019 the hotel where my mother stayed when she visited the U.S.,\u201d said Panizo\u2014clearly a symbol of success attained in the United States as the company grew.<\/p>\n

Panizo attributes most of his business knowledge to his courses in the business school at Florida International University, namely, Operations Management, Managerial Accounting,<\/em> and Strategic Management<\/em>, the latter of which he took in Croatia through the university\u2019s study-abroad program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose Florida International University because I had heard great things about the College of Business Administration, the university\u2019s proximity to Peru, and its international atmosphere,\u201d he said. \u201cToday, I have great friends I met the from Peru, my native country, as well as from Colombia, Venezuela, and the U.S. As I increase my sales, I will embark on an MBA degree to help my business grow bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Panizo gained much experience with Enterprise Rent-a-Car after graduation, and later with Caribbean Marketing Resorts, it is through Helena Chocolatier that he is realizing his dream. Working in his family\u2019s business and helping to achieve his mother and father\u2019s vision is what keeps him going. Panizo will tell you that \u201ceating the chocolates\u201d is his motivation!<\/p>\n

Alumni and corporate friends of the college had the pleasure of tasting Panizo\u2019s favorite chocolate at this year\u2019s Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Luncheon on May 17th. Through his generosity, each guest received a complimentary sample. Guests of American Airlines First Class also have the pleasure of receiving Helena Chocolatier\u2019s Pecan Chocoteja\u2014Panizo\u2019s favorite. \u201cThis is my greatest success. I am so proud to see that my Tejas are served on the same tray as Coke, 30,000 feet high!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fernando Panizo (BBA ’00) never tires of the sweet smell of cocoa, the main ingredient in the fine chocolates produced by his family in Peru. It is this smell that he grew up with as he watched his mother, Elena, create the sweet treats in their home kitchen. Not only did he crave his mother\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[859,1085,1660,1833,2059],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4975"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4975"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24411,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4975\/revisions\/24411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}