Lorenzo Zambrano

Lorenzo Hormisdas Zambrano Treviño (27 March 1944 – 12 May 2014) was a Mexican businessman and philanthropist. He took over Cemex, a regional cement company founded by his grandfather, and transformed it into one of the largest cement producers in the world by the time of his death. Zambrano also financed several cultural initiatives across Latin America and chaired, from 1997 to 2012, the board of trustees of the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM), one of the largest private universities in the region. He also co-owned Axtel, an important Mexican telecommunications company.

Early years

Zambrano was born on 27 March 1944 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, into a wealthy family composed by Lorenzo Hormisdas Zambrano Hellion and Alejandrina Treviño Madero.

The family of his father had built a small fortune in the 19th century as entrepreneurs during the industrialization of their home city. His paternal great-grandfather, Gregorio Zambrano Guajardo, co-founded in 1854 the first textile mill in the region, Fábrica de Hilados y Tejidos de Algodón "La Fama". Likewise, his paternal grandfather, Lorenzo Hormisdas Zambrano Gutiérrez, founded Cementos Portland Monterrey (1920), a small Portland cement producer that profited from Monterrey’s reconstruction after the 1910 Revolution.