Alberto Benavides
Peru
Alberto Benavides
  • Founder and Chair, Compañía de Minas Buenaventura (Mining)
Born Lima, Peru, 1920; died Lima, Peru, 2014. BSc. Civil Engineering, National Engineering University of Peru (1941); MA, Harvard University (1944); Advanced Management Program 62, Harvard Business School (1971).
“Don’t worry about environmental care costs. Be sure to take good care of the environment, just for its own sake, because God will return the favor with a bountiful reward.”

Summary

Alberto Benavides describes how he transitioned from a geology student at Harvard University, to assistant, head geologist and, eventually, CEO of Cerro de Pasco, to CEO of Compañia de Minas Buenaventura. He credits his upward trajectory to his passion for mining and his willingness to eschew opportunities in politics, business associations, and the core mining, exploration, and energy sectors of his company. He talks about the company's expansion through partnerships with foreign companies, including a crucial tie with Newmont Mining Co., and the eventual decision to take it public. He also addresses globalization and competition, government interference, environmental policy, and the importance of perseverance, in light of the development of Peru’s financial sector in the 1970s and 1980s.

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Alberto Benavides describes how he transitioned from a geology student at Harvard University, to assistant, head geologist and, eventually, CEO of Cerro de Pasco, to CEO of Compañia de Minas Buenaventura. He credits his upward trajectory to his passion for mining and his willingness to eschew opportunities in politics, business associations, and the core mining, exploration, and energy sectors of his company. He talks about the company's expansion through partnerships with foreign companies, including a crucial tie with Newmont Mining Co., and the eventual decision to take it public. He also addresses globalization and competition, government interference, environmental policy, and the importance of perseverance, in light of the development of Peru’s financial sector in the 1970s and 1980s.

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Additional Resources

Additional Resources

  • Patrocina Compañía de Minas Buenaventura S.A, Santiago de Cocha Ccasa: Proyecto de viviendas para mineros, 1,200 casas y todo el servicio urbano de una ciudad de diez mil habitantes. Compañía de Minas Buenaventura, 1977
  • Fernando Silva Santisteban, Cajamarca, historia y paisaje; foreword, Alberto Benavides de la Quintana, translation Herman Berger. Minera Yanacocha, 2001
  • “Interview: Roque Benavides,” PBS, Frontline, June 2005
  • Martin Monsalve Zanatti, “Evolution of the Peruvian large family business 1896-2012,” in Paloma Fernández Pérez and Andrea Lluch (eds.) Evolution of Family Business Continuity and Change in Latin America and Spain. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016

Interview Citation Format

"Interview with Alberto Benavides, interviewed by Andrea Lluch, Lima, Peru, May 22, 2013, Creating Emerging Markets Project, Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School, http://www.hbs.edu/creating-emerging-markets/."