Reginald Boulos

Reginald Boulos (born 1956) is the President of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Haiti, a third generation Lebanese-Haitian, medical doctor, an entrepreneur and businessman, and philanthropist.^[1]

Early life and education

Reginald Boulos was born in 1956, son of Carlos and Aimee (née Abraham) Boulos. Dr Boulos earned a medical degree in 1981 from the Port-au-Prince School of Medicine in Haiti and in 1982 a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at the Tulane University School of Public Health in New Orleans. He conducted research with an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University. He also holds certification from the MIT Sloan School of Management for senior executives.

Business endeavors

In 1996, Dr. Boulos left the medical practice to start a new career in business development. While Chairman of Intercontinental Bank S.A. (1996–1998), he negotiated the merger with Sogebank, Haiti's largest bank. In 2003, Dr. Boulos orchestrated the re-engineering of one of the oldest daily newspapers in Haiti, Le Nouveau Matin. From 2000 to 2010, Dr. Boulos created and developed Delimart, a chain of supermarkets, Autoplaza, a leading car dealership and Megamart, a membership food discount store. Recently, he organized renovation of a landmark Hotel in Haiti, El Rancho, re-opening as an NH.

Philanthropy

Dr. Boulos is a longstanding champion of social improvement in Haiti. In 1992, he founded the Fond de Parrainage National (FPN), which today finances the education of close to 20,000 elementary school children in Haiti. He is still its Chairman. From 1982 to 1996, he was Chair and General Manager of the Centers for Development and Health, a Haitian non-governmental organization that provides services and integrated health care to the populations of disadvantaged areas of the country since 1974. Under his leadership, the Center developed and managed the most comprehensive health program in Haiti, providing health and social services to 550,000 people. He is also the founder of Haiti's Child Health Institute, a research institution and the Haitian Institute for Community Health, a training institution.^[2]

Political ties and controversy

Dr. Boulos has been purportedly linked to the 1991 Haitian coup d'état and the second coup d'état against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004.^[3][4] Dr. Boulos has also been accused of association to the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haïti (FRAPH), the paramilitary "death squad" ushered into power by U.S. intelligence during the 1991 coup led by Lieutenant General Raoul Cédras, though Boulos claims these accusations of his involvement to be "outright lies". He has also been tied to the controversial political coalition the Group of 184.

Reconstructing Haiti

Dr. Boulos believes the 2010 Haiti earthquake presents new opportunities for Haiti, especially for business growth and sustainable development.^[5] Dr. Boulos proposed that donors allocate at least 50% of all funds and guarantees to formal Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and micro-enterprise financing, encourage broad ownership of larger companies, and implement SME set-asides, especially in the housing and construction sectors.^[1] Behind his recommendations, Dr. Boulos' principles are those of accountability, equality, and "independence from international aid.^[1]" Dr. Boulos is active in the reconstruction of Haiti, and is the Business Sector Representative for the HRIC - Haiti Reconstruction Commission, or also known as the CIRH - Commission Interimaire Pour La Reconstruction D'Haiti, which is co-chaired by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.^[6]"But with foreign aid flowing and a sympathetic world watching, Boulos envisions a new Haiti: one focused on quickly creating jobs while purging its ruling class of the cronyism that helped make this one of the world's poorest countries."^[7]

References