The businessman Mariano Puig Planas, former president of Puig, dies

The Barcelona businessman Mariano Puig Planas, former president of Puig and founding member of the Instituto de Empresa Familiar in Spain, has died, the company reported Tuesday in a statement. Born in Barcelona in 1927, he was a member of the second generation of the Puig family and was at the forefront of the company’s international expansion.

Married and father of four sons and a daughter, he was a doctor in chemical engineering and graduated from Iese (1964) and from a young age he established ties with the United States, the Caribbean and France. He agreed to distribute the Agua Lavanda Puig fragrance in the United States at the end of the 50s and later achieved the representation of the Max Factor brand, which he distributed in Spain for more than 15 years.

In 1968, he signed an agreement with the designer Paco Rabanne in Paris for the creation of his fragrances, which began the international expansion of the company. In addition, in 1987 he agreed with the designer Carolina Herrera to produce his perfumes, and in 1995 he negotiated the purchase of her fashion division.

Family Business Institute

After being the founder of the Instituto de Empresa Familiar in Spain, he chaired it from 1995 to 1997, and was a member of the FBN and the European Family Business, among many other entities.

He was also a patron of the Princess of Asturias Foundation, and Felipe VI presented him with the Kingdom of Spain Award in February 2019 for his business career.

He had previously obtained other recognitions: the Gold Medal of the Spanish Institute of New York (1999). In 1998, on behalf of the Puig family, she received the Distinguished Family Business Award, in Laussane (Switzerland), from the IMD, and in 2003 the Family Business Award from Kellogg University, in Chicago (United States).

In 2014 he received the Foment del Treball Medal of Honor for Business Trajectory and in 2016, the Government awarded him the Gold Medal for Merit at Work.

Sport

He was an athlete in his youth, especially fond of the sea, and also obtained the Silver Medal for Sports Merit (1963) and the Naval Merit Medal (white badge) in 1996.

He also presided over the Spanish Water Ski Federation, during which the World Championship was organized in Banyoles (Girona) in 1971.

Mariano Puig was a member of the Spanish Water Ski Team, with which he was twice champion of Spain.