Gilbert Bigio - Haiti Observer Blog

GB Group has become the first multinational company in Haiti to have over 360 service stations. This happened when the Haiti-based company's Energy division acquired Chevron's fuels marketing and aviation businesses. The acquisition involves the businesses in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica's St. Maarten.

Under the acquisition deal, the GB Group now has control over some 220 retail service stations that Texaco Brand operates. The deal also involves airport refueling operations and fuel terminals.

GB Group chairman Gilbert Bigio welcomed the deal, calling it an "important milestone." He added that the acquisition is a huge part of the company's plans to develop the local market, as well as grow globally. The transaction really goes well with GB Group's goals and vision, Bigio said. The chairman also shared that the acquisition is a golden opportunity that everyone in the company has been awaiting. It is known that since its establishment in Haiti in 1896, GB Group has been taking measures and initiatives to expand not only in Haiti but also in the international market. And the company's takeover of Chevron's divisions is a testament that GB Group's efforts are not going down the drain.

Read more →  

One place that has been trying to keep the spirit of a Jewish community in Haiti was Gilbert Bigio's mansion. This Jewish community center is located in Port-au-Prince and it was where Haiti's only Torah scroll was kept, an Israeli flag fluttered from the rooftop and each Passover the country's 50 or so Jews would gather for a Seder, singing or practice their Jewish religion in Haiti.

Like many buildings around port au Prince, the center was destroyed in the Jan. 12 earthquake that leveled much of this city. There are no evidence that any of the members of the Jewish community living in Haiti were known to have been killed in the Haiti earthquake. According to report, since Haiti earthquake, there are only about 15 or so Jews left in Haiti, out of a total population of 9 million. And they spend most of their time in Miami or the neighboring Dominican Republic because conditions at home are so difficult.

Read more →