In this new edition dedicated to the Chiriqui Province, we wanted to bring a Special Guest who is an outstanding Panamanian in the business world and from a family that has been developing the base of ecological tourism and agro-tourism in this province for a long time. Guillermo de Saint Malo Eleta is a Panamanian businessman and philanthropist who serves as Executive Director for Grupo Eleta.
Grandson of Fernando Eleta Almaran, a pioneer in the television and horse breeding business. Guilermo de Saint Malo Eleta is a professional who believes in working with integrity, ethics and entrepreneurship. Principles that guide him as a human being and unites his family in the business conglomerate. Our guest studied business at Clark University, in Massachusetts, and has promoted luxury tourism businesses, agrobusiness, companies such as Cafe Eleta, Cafe Unido and Ninety Plus. In this exclusive interview, he shares with The Visitor his vision of tourism, Panama and family.
Your company comes from a family legacy started by Fernando Eleta. What do you feel is the greatest legacy of your grandfather and what is the formula that has been applied in order for the new generations to not only follow the path, but also introduce growth?
“The greatest legacy that my grandfather gave us has been excellence. Something he always demanded from us in everything; not to be the biggest but the best. He always applied it to himself, and it was the permanent advice for his children and grandchildren, and that now with love we transmit to the next Eleta generations. We carry that same legacy of excellence to our companies, promoting a management style based on detecting the potential of each person and ensuring that we provide them with the tools to express themselves to the fullest, and basing our multiple businesses on high standards of responsibility, vision, social and human”.
For you as a family and company, what does it mean to be part of the thriving Chiriqui Province, and what is it that differentiates this province from the rest of the country?
“Chiriqui has enormous wealth in natural resources and its people are hard-working, enterprising and resourceful. For many years this province was practically isolated from the rest of the country, but its climate and fertile lands made it attractive to immigrants from Canada, Croatia, Germany, and different parts of Europe, who injected their dynamism and adventurous spirit into these lands.
That natural, human and cultural wealth was identified by my grandfather very early when he founded Haras Cerro Punta in 1972, working hand in hand with my grandmother Graciela, and horse breeding experts such as Alberto Paz Rodriguez. Haras Cerro Punta is not only the family farm, but also an international benchmark in the breeding of thoroughbred horses.
He also founded companies such as Nutricion Animal, S.A. and the Cafe Eleta farm, with which we generate value for the communities where they meet with the creation of employment and joint work with local authorities to improve their living conditions. In more recent years, we have continued betting on Chiriqui through renewable energy generation companies such as EISA and EcoSolar”.
The Eleta company has many years of history, being a state of the art company in terms of organization as well as its human management. What is the path you suggest for any organization that wants to generate real value in our country?
“At Eleta we work so that our companies represent positive and sustainable impacts, particularly in sectors where shared value can be generated for employees, the communities where we operate and for our shareholders.
I think it is essential that companies and entrepreneurs in our country carry out their projects from this perspective. This is the path to follow for the sustainable development of the country, through employment and educational opportunities, the promotion of sustainable human development and the preservation of our natural and cultural heritage.”
When a visitor decides to have a tourist experience in your farm, what are the moments that you want to leave in the memory and heart of each one?
“In the particular case of Haras Cerro Punta, this is also a refuge for the Eleta family, where we build memories with my grandparents, brothers and cousins. Likewise, we want our visitors to be able to experience the magic of the Chiriqui highlands, learning about the nobility of the horses, the beauty of the landscape, the vegetation and the gastronomy of the Highlands as a family.”
When an American, European or Asian gets their hands on a coffee grown and produced on one of your farms, what do they want to reflect in each cup of coffee about Panama?
“The coffee process, from its cultivation to the preparation of the cup, is complex and delicate. The product that we sell as Cafe de Eleta comes from the same farm where we take care of every aspect of the process following our tradition of excellence. We want that excellence to be reflected in the product and in the experience of those who drink it”.
