José Luis Manzano

José Luis Manzano (born March 9, 1956) is an Argentine businessman and former politician.

He is currently a partner in the second largest multimedia group in his country, Grupo América, and has investments in several economic sectors, including energy, wine, and clothing.

During his time in Argentine politics, Manzano was known as a power broker and negotiator and one of the architects of the success of the Menem government.

Manzano holds a medical degree and completed postgraduate work in the United States.

Early in his career, he served in Argentina's Congress, later serving as in the cabinet of President Carlos Saúl Menem.

In 1977 it acquired 25% of Procono in Spain, and in 1997 formed Supercanal Cable Spain.

The group also purchased VVC, Alvarez & Alvarez, Video Selimn, MEG, Electro Audio and Imagem Teresopolis, CATV Sat LITD, and Televisao Spectrum Systems, all in Brazil.

In addition, the group owns cable operations in Bolivia and owns Dominican Supercanal in the Dominican Republic.

The group owns or has owned part of the magazine Primera Fila, the newspapers La Capital de Rosario and New Time, Paraná, and various radio stations.

In 1996 Manzano formed the powerful media group, Grupo América, which quickly grew to its spot today as the second largest media company in Argentina.

The firm owns 49 media outlets from all over Argentina and includes radio, TV, digital content, and graphics.

Manzano owns businesses in other sectors including oil and gas.

He also serves as the president of Integra Capital, an international investment firm.

Manzano is an experienced investor and frequently speaks around the world on issues such as investment, media, energy and distressed industries, according to the firm.

A doctor by professional education, José Luis Manzano graduated with a medical degree from the National University of Cuyo, specializing in occupational health.

He later lived in the United States and was a visiting scholar at both Georgetown University and the University of California, San Diego.

He has lectured at prestigious universities in Argentina, Japan, Europe and the United States and has received several international awards.

He is also president of the Postgraduates Foundation of the Congress, in Mendoza, where he was a former member of its administration board.

Manzano owns and runs a number of businesses in a variety of industries.

He often travels around the world, speaking at conferences and panels.

During the COVID-19 global pandemic, Manzano spoke out against protectionism, predicting it would make the world's economy worse off.

To heal the international economic crisis caused by the pandemic, Manzano advised that countries increase international trade, remarks he gave as a guest panelist at a panel on international trade hosted by the International Economic Forum of the Americas.

Manzano also expressed support for government intervention and support of small and medium-sized businesses, but also called on businesses to adapt.

"Those who are not prepared to adapt properly to this new reality will not be able to survive," he said (translated from Spanish).

Among the businesses that Manzano owns is Integra Capital, a financial services and investment company.

The company is bullish in the energy and mining sectors, responsible for putting together large investment funds for projects in these industries.

For example, Integra invested in the Golfo San Jorge Basin, a sedimentary basin hydrocarbon-rich area located in eastern Patagonia.

Pipelines, electricity generation, and industrial- and personal-use water projects are also within the company's scope of investments.

In the power sector, Integra put together a large investment program of nearly $100 million dedicated to modernization and creation of an intelligent grid.

Resettling in Argentina in 1996, Manzano and entrepreneur Daniel Vila created UNO Medios, also known as Grupo Uno (Group One) or Group Vila-Manzano.

They also established Supercanal Holding AS, now valued at more than $800 million.

Grupo Uno acquired the Buenos Aires-based TV channel América 2, in partnership with the politician and businessman Francisco de Narvaez.

Manzano and Vila developed Grupo Uno into the second-largest media group in Argentina.

By the end of the 90s, it controlled the principal channels of the Cuyo region: Channel 7 (Mendoza), Channel 8 (San Juan) and Channel 6 (San Rafael).

Today Grupo Uno consists of 40 media outlets throughout the country, including press, radio, television, and digital enterprises.

Among the major channels is América 2, located in Buenos Aires, whose operation license was renewed during President Néstor Kirchner's administration.

Through all of its media outlets, Grupo Uno reaches around 25 million people in Argentina.

In addition, it is also a service supplier of Triple Play (a provider of telephone, Internet and cable television services) through the company Supercanal.

Some 450,000 people in 14 Argentinian provinces subscribe to its services.

The Vila-Manzano group also bought into cable operations abroad.