Us
Board of Directors
Directors
José Antonio Díaz Quintanar
President
Jose Antonio Diaz Quintanar is a Certified Public Accountant from the Universidad La Salle, with graduate studies in finance from the University of Arizona. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Café del Pacífico (CAFFENIO), a company founded by his grandfather in 1941. Like his father, he is the third generation to continue the development and tradition of the company. In this work, he has promoted a responsible corporate mission towards the natural environment, with sustainable practices to control, reduce and mitigate environmental impact. He also sits on the boards of Banco de México, BBVA, Citibanamex, HSBC, Nacional Financiera, COPARMEX Sonora Norte and Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Sonora Norte.
He is an active member of the boards of directors and trustees of financial, educational and philanthropic institutions, as well as various business organizations. He resides in Hermosillo, Sonora with his wife and children.
Gastón Luken
Honorary President
Gastón Luken Aguilar was born in Hermosillo, Sonora. He is a resident of Mexicali and Mexico City. He is a Public Accountant for ITESM. He was president of Grupo Financiero OBSA, which partnered with GE Capital/General Electric for the acquisition of Banca Serfín. He also chaired GE Capital México and founded Próxima Gas, in partnership with Sempra Energy for the translation of natural gas to the CFE Thermoelectric Plant in Baja California and the distribution of natural gas in Mexicali, Chihuahua, and the Laguna region. In his civic activity he stands out as founder, honorary president, and advisor of Pronatura Noroeste and Noroeste Sustentable. He was president and advisor to the Water Advisory Council, the Colegio de la Frontera Norte, the Institute of the Americas based at the University of California at San Diego, and the Smart Border Coalition.
Passionate about sustainable development and, even more so, about water. His business vision is an engine that inspires those of us who are part of Pronatura Noroeste.
Aurora García de León Peñúñuri
Secretary
Aurora is an Industrial Engineer from the Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, certified by the IPADE AD1 program and the Building Blocks of Social Housing and New Perspectives for Affordable Rental Housing programs at Harvard University.
Originally from Hermosillo, Sonora, she has more than 30 years of experience in the housing industry and is the CEO of DEREX. Her efforts have earned her various awards for innovation and contributions to sustainability, including recognition as “Businesswoman of the Year” in 2007 and 2018 by AMJJE and CANACINTRA, respectively. She received the National Housing Award in 2014 and 2018, and the Award of Women’s Power in 2022 from the Congress of the State of Sonora for her career and impact on the community.
She currently actively participates as a Board Member of Grupo Elektra, Northwest Regional Board Member of Banco Inmobiliario Mexicano, founding member of the Sea of Cortez Forum, and member of the International Women Forum (IWF) Mexico, among other high-level participations.
Gustavo Camou Luders
Treasurer
Gustavo Camou is a rancher and agricultural entrepreneur, born in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. He is an Agricultural Engineer and Administrator with a degree in Economics from the University of Arizona. He has been a director, manager, and administrator in commercial organizations and agricultural corporations.
Gustavo was Secretary General of the Regional Livestock Union, President of the Sonoran Brangus Association, and Undersecretary of Livestock of the State of Sonora. He chaired the State Committee for Tuberculosis and Bovine Brucellosis and the State Commissions for Meat and Milk. He served as Secretary of the Wildlife Technical Advisory Council and of the Livestock Inspection Committee of Sonora. He was a member of the masked quail (endangered species) recovery team and collaborated with the Technical Committee for the change of land use in Sonora.
Gustavo was a member of the State Forestry Council. He received an honorable mention and recognition from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He enjoys mountain biking, cross-country activities, and wildlife viewing.
Jaime Roberts Vildósola
Vice President, Baja California
Jaime Roberts Vildósola is an Industrial and Systems Engineer from ITESM Campus Monterrey with a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from San Diego State University. He is President and General Director of the IAMSA Group, with more than 30 years of experience in the development of industrial parks at a national and international level. He is also President of the Local Council of Banorte and Director of Scotiabank. He was President of the Mexican Association of Industrial Parks (AMPIP) and the Tourism and Conventions Committee (COTUCO), as well as an associate of CETYS University. He serves as President of the Board of Trustees of the Mexicali City Council and a member of the Binational Advisory Council of the San Diego Museum of Natural History. He is an outstanding citizen committed to the environment and a leader of social impact projects, such as creating a job bank that indirectly generates more than 25,000 jobs and the rollout of school projects for more than 400 children annually. He is currently vice president and an active member of the Board of Directors of Pronatura Noroeste.
Giovanni Malagrino Lumare
Vice President, in Baja California Sur
Giovanni Malagrino, originally from Crotone, Italy, lives in the city of La Paz, Baja California Sur. He studied Oceanology at the Superior School of Marine Sciences at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur (UABCS), and has a Master ‘s Degree in Fisheries Sciences from the University of Nagasaki, Japan. He obtained a Doctor of Science degree from the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR) in La Paz. Among his interests are knowledge and passion for marine ecosystems and the conservation of life in the sea, which is why for more than 40 years he has worked as a research professor, coordinator, and department head in various educational and scientific research institutions, given his specialties in the fields of Marine Biology and Marine Sciences. His work has had an impact on new generations of marine biologists and conservation professionals, to the extent that he is responsible for the Doctorate in Coastal Area Management at the UABCS.
Norberto Larrinaga Buelna
Vice President, Sonora
Norberto is a native of Hermosillo, Sonora. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with honors from the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey Ciudad Obregón Campus. He completed programs in Senior Business Management (AD-2), Innovation and Technology, and Business and Family at IPADE, as well as the management skills management program at Creston International. He completed a Social Formation course from the Mexican Entrepreneurs’ Social Union (USEM) and a Negotiation course taught by Dr. William Lury of Harvard University. In his social work, he has participated in the boards of trustees of the nursing home, the seminary, the cathedral, and in Hermosillo. He is President of the Board of Trustees of the Instituto Angel de la Guarda (IAP) and was a member of the Board of Governors of Agua and the special works trust of Agua de Hermosillo. He has worked in the financial sector, public safety, and sports activities, in addition to being a member of the National Chamber of Housing. He is Vice President of Instituto Thezia (Fomento Educativo Integral de Hermosillo AC.
As a businessman, he was Director of Nola Development Corporation and the actual Board of Directors and Director of Grupo Elga’s Chairman. He has been involved in environmental conservation with Pronatura Noroeste for the last 25 years. Among his hobbies are scuba diving, road and mountain biking, and water skiing.
Alberto Coppel Luken
Vice President, Sinaloa
Alberto Coppel Luken was born in Culiacán, Sinaloa. He is a Civil Engineer from the Instituto Tecnológico of Monterrey. He was Director of Stores in the Coppel Group and, along with his children, is Director of the investment group GC1 Holding. He founded companies such as PromoCasa, ClickBalance, and Sake Nami and is a partner in corporations and business ventures. He directs the GC1 Foundation, which offers peace, urban development, sustainability, and educational programs. Among his environmental work, are the foundation of Parque Las Riveras in Los 3 Ríos, and being a director of Parque 87, as well as a promoter of the Estero del Pailebote Fishing Refuge. He collaborated in a research project about water on Altata Bay and Ensenada de Pabellones and in the Navolato coastal management plan.
He is an advisor to the sustainability committee “A Navolato Voy.” He has ecological and social certifications for his fishing work, specialized in sustainable fishing of blue shrimp and fish via suripera in coastal lagoons, in addition to promoting the sowing of oysters in Altata. He is the current Vice President of Pronatura Noroeste.
Ignacio Vallarta Chan
Vice President, Nayarit
Ignacio Vallarta is an environmentalist and agricultural producer, a member of a family that for several generations has been dedicated to agriculture and livestock.
He is co-owner of the ecological reserve La Papalota, located in Santiago Ixcuintla, Nayarit, which is considered of high environmental relevance for our country as it is the first private property declared a Natural Protected Area (NPA) by the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas in the year 2008. This designation is because the La Papalota reserve is the habitat of a jaguar family with nine members. At this site, Pronatura Noroeste and the Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit conduct monitoring and conservation tasks for this species and other emblematic species of Mexican fauna, such as the ocelot. In this sense, Ignacio Vallarta’s commitment and enthusiasm for Nayarit’s fauna and ecosystem is vital.
Esteban Silva
Vicepresident, Colima
Esteban Silva is an economist and businessman, with a bachelor’s degree from Tec de Monterrey and a master’s degree in Regional Development from the London School of Economics. He is founder and CEO of Colima Brewery, a brand recognized by the regional community, distinguished for its responsibility to the environment by promoting the reduction and compensation of the carbon footprint, highlighting the use of renewable energy to supply 90% of the electricity demand, the recycling of more than 95% of waste and the conservation and reforestation of forests around the Volcan de Fuego, through the program ” Volcan de Fuego, Montaña de Agua” in which several companies and organizations collaborate. Thanks to this program, more than 1,000 hectares of forest are being conserved, 150 hectares are being reforested, and better land use practices are being promoted on agricultural land.
Associates
Enrique Hambleton von Borstel
Manuel Valladolid Seamanduras
Roberto Kitazawa Armendáriz
Héctor Sada Moreno
Diego Ley López
Earl Roberts Vildósola
