Juan Sartori

Sartori began his business career in 2003 when he founded Union Capital Group in Geneva, Switzerland.

Sartori set up Union Group in Uruguay in 2007 with a blueberry farming business, subsequently branching out into rice, soya bean and wheat production.[2] Since its incorporation, Union Group and its subsidiaries have performed numerous transactions across the world, growing its portfolio of businesses of private and public companies.

In 2008, he founded Union Agriculture Group (UAG), one of Union Group's first affiliated companies, to manage his agricultural interests. In 2013, UAG floated on the Montevideo Stock Exchange. UAG was the largest company to list on the exchange and, in June 2014, accounted for approximately 70 per cent of its market capitalisation. UAG has grown to become one of the biggest agricultural companies in Uruguay.[3]

Union Group has since expanded into a range of other sectors. In 2010, Sartori began investing in energy generation projects. In 2013 Union Group acquired hydropower company Generacion Andina from German utility company EnBW.[4]

In 2015, Union Group secured a $59m financing package from a consortium of banks for two hydropower projects, bringing the overall investment into energy assets in Latin America to around 1GW. The plants are forecast to supply 15 percent of Peru's energy needs.

Sartori is the co-founder and chairman of NYSE listed Union Acquisition Corp (UAC), a SPAC or blank check company, which has taken a number of organizations public over recent years, such as crop technology company Bioceres (Nasdaq: BIOX) in 2018, and global healthcare business, Procaps Group (Nasdaq: PROC) in 2021.[5][6][7]

In December 2018, Sartori presented his nomination to the President of Uruguay for the 2019 primary elections, running as a Partido Nacional candidate.[8][9] The election was held on June 30, 2019. Sartori carried out a noteworthy campaign, labelled a "political phenomenon" by the Associated Press.[10] He collected 20.68% of the vote, which saw him finish second of six behind current president Luis Lacalle Pou.[11] The Atlante Films documentary "Juan Sartori: behind the phenomenon" follows Sartori on the campaign trail.[12][13] Sartori ran for the Senate in the October 2019 general election and was elected senator, making him the youngest person to currently hold this title, taking up the position on February 15, 2020.[14][15] He sits on the Senate Committees of International Affairs, Environment, Development and Inclusion, and is president of the Industry Committee.[16]

Sartori is a passionate football fan.[17] In 2018, Sartori formed part of a consortium to purchase Sunderland AFC. "Sunderland is a huge club, the seventh largest in England, a club with a lot of history and a big following, and that’s what made it attractive", he said following the acquisition.[18] He sits on the Board as a non-executive director.[19] The club, based in the North East of England, currently play in League One.[20] He is also a Board member and vice president of AS Monaco Football Club.[21]