One of Haiti’s most influential and long-standing business leaders, Gilbert Bigio — founder and former president of the Caribbean conglomerate GB Group and majority stakeholder in Texaco operations across the Dominican Republic — has passed away at the age of 91. According to sources close to Bigio’s family, his death occurred on Tuesday, September 29, in Florida.
A private funeral service is scheduled to take place this Thursday, October 1, in Hollywood, Florida, to honor Bigio’s life and legacy.
Bigio’s career spanned more than six decades, cementing his status as a cornerstone of Haiti’s business community. He launched what would become GB Group in 1972, growing the small operation into a diversified multinational conglomerate with holdings spanning critical sectors across the Caribbean: energy, fuel distribution, construction, agriculture, food production, steel manufacturing, and logistics, among others.
Bigio got his start in business back in 1957, when he first took on a partnership role at a small local department store. Over the subsequent decades, he methodically expanded his business footprint beyond Haiti’s borders, building a cross-regional empire that positioned him as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Caribbean.
One of the biggest milestones of Bigio’s career came in 2012, when GB Group completed a major acquisition of Chevron-Texaco’s fuel marketing and distribution networks across the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and St. Maarten. The deal added more than 200 branded Texaco service stations to the group’s portfolio, solidifying GB Group’s position as a leading player in the Caribbean fuel and energy sector.
With Bigio’s passing, Haiti has lost one of its most legendary business figures, whose decades of work created a lasting, significant impact on the energy and commercial landscape across the entire Caribbean region.