After obtaining a Bachelor's Degree from
Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and receiving a
Master’s Degree in Information Services from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), Mr. Carrión joined Banco Popular in 1976.
From the outset, the young entrepreneur
developed and implemented innovative initiatives while driving the bank's
growth and profitability. While Mr. Carrión was President of Banco Popular,
Popular completed the acquisition of various financial institutions,
including Banco de Ponce, Banco Roig, Seminole Bank, First State Bank of
Southern California, Gore Bronson Bancorp in Chicago and Aurora National
Bank. At the time of the acquisition, Banco de Ponce was the second largest
bank in Puerto Rico. Recently, he also headed Popular’s recent acquisition
of Quaker City, a savings and loan holding company for Quaker City Bank,
based in Whittier, California, and Kislak National Bank, a Florida-based
commercial bank.
In the information technology arena, Mr.
Carrion’s vision brought the first network of ATMs to Puerto Rico and many
other Latin American countries, and also spearheaded the successful
migration from paper to electronic transactions. In 1999, after the
acquisition of GM Group, Inc., the largest data processing center in the
Caribbean, Popular consolidated its leadership role in the technological
arena, thus creating EVERTEC, a new leader in information technology.
Mr. Carrión’s enthusiasm and energy in
professional matters is coupled with a sense of deep social justice. For
almost three decades Mr. Carrión has given great priority to the task of
juggling his time between corporate America and philanthropy; placing
particular emphasis on education and sports. He has been a member of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 1990 and currently chairs the
Finance Commission and the Audit Committee. Also, is a member of the IOC’s
Marketing, TV and Internet Rights Commissions. Mr. Carrión led the
negotiation team for the U.S. broadcast of the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games -
generating $2 billion in revenue - and was elected to the IOC Executive
Board in 2004. In 2007, he was appointed as a member of the International
Basketball Federation (FIBA) Finance Commission. In 2008, he was elected for
a three-year term as class A director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York.
He is the founder and trustee of the Banco
Popular Foundation; which, among other charities, has donated scholarships
to over 1,000 students through the Rafael Carrión, Jr. Scholarship Fund. He
currently serves on the board of directors of Verizon.
Mr. Carrión, a native of San Juan, Puerto
Rico, is married to Conxita Martorell and has five children: Io Ana,
Richard, Ceciliana, Ana Sofía and Rafael Luis.
