Andy Unanue
Andy Unanue | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Nationality |  American |
| Occupation(s) | President & CEO, AU & Associates, LLC. Chairman, TRUFOODS, LLC. former COO, Vice President, General Manager of Goya Foods |
| Parent(s) | Joseph A. Unanue , Carmen Ana Casal de Unanue |
Andy Unanue is a former Vice President, General Manager, and COO of the family-owned Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States. In 2008, he flirted with candidacy for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey but after further deliberation and realizing he did not have the time needed to dedicate to such a campaign he quickly ended his candidacy.
Biography
Andy was born and raised in New Jersey, the grandson of Goya Foods founders Prudencio and Carolina and son of Joseph A. Unanue. He attended St. Joseph School in Bogota, New Jersey, Alpine Public School and Bergen Catholic High School.[1]
Unanue received a bachelors degree from the University of Miami and an MBA from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management.[2] He began working in his father's company in their Miami office, working his way up to President of Goya de Santo Domingo. After his brother Joseph F. Unanue died of cancer in 1998,[3] he became Executive Vice President. Unanue became Goya's COO in 2000, at the age of 33.[2]
In February 2004, Unanue left the family business to pursue other interests. Unanue now owns his own business AU & Associates, LLC (http://www.auallc.com) which has advised or made made investments in companies such as Opt-Intelligence, Inc., BigFish Games, Inc., IPG Photonics and holds majority interest in the restaurant Bagatelle and the clubs RdV. and "Kiss & Fly", both located in New York City. He also is an Operating Executive of Palladium Equity Partners (http://www.palladiumequity.com/) a firm that has seen much success in reaching out to investments in the Hispanic Market.
In August 2007, Unanue formed Trufoods LLC, which owns the franchises Wall Street Deli, Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips, Ritter's Frozen Custard, and Pudgie's Famous Chicken.[4]
In October 2010, he married Marie O'Mara in Mayakoba, Mexico.
Candidacy for United States Senate
After the withdrawal of moderate Republican Anne Evans Estabrook, who was initially the New Jersey GOP establishment's choice, due to a mini-stroke,[5] Unanue announced his candidacy in a letter to the party chairman on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008, while on holiday in Vail, Colorado.[6] He was reportedly considering dropping out of the Senate race to make way for Princeton biotechnology executive John Crowley, but after Crowley signaled that he would not run, Unanue announced that he had filed petitions for the race on April 7, 2008.[7] However, on April 11, Unanue dropped out of the race, and his committee on vacancies designated former Congressman Dick Zimmer to enter the race under the Unanue petitions.[8]
Residence Controversy
Unanue openly admitted to reporters that he has resided in New York City since 2004, although he plans to move back to New Jersey as soon as possible. Which is well within the boundaries of the law.[9][10] Unanue is registered to vote at his parents' New Jersey home, and has voted in New Jersey elections at least four times since moving to New York City in 2004.[11]
References
- ^ Rispoli, Michael. "Republican may make Senate bid, after all", Asbury Park Press, April 4, 2008. Accessed February 17, 2011. "Unanue and Crowley went to high school together at Bergen Catholic in Oradell."
- ^ a b Business Wire, July 18th, 2000
- ^ New York Times, December 4, 1998
- ^ Nation's Restaurant News, March 12, 2008, www.nrn.com
- ^ Margolin, Josh, "Anne Estabrook quits GOP U.S. Senate race, citing health problem", The Star-Ledger, 5 March 2008. Retrieved on 2 April 2008.
- ^ Mulshine, Paul, "Unanue fiddles while Byrne roams", The Star-Ledger, 28 March 2008. Retrieved on 1 April 2008.
- ^ "Unanue in the race - and in New Jersey - says spokesman". PolitickerNJ.com, April 7, 2008. Accessed April 8, 2008.
- ^ "Former Congressman Dick Zimmer to run for U.S. Senate". The Star-Ledger, April 11, 2008. Accessed April 11, 2008.
- ^ Jackson, Herb. "GOP rival urges probe of Senate hopeful", The Record (Bergen County), March 29, 2008. Accessed July 3, 2008. "Rival Senate candidate Murray Sabrin on Friday seized on Andy Unanue's admission that he lived in New York City since 2004 while continuing to vote and register his cars using his parents' address in Alpine."
- ^ Schwaneberg, Robert, "NJ candidate for US Senate lives in NY", The Star-Ledger, 27 March 2008. Retrieved on 1 April 2008.
- ^ Jackson, Herb, "GOP rival urges probe of Senate hopeful", The Record 29 March 2008. Retrieved on 1 April 2008.