Joaquín B. Viso

Distinguished Citizen Award 2024-25

San Juan Rotary Club

April 22, 2025

By: María de los A. Rivera

Today we are honoring Joaquín B. Viso as the San Juan Rotary Club’s Distinguished Citizen of the year. The Distinguished Citizen Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to our community.

Before we continue, I want to excuse myself, a calendar conflict, which could not be postponed, did not allow me to be present today.

First, let’s review some of Joaquín’s outstanding achievements:

· He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico and a M.S. in Engineering from the University of Michigan.

· In 1999, he was named “Businessman of the Year” at the national level by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He was also awarded the Distinguished Award by the International Center of New York.

· He has served on numerous boards:

o The Puerto Rico Governor’s Strategic Advisory Council,

o The Board of Corporation for Technological Transformation,

o Genomas Inc.,

o Scotiabank of Puerto Rico,

o The Puerto Rico Manufacturing Association,

o The Universidad Central del Caribe,

o United Way of Puerto Rico,

o The American Red Cross,

o The Advisory Board of Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and

o until 2015 on the Board of Directors of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico.

· Until November 1986, he was President and General Manager of SmithKline (now Glaxo SmithKline or GSK) operations in Puerto Rico.

· Having accumulated seventeen years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry in Puerto Rico, he founded MOVA in 1986, determined to demonstrate that a company based

on local talent and capital could well compete in the global market. MOVA began operations by the end of 1987 and, when acquired by Patheon Inc. in December 2004, successfully operated three manufacturing sites in Puerto Rico and employed more than 1,600 associates. MOVA Pharmaceutical Corporation, manufactured prescription drugs for multinational pharmaceutical companies under contract manufacturing and joint venture agreements and developed its own generic products.

· From 2005 until 2014 he was a member of the Board of Directors of Patheon Inc.

· Joaquín is the founder of MC-21 Corporation, a firm dedicated to providing Pharmacy Benefits management services to health insurance providers both locally and internationally. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of MC-21 Corporation until its sale to ProcareRx in April of 2018.

· He is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Grupo VL, LLC.

I have always had the deepest respect and admiration for Joaquín since we were introduced by Silvestre Miranda after the sale of MOVA. He was my client for over 30 years and without any doubt my best client! His business sense is unparalleled! But his success did not in any way interfere with the great human being and philanthropist he is. I have not listed his contributions to the many different causes he has supported for years, since he keeps them very personal.

When I became president of the San Juan Rotary Club during 22-23, we were facing a challenge to raise the necessary funds to be able to finance our projects, including our main project for more than 35 years: the Thanksgiving Lunch for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico.

I immediately thought of Joaquín and the possibility of him sponsoring the lunch. He kindly accepted and has continued to support the event ever since.

For his exceptional contributions and unwavering commitment to the welfare of Puerto Rico, along with his wife, Olga, the San Juan Rotary Club proudly presents Joaquín B. Viso with the 2024-25 Distinguished Citizen Award.