List of 7 items.

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  Ernie Castro '87 | President

  A 1987 Columbus graduate, Ernie Castro is an industry veteran who has spent his entire career in the adult beverage business.  He was born and raised in South Florida and is a graduate of Florida International University. Ernie currently works at Coastal Pacific Wine & Spirits, a division of Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits.  He joined the company in December of 2004 as the Director of Chain Strategy and then transitioned into Vice President of Trade Development for spirits.  He helped lead various changes in commercial strategy and provided the sales teams with greater insight and visibility into the company’s systems and models.  In 2011 he was promoted to Vice President / General Manager – Chain Division where he was challenged to build a World Class selling organization.  In March of 2016, Ernie Castro was promoted to Executive Vice President / General Manager Florida, tasked with leading the Coastal Pacific Division.  His goal is to help mold people for both personal and professional growth.  

   

  Ernie has been married to his lovely wife Isa since 1993.  Isa is Lourdes graduate from 1988 and together they have 3 wonderful children.   Ernie’s two sons, Ernesto Castro (’13) and Francisco Castro (’21) both graduated from Columbus.  Ernesto was a member of the baseball team while Francisco was a 3 year varsity starter on the football team where he helped his team secure the first state championship in school history.  He was also a part of the 2020 squad that won the Tri-County Championship.  Ernie’s daughter Isabel graduated from Lourdes in 2016.

   

  Ernie has served on the Columbus Alumni Committee for 3 years and now takes over as President. 
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  Daniel Alonso ‘99

  A 1999 Columbus Graduate, Danny Alonso is Founder and President of Ensured Plans, a full-service insurance practice specializing in Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans, and Asset Protection. Since 2008, Danny has dedicated himself to building both professional and personal relationships with clients and members of the community. Danny holds an Associate degree in Information Technology. He is passionate about dedicating time to Non-Profit Organizations, that include the Ari Arteaga Foundation, Castaways Against Cancer, Kyan's Kause, and Epiphany Catholic School.
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  Daniel A. Brea ‘95

  A 1995 Columbus graduate, Dan is a Vice President and Portfolio Officer at BNY Mellon Wealth Management. He works directly with individual clients to ensure that their overall investment and wealth management objectives are met. This includes establishing investment objectives, implementation of an investment strategy, and ongoing monitoring of strategy to ensure it remains within the client’s overall goals. He has built his career at BNY Mellon over the past 13 years, focusing on high net worth clients with over $2 million in liquid assets. His services include Financial, Retirement, and Estate Planning. Dan holds an undergraduate degree with a dual major in International Finance and Marketing from the University of Miami.  He earned his MBA from the University of Miami with a specialization in Personal Financial Planning, and is a CFP® professional. Dan was recognized in Poder Hispanic Magazine in their “20 Under 40 Corporate Rising Stars” list in June of 2013. 
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  Santiago Eljaiek '91

  A 1991 Columbus graduate, Santiago is the founding and managing partner of Marin, Eljaiek & Lopez, PL., a full service law firm with offices in Coconut Grove and Coral Gables.  He serves as the head of the Transaction Department for the Firm and focuses his practice on commercial and residential real estate, mergers and acquisitions, asset based and structured lending and general corporate agreements. He received his Bachelors of Science, with honors, in Business Administration and Management from the University of Florida and received his Juris Doctorate degree from the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida. Santiago also serves as outside general counsel for a variety of profit and not-for-profit Corporations and Condominium Associations.  He is a member of the Florida Bar, Business Law and Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Sections, Dade County Bar Association and Cuban American Bar Association.

• Osvaldo "Ozzie" Gonzalez '03
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  Rudy Puig '90

  A 1990 Columbus Graduate, Rudy is President of Dade Federal Security, a family owned company that has been providing Security to South Florida businesses for over 37 years.  He also has owned four Cold Stone Creamery stores, and is currently owner of the Cold Stone Creamery in South Kendall.  He served on the Franchise Board of Directors for 5 years, representing all the stores in the Southeast United States and Puerto Rico. Rudy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from University of Central Florida.  He also continues to volunteer as a coach at Kendall Boys & Girls club where he has coached for over 10 years.
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  Kevin Testa '95

  A 1995 Columbus graduate, Kevin is the Founder of Gadabout. Gadabout is the only dedicated shared-services sales platform for the wine and spirits industry partnering with best-in-class sales agents, teams and independent brokers to launch and scale their businesses with an integrated portfolio of high-potential, ready-to-sell brands. Kevin is also Founder and Partner in Home x Away, Columbus’s exclusive apparel partner. Prior to founding Gadabout and Home x Away, Kevin spent 20+ years working in the wine and spirits business for the E. & J. Gallo Winery and DIAGEO. Kevin graduated from the University of Florida with a BSBA degree, majoring in Finance.  As well, he has a MBA from Wake Forest University. He currently lives in Coral Gables with his two boys Nico and Luca.