Juan José Sartori Piñeyro (born 6 February 1981) is a Uruguayan businessman, senator and co-owner of Sunderland.[1] He is the president and founder of Union Group, a privately owned investment management and private equity firm that holds significant interests across an array of industries worldwide, including agriculture, technology, energy and real estate.[2][3][4]
Sartori was born at the Italian Hospital in the capital city of Montevideo on 6 February 1981 to Gustavo Sartori and Rosina Piñeyro.[5] Sartori is of paternal Italian and maternal Spanish descent. At the age of twelve, Sartori moved to Europe and lived in a number of countries, starting in France, while his mother worked for the United Nations. He went on to study in Switzerland, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in Economics and Business from the University of Lausanne in 2002. He was also a short-term exchange student at Harvard University.[6]
Sartori's business career began in Switzerland in 2003 when, having just graduated from university, he founded Union Capital Group, which evolved into a multi-billion-dollar assets under management investment firm. Expanding into private equity, Sartori set up Union Group in Uruguay in 2007 with a blueberry farming business, subsequently branching out into other sectors such as infrastructure, energy and technology.[7] Since its incorporation, Union Group and its subsidiaries have performed numerous transactions across the world, growing its portfolio of private and public companies.[8]
In 2013, Union Group's agricultural arm, one of the biggest agricultural organizations in Uruguay, floated on the Montevideo Stock Exchange. In June 2014, it accounted for approximately 70 percent of its market capitalisation, making it the largest company listed on the exchange.[9]
In 2010, Sartori began investing in energy generation projects. In 2013, Union Group acquired hydropower company Generacion Andina from German utility firm EnBW.[10] In 2018, Polaris Infrastructure Inc. (TSX: PIF), a Canadian business, purchased Union Group's energy division.[11]
Sartori is the co-founder and chairman of NYSE-listed Union Acquisition Corp (UAC), a SPACorblank check company, which has taken a number of organizations public over recent years, such as crop technology firm Bioceres Crop Solutions (Nasdaq: BIOX) in 2018, and global healthcare business, Procaps Group (Nasdaq: PROC) in 2021.[12][13][14]
Sartori ran for the Senate in the October 2019 general election and was elected senator, making him the youngest person to currently hold this title, taking up the position on 15 February 2020.[21][22] He sits on the Senate Committees of International Affairs, Environment, Development and Inclusion, and is president of the Industry Committee.[23] Additionally, he forms part of the Partido Nacional's governing body.[24]
Sartori is a passionate football fan.[25] He is a co-owner of Sunderland. "Sunderland is a huge club, the seventh largest in England, a club with a lot of history and a big following, and that’s what made it attractive", he said following the 2018 acquisition.[26] He sits on the board as a non-executive director.[27] In 2022, the club, based in the North East of England, won the League One playoffs, and played following season in the EFL Championship, the second most important division in English football.[28] He is also a board member and vice president of Monaco.[29] In terms of support, Sartori is a fan of Club Nacional, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.[30]
Sartori married Russian heiress and equestrianEkaterina Rybolovleva on 21 October 2015, and as a result, Sartori's father-in-law is Russian oligarch and billionaire businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev, who is the majority owner and president of Monaco's football club Monaco.[31] The wedding was held on the Greek island of Skorpios, which she bought from Athina Onassis in 2013.[32] Together, the couple have three children: Isabella, Alexander John and Giulia Victoria.[33]
