Board of Directors

Mario Canahuati is the president of the Honduran Manufacturers Association, leading the umbrella organization for  companies in the textile and apparel sector, intermediate manufacturing and business process outsourcing since March 2016.

He is a prominent businessman in the textile and apparel sector, president of Industrias Pacer S.A. de C.V. and a member of Grupo Lovable´s board of directors.  Mr. Canahuati has held leadership positions in several Honduran business organizations.

In 2006 he was president of the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP), the highest ranking business organization that represents 70 organizations of all economic sectors. During his mandate, the COHEP facilitated the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Central America and the US (CAFTA) for its membership.

He was president, for two consecutive terms (1996–1998 and 1998-2000), of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Cortés (CCIC), an organization representing 2,500 companies. During his tenure, he led the support operations that were conducted from the CCIC during Hurricane Mitch, the worst natural disaster that has hit the region in recent history.  He ensured the participation and institutional support of the CCIC to the National Program for Reconstruction and Transformation to recover the national economy.  As a result of agreements concluded with the European Union and the Inter-American Development Bank, the National Information Center and the Center for Conciliation and Arbitration were established within the CCIC.

He has held senior positions in various governments.  From 2002 to 2004 he served as Ambassador of Honduras in Washington DC.  In this capacity, he participated in the CAFTA negotiations and the efforts by the Government of Honduras for the approval of the Agreement in the US Congress.  He also worked in achieving the qualification and admission of Honduras as the second country ever to be a beneficiary of the Millennium Challenge Account.  In 2010, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, fulfilling the mission of coordinating the reintegration of the country into the international community after the political crisis of 2009.  During his tenure, Honduras was relaunched as a destination for investment under the Honduras is Open for Business program.

His participation in social causes and community outreach reflect his family values and passion for education. He was founder and president of the MHOTIVO and Hope for Kids Foundations. He has participated and supported organizations for the arts, sustainable development, housing, as well as political and social dialogue.

In the political arena, he was a candidate to the vice presidency of the country in the Partido Nacional ticket for the 2005 general elections.  In 2008, he was a candidate to the presidential nomination of the same party, representing the Todos Somos Honduras movement.

Mr. Canahuati has received several awards, such as the Protagonist of Civil Society of the twentieth century from the Municipality of San Pedro Sula (1999) and Distinguished Alumni of the Academy of Graduate Engineers Class of 1977 at the Georgia Institute of Technology (2004).

Born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras on September 12, 1955, he is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology with specialization studies in manufacturing in Milan, Italy.  He is fluent in English. He is married to Mrs. Sandra Farah Canahuati. They have four children.