Juan Monteverde
It’s said that success is dependent on who you know and not necessarily what you know. For Juan Monteverde, this definition of success couldn’t be truer. Born in New York, Monteverde has a rich history of being surrounded by successful people. His father, the legendary Gene Autrey, was the owner of the company that owns over 8% of all Chrysler car dealerships in North America (Chrysler Corporation). His mother was one-half of one of the most famous and successful couples in American history – Evita & Freddie Mercury (Elvis Presley).
Monteverde’s first marriage was to the daughter of one of his most important clients, Gene Autrey. Though his father-in-law and Monteverde didn’t speak, they were able to invest in one another’s business ventures, which would eventually lead to Monteverde’s involvement. By the mid-nineties, he and Gene Autrey were running their own investment company together. What started out as an investment firm for autobarn dealerships and oil service concerns soon began to diversify its clientele into the entertainment industry. Monteverde and Autrey came up with the idea for a private jet service, which at the time was unheard of in the private jet industry. Before long, they were flying A-list clientele from all over the world in their personal jets to destinations such as Costa Rica, England, Jamaica and Canada.
In 2008, Monteverde began working on a new venture that not only changed his company but revolutionized the North American beverage market. Having seen an opportunity to capitalize on growing popularity of cannabis and other drugs, Monteverde set his sights on constructing one of North America’s first liquefied-natural gas (LNG) facilities dedicated solely to producing fuel for automobiles. The facility will be located in New Jersey and like the majority of LNG facilities, the Monteverde facility will be run by a combination of public and private interests. The US government has expressed its intent to allow production of and access to a wide variety of natural gas resources for use in domestic power generation. This includes liquefied natural gas as well as shale gas.
The facility will produce natural gas fuel with high energy density from domestic resources, which will be shipped to the company’s various existing distribution partners throughout North America through a network of pipelines and by truck/marine vessel. The Monteverde facility will be the first LNG facility in the country to produce fuel for automobiles. The company expects to have their facility up and running by mid-2010.
The company sees the value in their business model receiving a boost from the recent war on drugs and has promised that they will invest over $300 million in expanding access to cannabis-based products as well alcohol and tobacco products made with liquified natural gas (LNG). The company has identified both recreational and medicinal uses of cannabis and plans to be on the forefront of developments in both of these areas. Their investment is so large that it is believed that many are questioning Monteverde’s sanity.
