Who is Angelo Calcaterra?
Angelo Calcaterra is an Argentine architect. He was born on March 29, 1958, in Buenos Aires. He attended Colegio Argentino Modelo. He is the second of four siblings. His parents, María Pía and Antonio Calcaterra, were immigrants who settled in Argentina after leaving Italy. In 1986, he graduated as an architect from the Universidad de Belgrano (UB). On August 29, 1986, he married María Boneo, a sculptor born into a Yugoslavian family. They had two daughters and a son. He met his current girlfriend after divorcing; she is a fashion entrepreneur.
Angelo Calcaterra spent his early years in the province of Buenos Aires, in the municipality of Morón. Later, his family moved to the city of Buenos Aires, where he completed his primary and secondary education at Colegio Argentino Modelo.
Real estate development
He began working with his father in a construction company focused on real estate development, specializing in the restoration of historical buildings classified as National Heritage. For several years, the architect developed real estate construction businesses.
Agricultural development
He later began training in agricultural development. He eventually worked on farmland in the province of Mendoza. Both sectors would shape his professional trajectory in the years to come.
Business development
He ventured into the food business. He also participated in the purchase of a company dedicated to the manufacturing and marketing of frozen foods. In 2000, he left the company founded by his father and began his path at Francisco Macri Holding, his uncle’s firm. He took charge of reorganizing various areas of the company, such as: engineering and construction, road concessions, operations in the energy sector (gas, hydro, and electricity), financial services for SMEs, and real estate and property developments in Argentina and other countries.
In the 1990s, he partnered with his father to acquire Alimentos Modernos S.A. Over time, a Dutch multinational shareholder, Farm Frites, joined the firm. It specializes in the production of frozen potatoes. During this phase, he served as Executive Director and contributed to consolidating the frozen food business in Argentina. The project included operating a 10,000-square-meter plant in Munro, Buenos Aires Province, for the production and sale of pre-fried potatoes.
He entered the agro-industrial sector with his father at the same time as he began his architecture career. While his greatest passion is linked to design and architecture, the business world is ultimately driven by a common thread across all his ventures. One of the challenges he enjoys most is bringing projects to life, regardless of the sector.
In 2007, he acquired the construction company IECSA. He partnered with an Italian construction group specialized in tunneling. Alongside Ghella, his partner until 2016, he created a company. From Grupo ODS, Angelo consolidated his real estate business trajectory. He executed several iconic buildings in the most exclusive area of Buenos Aires, including Madero Plaza, Torres Mulieris, Torres del Yacht, and the Art María complex.
Angelo Calcaterra, architect, businessman, and CEO at San Tonino with a specialization in agribusiness
In 2016, he resumed his father’s legacy and invested heavily, along with his brother Fabio, in acquiring several hectares in Mendoza. He began cultivating mostly uncultivated fields to grow potatoes. He boosted this business significantly and later sold his share to American investors. Currently, Angelo Calcaterra develops agricultural production through the San Tonino rural company and continues his activity as a real estate developer with the second and third phases of a 50,000m² complex in Puerto Madero.
The family origins in the agro-industrial sector
His paternal grandfather, also named Angelo, was originally from San Fili, a municipality in Calabria, in the province of Cosenza, southern Italy. This town was known for the quality of its olive oil. Both his grandfather and father took the first steps in working the land, passing down the tradition through generations.
Once the family settled in Argentina and solidified their construction business, Antonio, his father, bought land in Mendoza. That land was later sold, and years later, Angelo and his brother decided to reinvest in the province and continue that initial experience.
Cool Mind and frozen food
Cool Mind is a joint-stock company created in March 2009 to operate in the cold food storage segment, in partnership with Alimentos Modernos. After the project’s consolidation, it was sold to Simplot S.A., and this was the first project the American firm pursued before confirming large-scale investment in Argentina.
It emerged from the need for vertical integration in the frozen food business, aiming to boost factory production by implementing a sophisticated cold storage system that used cutting-edge technology to optimize distribution, based on product entry order and expiration dates.
Angelo held various levels of equity in this company until the project matured and was sold in 2016 to an American investment group betting on Argentina as a hub for frozen food production and distribution in Latin America.
Angelo Calcaterra’s present
He currently works on the San Tonino S.A. project, a company based in Buenos Aires, with land in San Carlos, Pareditas department, Mendoza. The land initially had no electricity or irrigation.
San Tonino S.A. is composed of three parts: the industrial production of various types of potatoes; intensive cattle fattening, a major complement to the primary activity, aimed at both export (heavy) and domestic consumption (light), focusing on British/European breeds; and the El Relincho Solar Park project, currently under a pre-feasibility study.
The enthusiasm for the comprehensive project stems from the possibility of generating employment, revitalizing the land, and reducing fossil fuel energy consumption. The emphasis is on sustainability and growth in that direction, responding to a global need.
Algunos aspectos personales de Angelo
Personal aspects of Angelo
Name: Angelo Calcaterra
Nicknames: Angelo / Tano
Parents: María Pía and Antonio Calcaterra
Siblings: Emilia, Teresa, and Fabio
Age: 62
Profession: Architect. Graduated in 1986 from Universidad de Belgrano
Born and raised: Born in Buenos Aires province; later moved with his family to the city where he completed school at Colegio Argentino Modelo
Passion: Traveling
Trait: Family-oriented
Marital status: Divorced from María Boneo after more than 20 years of marriage; currently in a relationship with a fashion entrepreneur
Children: 3 (two daughters and one son), and two granddaughters
Distinctive quality: Dedication to projects and pursuit of excellence
Current project: second and third phases of the Art María building complex and agribusiness development in Mendoza
A dream: To see his two children get married (one already has!)
Social action and inclusion
He has supported various initiatives to promote the social inclusion of people facing adverse circumstances. This is something that moves and motivates him to support ventures that open doors, aligned with most of his beliefs.
Through a testimonial video, we learned about Alfonsina Herrera, a teacher from Santiago del Estero. She used to hitchhike 160 km to get to her school. Since then, Angelo Calcaterra has sent her money monthly so she can afford bus transportation and continue teaching 160 km from her home.