BIOGRAPHY

Ruben Cherñajovsky was born in Buenos Aires on January 7, 1948, the grandson of Jewish immigrants who arrived in Argentina from the countries surrounding Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. He is married and the father of five children.

At the age of 21, following in the footsteps, first of his paternal grandfather and then his father, he started a nuts and spices import company. By that stage, he had already passed a number of Law subjects and had over half a degree course in Psychology under his belt; but instead, he opted to go into trade as a merchant.

At around the same time, his paternal uncle and business partners, who were already manufacturing audio equipment under the Sansei brand, made Rubén an offer to join them in the audio equipment import trade.

In the 1980s, the Argentine government launched an ambitious fiscal incentives regime to promote electronics manufacturing in Tierra del Fuego, in pursuit of a clearly geopolitical objective. The idea was to drive economic and social development and boost the local population, numbering little over 10,000 at the time, against a background of rumbling concern about the sovereignty of these remote lands.

In May 1987, Ruben Cherñajovsky flung open the doors to the first of five plants that the Grupo Newsan currently owns and manages in Tierra del Fuego.

In 1991, his company Sansei merged with the Japanese firm Sanyo Electronic Trading, giving birth to Newsan, today the owners of an impressive array of household brands such as Noblex, Siam, Atma, Sanyo and Philco, makers of small appliances and white consumer goods.

Under Ruben Cherñajovsky’s leadership, Newsan grew from strength to strength. In 2008, he stepped down as CEO to take over as Chairman of the group.

During his tenure, he spearheaded several acquisitions, including the 1999 purchase of the Argentine electronics company Noblex, a major competitor with two strong brands: ATMA and Noblex itself. Thanks to his entrepreneurial skills and a keen interest in innovation, Cherñajovsky grew the company by adding value, assembling a diversified portfolio of products, more recently joined by a range of small electrical appliances and white goods. One such milestone was the acquisition of the legendary SIAM, a brand of historical significance for Argentina, recognized nationwide for the quality and reliability of its products. In 2011, the company launched a new business unit dedicated to exporting fish and other food products; by 2014, Newsan was leading the market as Argentina’s main fish exporter, selling to over 70 countries around the world.

In 2018, Rubén Cherñajovsky put into a motion a process of strategic diversification for the company, venturing into the renewable energy business. More recently, the company has entered the local sustainable mobility market, launching several bicycle lines, while in February 2020, it opened an electric skateboard unit.

En el último tiempo, Newsan también ingresó en el mercado local de la movilidad sustentable, con el lanzamiento de varias líneas de bicicletas, y, en febrero de 2020 entraron al negocio de los monopatines eléctricos.

Cherñajovsky has spent most of his life staunchly defending national industry, occupying key positions at the Argentine Electronic Terminal Factories Association for over 20 years.

Ruben Cherñajovsky is passionate about modern art and photography, and his private collection features unique contemporary Argentine paintings and works by the influential British artist David Hockney, as well as valuable pieces of German expressionism. He has also been a major player in large-scale real estate development projects in both the province and city of Buenos Aires.

Fortuna de Oro Award for Best Company (June 2015)

Rubén Cherñajovsky was recognized for his contribution to national industry by Editorial Perfil, the leading business magazine which every year singles out the leading companies operating in Argentina for their performance.

Entrepreneur of the Year (March 2014)

The state award is designed to highlight the importance of business principles such as ethics, excellence and the integrity of procedures, as well as a vocation for service. Rubén Cherñajovsky was distinguished with this award in 2014.