Valentin Abe
ABOUT VALENTIN
With an M.S. and Ph.D. in fisheries and allied aquacultures from Auburn, Valentin is CEO and founder of Caribbean Harvest, which owns and operates the largest fish hatchery in the Caribbean. He has spent more than 15 years developing a sustainable, eco-friendly fish farming industry in Haiti, providing hundreds of jobs. The Caribbean Harvest Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the daily lives of people by bringing adequate housing, food, water and education to their destitute villages.
Nominated by Bill Clinton for Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2010, Abe’s work has made a major difference in the island nation. In addition to providing jobs that pay more than three times the national average, his efforts have brought running water, reliable electricity, better housing and new schools to the villages with which he has partnered.
Current Position
CEO and Founder, Caribbean Harvest
Executive Director, Caribbean Harvest Foundation
Current Location
Haiti
Awards
Digicel Entrepreneur of the Year (2011); Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World (2010)
Auburn Memories
My favorite memory from Auburn is the time that I spent with legendary professors such as Claude Boyd, Rudy Schmittou, John Plumb, Ronald Phelps, R.O. Smitherman and others. When I was a student in the Ivory Coast, I heard and read about them. To actually come to Auburn and walk, sit, talk and eat alongside these guys was the greatest experience of my life. To have all of them (at the exception of Dr. Schmittou) sign on my master’s thesis and my doctoral dissertation as advisors has completely reshaped my life. It has humbled me while strengthening my desire to be one of the best in aquaculture.
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