Born in Quito, Ecuador, Manville grew up in Peru, graduated from Markham College, and earned a Master’s in Economics from the Catholic University in Lima, Perú. He enjoyed a successful and distinguished business career. Manville started as a Telex operator in 3M’s Peru office, soon earning a position in sales and catching the eye of 3M executives in the In the span of a decade, he became a rising star in 3M’s International division, with the responsibility of managing 3M operations in Central America and Colombia. In the 1980s he was recruited by Parker Pen to head their Writing Instrument Group. Later, his leadership skills and business wisdom led to executive leadership roles in human capital consulting.
Manville was a generous and patient mentor. People who know about him recognize that he was brilliant, fair, honest, and compassionate. Those who knew him most closely were immersed in his warmth, generosity and humility. What Manville would want you to know about him is that he had a quick, dry wit. He was a strategist, which carried over to his take-no-prisoners chess and Scrabble (in his second language). He spoke grammatically flawless English as a result of a lifetime of insatiable reading. He also was a music aficionado who favored classical and jazz. A true renaissance man, he was a diehard soccer fan who never missed a World Cup. An avid cook, he delighted in treating his family on Sundays to his special recipes of aji de gallina, lasagna, paella, his own creation, “Pasta a la Manville,” and countless other mouth-watering and beautifully presented dishes. With his delicious food as bait, he drew his family together to share many precious moments.
Though much of his business career was spent in an airplane, Manville enjoyed travel in his downtime, too. An anglophile, he frequented London, cruised the Caribbean to snorkel, explored volcanoes in Costa Rica, visited his native South America, and browsed the museums and art galleries of Europe. Paradoxically, he was quite the homebody and just as happy to be reading, taking a dip in the pool, connecting with friends, and relaxing with his family and cat.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's disease and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson's today. The Foundation is the world's largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson's research, with more than $800 million in high-impact research funded to date.
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