Alberto Valdes, 70, was born in Havana, Cuba, on December 22, 1946, and passed away peacefully in his home in Miami, on August 23, 2017, after 23 years of battling a rare and incurable form of neuroendocrine tumor.

He came to the US from Cuba in 1962, through the Pedro Pan program, which took care of youngsters whose parents had to remain in their homeland. He proudly worked his way up from nothing, put himself through school, and ultimately became a pillar of Miami's international banking community.

He began his banking career at Citizens and Southern Bank in Atlanta, until transferring back to Miami to manage the Latin American operation. Honing his banking expertise at National Bank of Georgia, 1st American International Bank, and International Bank of Miami, he was a charismatic leader, whose loyal teams followed him from bank to bank and loved him like family.

When he took on the running of the community bank in 1984, the International Bank of Miami had just $64 million in assets. Under his leadership as president, CEO, and chairman of the board, it grew to a $1 billion institution. He was proud of his role as a leader in the banking community, and served as president of the Florida International Bankers Association and the Florida Bankers Association.

A proud man, he kept his illness private, with only those closest to him knowing the full extent of his health issues. He will always be remembered for his warmth and caring, and for his sense of humor that kept him and those around him laughing up to his final days.

He is survived by his wife Marielena, his two children Tommy and Annie, his daughter-in-law Isa, his two grandchildren Ian and Tai, his mother Consuelo and brother Eduardo, his nieces and nephews Michael, Frank, Lauren, and Adrian, and his family and friends whose lives are better for having known him.