Remembering Carlos Alvarez: Visionary Leader, Dedicated Philanthropist and SYA Champion
Written by Stephen Foster ES’65
School Year Abroad lost a dear friend and a vital champion of its mission when Texas entrepreneur Carlos Alvarez died at home, unexpectedly and in his sleep, on April 9, 2024. He was 73 years old and still, seemingly, in the prime of his life.
Born in Acapulco, Mexico and later a naturalized U.S. citizen, Carlos had a storied business career in Texas. Beginning in the early 1980s, working tavern by tavern from a single neighborhood in Austin, Texas, Carlos grew Corona Extra, a little-known Mexican brand, into the number one imported beer in the US. Along the way, he purchased an ailing Texas brewery and made the Shiner Bock brand a longhorn favorite and one of America’s top five craft beers. For many friends and admirers, Carlos was the embodiment of the American Dream; in the telling of some, he was also the single most successful beer entrepreneur in the world at the turn of the century.
In the last two decades, together with Malú, his wife of 44 years, Carlos poured increasing amounts of time and resources into a torrent of philanthropic activity in his adopted hometown of San Antonio and beyond. SYA was one of the lucky beneficiaries of Carlos’ restless and generous spirit.
An advocate of cross-border education since his own experience as a young student in Michigan, Carlos came to know SYA in 1999 when his daughter Carla attended SYA France. A campus visit that year prompted Carlos’ first gift to SYA — an unsolicited one — to “spruce up” the Rennes school building. Many more followed. Carlos was the lead donor to the 2005 Campaign for Rennes, after which the campus building was named Villa Alvarez. Five years later, he was the lead donor again, this time to the Campaign for Spain, for the purchase and build out of a new school space in Zaragoza. (At Carlos’ gracious request, the new facility bears the name of another campaign donor and dear friend. “I already have one European villa with my name on it,” he said.) For The Campaign for SYA, in 2019-2021, Carlos and Malú paved the way yet again as lead donor, establishing the $3-million Carlos and Malú Alvarez Global Scholarship Fund; they later made an additional eleventh-hour gift to take the campaign over its $18-million goal.
As one of the first non-school heads to join the Board of Trustees, Carlos also played a key role in shaping SYA’s future. Former Board Chair Doug Renfield-Miller FR’71 CN’01P IT’05P ES’10P recalls Carlos’ “sage counsel and critical support” in meeting financial and strategic goals over a decade ago. Whether it was fundraising, a building project or addressing other challenges, Doug notes, Carlos could often be found leading a “gang of four” to move things forward. Never the passive donor, Carlos loved to devise fundraising schemes to draw in others, and he was consistently successful in doing so. His money seemed to have wheels on it.
But it was never all about the money. “What I remember most about Carlos are his discretion, his sense of fun and his sly wit,” said former SYA President Woody Halsey FR’96P FR’97P CN’99P FR’01P IT’04P. Those qualities were evident not just in the boardroom but throughout the SYA community. From his many visits to Zaragoza, Marta Escartín, professor of Spanish, recalls “a passionate and vital man full of songs, jokes, stories, anecdotes … and advice.” Says former SYA Spain Director Griffin Morse, “his generosity was only outdone by his kindness and concern for others.”
Nothing was more important to Carlos than his family. On both formal and informal SYA occasions, his wife Malú was invariably at his side. Our collective memories of Carlos are thus intimately linked with those of Carlos and Malú together, of their mutual admiration and affection, and of Malu’s complicit smiles at the provocative jests through which Carlos often engaged with the world. I think of Carlos’ spirited presentation to SYA Spain students in the form of a Spanish song, with Malú knowingly looking on.
From what I know, Carlos devoted this level of full-on, personal commitment not only to SYA but to a host of organizations, large and small. Still, I believe there was something special for him about SYA, something that attracted his attention and held it for a quarter of a century. I remember Carlos once saying to me, in hushed, almost conspiratorial tones, “SYA is a jewel,” as if to say we need to be careful with this organization, to both protect and nourish it.
“Our sincerest condolences go out to Malú Alvarez, daughters Malú and Carla FR’00, to Carla’s husband John Brozovich and their extended families,” said SYA President Tom Hassan, “and to Carlos and Malú go our enormous respect, profound affection and eternal gratitude.”
Stephen Foster ES’65 is a member of the first class at SYA and was the first alumnus to serve on the Board of Trustees.
More about Carlos Alvarez
His obituary provides a deeper look into his life as a businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist. We invite you to consider making an SYA Fund gift to honor Carlos's life and legacy. Your gift will continue Carlos’s work at SYA, ensuring a transformative experience abroad is accessible for generations to come.