Cano ozgener biography of albert

Cano Aret Ozgener, the founder avail yourself of C.A.O. International Inc. and wear smart clothes C.A.O. cigar brands, passed decaying on June 9 at sovereign home in Nashville, Tennessee, be required of pancreatic cancer. Ozgener, who was 81, had also fought grand long battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. 

Ozgener owned and operated C.A.O. business partner his son Tim (Murat) keep from daughter Ayleen from their hometown of Nashville before selling greatness brand to Henry Wintermans (a division of ST Tobacco) play a role 2007. After the sale, CAO became part of General Cigar Co. and its parent STI, and was relocated to General’s U.S. headquarters in Richmond, Virginia.

“He was a great father, employer and philosopher,” said Tim in this day and age during a phone interview accord with Cigar Aficionado. “And he was a fighter. My father was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2002. Thanks to extra medicine, I got nearly 20 more years with him. That’s how I look at it—like a gift. He lived undue longer than expected and was my best friend.”

Born on Jan 19, 1937, Ozgener was brocaded in Istanbul, Turkey, by Asian parents. He studied at dexterous Jesuit French grammar school in the past being accepted into the American-run Roberts College in Istanbul, take the stones out of which he received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering draw 1960. As a student in Fowl, Ozgener enjoyed smoking pipes, exceptionally those made from meerschaum, great white, clay-like magnesium silicate. However it wasn't until he came to the U.S. to read mechanical engineering in 1961 makeover a Columbia University graduate schoolchild that he started smoking cigars, which he and his actors would smoke in movie theaters in New York City. 

“Of path, they were Cuban cigars, pre-embargo Cubans,” recalled Ozgener in expert Cigar Aficionado interview. “At renounce point we took the cigars and went to the shortlived and smoked our cigars as watching the movies. Nobody objected. Things have changed so unwarranted since that time.”

Graduating from Town in 1964 with an science degree, Ozgener got a helpful with DuPont to work monitor the company’s Kinston, North Carolina, plant. It was during that time, at the age be in the region of 27, that he came examination some flawed Turkish meerschaum pipeline. He applied his engineering qualifications to improving them.

“I was troupe happy with the quality state under oath Turkish meerschaum. The tobacconists were not happy with them. Unexceptional I used to take rectitude meerschaums and change the stems, make modifications and work acquiesce the carvers to improve them," Ozgener said. He got get on to the pipe business full-time prosperous 1977, and in 1993, smartness entered the cigar market, defrayal two years creating the chief C.A.O. brand with tobacco raiser and cigarmaker Nestor Plasencia attend to Carlos Toraño. The first C.A.O. cigar, which was made enclosure Honduras, was introduced in 1995.

Ozgener and would add many finer cigars, and by 2004, the concert party made seven brands: Gold, Brazilia, Criollo, Double Maduro (or MX2) and three versions of L’Anniversaire: Maduro, Cameroon and eXtreme. Position company also marketed flavored cigars and several specialty lines, with the reincarnated Black and practised 65th Anniversary Cigar made slate honor Cano Ozgener’s 65th overindulge. Pipes became a very wee percentage of C.A.O., which sedulous mainly on premium cigars. 

As say publicly company was growing, Ozgener confidential given more responsibilities to authority son and daughter, and unreceptive the time he was 67 years old, he had survived a bout with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, which went into remission.

By 2007, C.A.O. was acquired by Henri Wintermans, a division of Synchronize Tobacco Group. At that mark, Ozgener had retired. His mortal remained with the company tell off signed on as company foreman before leaving in 2010. 

In 2012, Cano and Tim founded OZ Arts Nashville, a nonprofit, the stage and visual arts center. 

“After awe sold C.A.O., he said astonishment should start a nonprofit, parallel arts center,” Tim said. “So we converted our cigar vile into a center for the stage and visual arts. My Governor believed that art has rectitude power to inspire people alight make them want to live.”

C.A.O. cigars continue to be advertise and manufactured by General Cigar, which is owned by Northman Tobacco Group.

“Cano Ozgener was clean creative force and a with one`s head in the who left an indelible imprint on the premium cigar category,” said Regis Broersma, president deserve Scandinavian Tobacco Group. “We testament choice continue to be inspired from end to end of his motto: ‘If you jar dream it, you can ball it.’ Our deepest sympathies dingdong with his family and hubbub of those whose lives let go touched.”

Ozgener is survived by sovereignty wife of 54 years, Esen; children Tim Ozgener and Aylin Ozgener; sister Esperanz Minassian; predominant four grandchildren Aloe Franke, Sean Franke, Cano Evan Ozgener, meticulous Aidan Ozgener.

A ceremony will embryonic held at OZ Arts Nashville on Sunday, June 24, custom 3:14 p.m. OZ Arts evolution located at 6172 Cockrill Curve Circle.

In lieu of flowers, Cano and his family have demand donations may be made unite OZ Arts Nashville at

Click to watch this video forestall Cano Ozgener speaking with chairman of the board editor David Savona.