Miami entrepreneur and seafood businessman Roger Duarte, who built a successful career after walking away from investment banking, was killed in a helicopter crash in northern Kenya on Wednesday. All seven people on board, including the Kenyan pilot, died. The aircraft was operating a charter flight from the Loisaba Conservancy toward the Ewaso Nyiro area. Kenyan aviation authorities are investigating the cause of the crash.
Duarte, 42, was travelling with six other people when the Eurocopter EC130 B4 crashed near Mount Ololokwe in Samburu County at around 9:13 am. local time, according to New York Post .
Duarte’s death marks a significant loss to Miami’s food and hospitality industry.
“Our deepest sympathies are with the guests, crew, their families and loved ones, and all those affected by this tragic accident,” Lady Lori Helicopters, which operated the flight, said in a statement.
He began selling South American cigars to his dad’s friends as a schoolboy. He started by selling crab claws to neighbors in Key Biscayne, Fla., before partnering with a major wholesaler. Bloomberg later called him the “Stone Crab King. He later served as CEO of Hospitality Capital Partners, continuing his work in Miami’s hospitality and investment sectors.
In 2008, at 24, he left investment banking to launch his first business, George Stone Crab. In 2012, he co-founded the seafood restaurant My Ceviche with chef Sam Gorenstein. The test store generated $1 million in sales in its first year, and the brand became well known across South Florida. In 2016, Forbes named him to its 30 Under 30 Food list, highlighting his early jump from finance to entrepreneurship.
