Ariel I. Pereda is a pioneering U.S. businessman and the leading expert in exporting American brand-name food, beverage, and consumer goods to Cuba. For the past two decades, he has successfully navigated the complex regulatory, logistical, and political landscape between the United States and Cuba—always in full compliance with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations—opening doors that previously remained closed to most American companies.

As founder and leader of Pearl Merchandising and Distribution, Pereda has established it as the exclusive distributor in Cuba for numerous top-tier U.S. food, beverage, and consumer goods brands. He has exclusively represented and helped to successfully establish a product presence in Cuba for leading companies including Colgate-Palmolive, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Mars Wrigley, The Hershey Company, S.C. Johnson, and The J.M. Smucker Company. Cuban consumers actively seek these premium American brands and can afford them primarily through remittances sent by family members abroad—with the overwhelming majority originating from the Cuban diaspora in Miami. By delivering these high-demand products, Pereda has directly empowered Cuba’s emerging private sector: his imports supply local entrepreneurs, independent retailers, and small businesses with goods that generate revenue, create jobs, expand variety, and accelerate economic independence—giving the private sector the tools to grow, compete, and thrive despite longstanding constraints.

Pereda delivers comprehensive, results-driven support to U.S. companies seeking to expand into Cuba, including Category Management, Merchandising & Display Analysis, Distribution & Market Analysis and full Export & Retailing Roadmaps detailing every cost component: logistics, import duties, taxes, distributor margins, and retail margins. These services give American businesses a clear, actionable “road map” for success while simultaneously strengthening Cuban private-sector partners through sustainable supply chains and profitable distribution opportunities.

Leadership & Contributions to U.S.-Cuba Relations

Committed to strengthening bilateral commercial ties, Pereda is a founding member of the U.S. Cuba Business Council at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and served as Chairman of the Engage Cuba Business Council. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the non-partisan Cuba Study Group (CSG). Through CSG and its sister organization Cuba Emprende—the leading contributors to Cuba’s private sector—Pereda has helped drive meaningful progress: Cuba Emprende trains entrepreneurs across the island with practical business skills, while CSG advocates for policies in both the U.S. and Cuba that enable private businesses to thrive and achieve greater economic independence. In 2015, Pereda was responsible for identifying and securing Stonegate Bank—the first U.S. publicly traded bank to re-establish a corresponding banking relationship with the Cuban banking system since 1959. This landmark relationship fulfilled the guarantees required for diplomatic banking services and directly enabled the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Cuba. He was subsequently invited to join the Board of Directors of Stonegate Bank, where he also served on the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Compliance Committees.

In May 2022, Pereda launched a transformative new venture in partnership with Cubatel, a U.S.-based company and the market leader in cell-phone top-ups to Cuba. Cubatel Remesas is a fully authorized money-remittance platform (MSB licensed by both U.S. and Cuban regulatory agencies) that enables family remittances while channeling critical funding directly to Cuba’s emerging private sector and small businesses—further accelerating their growth and path to economic independence. He continues to champion ethical, compliant, and mutually beneficial trade—all conducted in strict adherence to U.S. law — that builds a stronger, more self-reliant Cuban private sector