Fernando Parrado

One of the Sixteen Survivors of the Tragic Accident in the Andes of 1972

"Then, I had a powerful thought like lightning: I don't know how or when, but as long as I'm alive, I'm going to fight for it. I'm going to attack those mountains with fury, I'm going to try to climb them, I'm going to search for my life as long as I can and, as I suspect I won't be able to, I will die fighting, and when my face hits the ice I will rise again, until I arrive a moment when I can't get up anymore."

Nando and his rugby friends fought to survive for seventy-two long days and nights in the icy Andes mountains, after the tragic plane crash, known as "Miracle of the Andes", that would change their lives forever.

After recovering from several fractures, he was a fundamental piece to survive, as an example of leadership and heroic physical effort. He decided to seek help; he crossed the Andes on foot, in ten days, from Argentina to Chile and then guided the rescue helicopter to his friends. After this terrible experience, he graduated from Stella Maris College and continued his studies in Michigan, USA.

He is currently president of Seler Parrado S.A. and has also created and presides over two television production companies and a cable television station. He is an active member and CEO of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO).

He worked with Piers Paul Read on the book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors, and later, he was a technical advisor on the film called Survive! In 2006, he published Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home, translated into fourteen languages and a worldwide bestseller. He recently collaborated on the Oscar-nominated film Society of the Snow.

A great athlete, he won five national championships on the Old Christians rugby team; he was a South American motocross champion, and competed in the European Touring Car Championship for the official Alfa Romeo Autodelta team.