Paul M. Calvo
July 25, 1934 – Oct. 16, 2024
Paul McDonald Calvo was one of the founders of Calvo Enterprises Inc., which he formed in 1975 with his brothers Edward M. Calvo and Thomas J.M. “Jerry” Calvo.
Calvo Enterprises was based on a solid foundation.
Upon the death of their father – Eduardo “Jake” Calvo – in 1963, the brothers inherited a local business empire that was already substantial.
“When our father died it threw Eddie and me not only into Calvo Insurance but to Calvo Finance, which was the real estate arm of the company,” he told Guam Business Magazine in 1993. “I became president and chairman of the board for Calvo’s Insurance [Underwriters Inc.] and held that position until I became governor in 1979.”
Calvo’s political career had developed concurrently with his business acumen. He decided to run for Republican senator in 1964, an office he held for three non-consecutive terms.
Although he was chairman of the 1970 gubernatorial campaign for the Camacho-Moylan team, it was not until 1978 that Calvo would run for governor himself, together with Joseph F. Ada as lieutenant governor. Calvo’s business appeal won him the election, and the local business community was jubilant to have one of their own in office.
As senator, Calvo was entitled to retain his position as head of Calvo Enterprises, but his election as governor mandated divestiture. “During the four years when I was governor, Eddie was president and chairman of the board,” he told the magazine.
By the end of his term, Calvo had been instrumental in attracting new business to Guam, including a tuna-fishing fleet, a garment manufacturer, and hotel construction. Visitor arrivals registered sharp increases, but so did the deficit, which exceeded $84 million. His popularity also waned due to a prolonged teachers strike, which cost Calvo votes when he ran for re-election against Gov. Ricardo J. Bordallo.
When Bordallo won a second term, Calvo said he decided to retire from politics. “At first I used to miss it, but not anymore,” he said in 1993, in an interview as Guam Business Magazine’s 1992 Executive of the Year.
Upon reassuming the reins of Calvo Enterprises, he streamlined the multi-million-dollar corporation by selling off companies that were only marginally profitable. And new lines of business were acquired with the purchase of Pay-Less Markets from Kenneth T. Jones. Around the same time the Calvo’s also bought the Oka store. “After the addition of Pay-Less we formed Market Wholesale as warehouse of Pay-Less, but it also services other retailers,” Calvo said.
Pay-Less would go on to open a Yigo store, a Sumay store, and the Maite store to replace the Agana supermarket as well as the renovation of stores, to include the Pay-Less in Micronesia Mall.
Mid Pacific Liquor Distributing Corp. and the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. of Guam were also among business units under the Calvo Enterprises Umbrella.
Calvo was never in doubt that the businesses would successfully outlive him, as the second generation and then the third generation of the Calvo family began their careers, as did their spouses.
As chairman emeritus of Calvo Enterprises and PMC Investments Inc. in his last interview with Guam Business Magazine in 2021 for a feature about the Guam Business Magazine Executives of the Year, he reflected on his most significant accomplishments. Calvo said, “Serving the people of Guam as governor is one of my most humbling achievements. The restructuring and stabilization of Calvo Enterprises upon retirement from public office has to have been one of my most challenging accomplishments.”
And, he said, “But more recently, I’m most proud of the smooth and successful transition of operational decision-making to my kids and grandkids.”
Born in the family home in Agana, Paul McDonald Calvo graduated from Agana Heights Elementary School and attended George Washington High School for two years before transferring to Peacock Military Academy in San Antonio, Texas. He then moved to California, where in 1958 he graduated from the University of Santa Clara with a bachelor of science in commerce.
In 2007 he was recognized as the Guam Chamber of Commerce Laureate.
Paul McDonald Calvo is survived by his wife, Rosa Baza Calvo and children Vera C. Garces, Kathy R. Calvo, Paul A. Calvo, Eduardo B. Calvo, Barbara C. Damron, Marie C. Benito, Reyna Calvo, and Clare Calvo, as well as his children’s spouses, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Prayer of Intentions are being said at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica until Oct. 24. The funeral service will be held on Oct. 25, with last respects from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Therese Chapel in Hagatna, with mass for a Christian Burial at 2 p.m. at the Cathedral. mbj