Features Latin America

His work in finance has taken him around the globe for some of the world’s biggest companies. Now, Carlos Aritzmendi is moving again, this time back to Europe, where he’ll be the managing director for BIC’s global business center in Bulgaria. “I have always been open to new opportunities, and I’m a person who seeks […]

Daniel Malpica was inclined to study civil engineering in college. Beer changed his mind. On a school trip before college, he visited a brewery and was so intrigued by the supply chain that he decided to study industrial engineering at Universidad La Salle in Mexico City. That set the foundation for a 20-year career guiding […]

In arid, sandy soil 5,000 feet high on the fields, hillsides and mountains of Mexico—and nowhere else in the world—grows a special plant: The Blue Agave. Out of nearly 300 variations, this one is used to produce tequila. Growing taller than seven feet, it takes nearly a decade to mature before it can be harvested […]

While the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the world, it helped accelerate the digital and cultural transformation at Ricardo Perez, S.A., an automotive distributor and dealer based in Central America. According to Maria Luisa Marcano, since 2014, the company has been reinventing how it interacts with its customers—and its employees. The pandemic simply accelerated the process; […]

Opened in 1985, Cerrejón is an active open-pit coal mine in Colombia valued at nearly $3 billion as of 2021. Despite its importance to the Colombian economy, Ricardo Gonzalez’s concern when he began working there was the employees and the surrounding community. As part of the mine’s environment, health and industrial safety division, Gonzalez focused […]

For a company to grow even a little during the COVID-19 economic slump is an accomplishment. A company growing over 20 percent calls for a closer look. So, turn the lens to a home-essentials company headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin. According to Santiago Noriega, Spectrum Brands exceeded sales expectations when its 2021 fiscal year ended in […]

Livio Vicco remembers a painful experience from life on the road. He was conducting a trade visit during a freezing wet winter in Poland, far from the warmth of the sun-soaked home office in Colombia. Unprepared, he walked the slushy streets in his fancy leather shoes, soaking his feet and chilling them to the bone. […]

When Gustavo Mondragon joined Stanhome Mexico five years ago, the direct sales company had a 75 percent local area delivery accuracy rate. Since implementing a program he calls “last mile consolidation”—which bolsters communication, improves efficiency and reduces transportation costs—Stanhome Mexico has upped its local area delivery accuracy rate to 99 percent. As for the remaining […]

Throughout Rafael Aguirre’s life, his career and all of the projects he’s developed have been a study of form following function. Coming from a long line of engineers, that’s no surprise. Tinkering with problems, creating efficiencies and solving operational challenges is in his blood, he says. At the tender age of 16, his family supported […]

There’s more to Hooters than meets the eye, although most patrons of the restaurant chain would admit to being drawn to the sight of waitresses in revealing attire. Alejandro Solis certainly recognizes the visual aspect as a selling point, but as the holding company he leads, Grupo Dival, expands the iconic Hooters brand as well […]