Archive for 2009
Financier of the Year: Enrique García – Banker to Latin America
Banker to Latin America for more than three decades, Enrique García is an advocate of less government and a booster of private enterprise.
CEO of the Year: Daniel Servitje – Baker to the World
Bimbo, the Mexican baked-goods giant, now is on its way to becoming just as ubiquitous around the world. This achievement belies the down-to-earth demeanor of CEO Daniel Servitje.
Social Responsibility CEO of the Year: Lorenzo Mendoza – Compassionate Industrialist
Personal tragedy forged Lorenzo Mendoza’s values. When his father, Lorenzo Mendoza Quintero, died suddenly at age 55, his mother was forced to take over the family business, Empresas Polar. It helped prepare her son to take the helm of Venezuela’s largest food and beer producer 12 years later.
Pioneering CEO of the Year: Federico Restrepo Posada – Manager for Progress
In a region where privatization has long been in vogue, the leadership of Empresas Públicas de Medellín has shown that a public sector company can be successful, efficient and profitable.
Technology CEO of the Year: Laércio Cosentino – Programmer for Performance
TOTVS is one of the hottest software companies in South America, yet CEO Laércio Cosentino chose the site of a former Benedictine monastery to set up headquarters, miles from the high-rise technology hubs of the flashier Berrini and Vila Olímpia districts.
Environmental Leader of the Year: Douglas Tompkins – Preserver of the Land
The notion that Douglas Tompkins is a living, breathing dichotomy is not lost on the man himself. The multimillionaire who made his fortune in the apparel business followed a calling to become a dedicated conservationist in the second act of his professional life.
Humanitarian of the Year: Rebeca Villalobos – Guardian of the Needy
Rebeca Villalobos took 10 years to find her path. With $500 of start-up capital and a few borrowed chairs, she opened her first medical clinic in 1991 and began offering treatment for just $2 a visit.
Full Steam Ahead
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian authorities signaled their bullish outlook on the economy in August, when Finance Minister Guido Mantega changed the name of the government’s Commission on the Crisis – launched during the depths of the global financial slump – to the Commission on Competitiveness. Spurred on by revived consumer demand and better access [...]
The Answers – Juanes
Juanes, the 36-year-old Colombian musical superstar, has become one of his country’s most visible philanthropists through his foundation, Mi Sangre (My Blood). Now add to that his role as peacemaker, after his “Peace Without Borders” concert in Havana drew half a million concert goers, a spattering of controversy and worldwide attention for the island nation. [...]
Celebrating the 15th Bravo Business Awards 1996 – 2009
This commemorative issue also honors the previous 14 groups of BRAVO Business Award winners by providing updates on their lives and careers on the following pages.
Central America’s Tug of War
MANAGUA — A look of frustration crossed the face of transport manager Daniel Montero as he hung up the telephone. More cancellations of trips from Costa Rica through Nicaragua into Honduras on the luxury buses run by Tica Bus, explained Montero, the transportation company’s general manager. “They tell us the wait to cross the border [...]
Commodities Rising
Last year’s sharp decline in global commodity prices posed a huge factor in the slowing economies in much of Latin America and the Caribbean. But rising commodity prices offer relief to many of the region’s big exporters.
Exclusive: LT CFO Interview with SABMiller’s Matt Wyatt
At the August 28 Latin Trade CFO Event, in Miami, Managing Editor William Plasencia had an opportunity to interview SABMiller’s Matt Wyatt, the director of finance transformation for Latin America. Wyatt flew in for the event from Bogota – via stops in London and Johannesburg – and talked to Latin Trade about leading the back-office [...]
Fatal Roadways
Residents of Latin America and the Caribbean have a higher chance of dying in highway accidents than their counterparts in Europe and North America. At the high end, road accidents kill more than 3,300 people per million vehicles in Paraguay each year. Only about 100 people per million vehicles die in the Netherlands or Australia, [...]
Editor’s Note: Into the Storm and Beyond
With this edition of Latin Trade, we bring you two issues in one: both the commemorative issue to showcase the 15th BRAVO Business Awards, including past winners and the honorees of 2009, and some of our regular features, including the economic outlook for 2010 in countries around the region.
Ask the Concierge – El San Juan Hotel & Casino
Tips from Yvonne Ramos, the concierge at El San Juan Hotel & Casino, which is part of the Waldorf Astoria Collection of hotels.
The LT 500
The LT 500: Latin America’s 500 largest companies, including both privately held and publicly traded companies, as well as the largest state-run companies.
Plummeting Production Nudges Pemex to Drill
Pemex has served as Mexico’s standard-bearer of nationalism, but the burden of funding the government is taking a heavy toll.
For Airlines, Loyalty In Hard Times
Frequent flyer programs, almost three decades old in the United States, are taking off at Latin American airlines.
Brazil Wants In On the Big Oil Club
Brazil, coming off one of the biggest oil finds of the decade, is positioning itself to play a major role in an energy hungry world.
The Long Goodbye: Repsol YPF Inches Out of Argentina
Repsol YPF intend to carry out a sale and companies have approached the Spanish-owned oil company about buying the Argentine subsidiary. Potential buyers include China National Petroleum Corp.
Is the Party Over for Venezuela’s PDVSA?
Venezuela claims to have 172 billion barrels of reserves, but some oil analysts peg the figure at 99 billion and are more concerned with PDVSA’s declining output.
Out of Brazil and Into Africa
The increasing heft of Brazilian corporate giants and smaller firms in Africa is boosted by a national strategy in which Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has played a central role.
For the Region, Oil is Still King
Skyrocketing oil prices made 2008 the best of times and the not-quite best of times for oil companies in Latin America.
Proust Questionnaire: Frederico Fleury Curado
Frederico Fleury Curado, the President and CEO of Embraer, answers the questions the famous French author Proust once did.
Chile’s SONDA Seeks Safe and Sound Acquisitions
SONDA has undertaken a number of complex public works projects in its home country, but now, 35 years after it was founded and more than two years after its initial public offering, SONDA is positioning itself as a regional heavyweight.
Latin American Billionaires
The global economic tsunami, which has wiped out trillions of dollars of assets and millions of jobs – has also slashed the fortunes of Latin America’s captains of industry and finance.
Indicators – July-August 2009
Latin American and world economic indicators are provided to us by Focus Economics. To see the July-August Indicators please click on the link.
The Seeds of Giving
Latin America’s titans of industry and finance have proven their ability to make money. Now some are trying to solve the region’s intractable social problems.
Nevis: Plantation Charm
Nevis is a quaint island with a rich history, and it offers exclusive – and selective – experiences, in part by remaining off the beaten track.
