C-Suite Conversations: Betsabé Rocha discusses collaboration and long-term vision for Nuevo León’s competitiveness

DAVID F. DELGADO S. | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Collaboration among government, business and academia, stronger local suppliers and a vision that extends beyond political cycles are key elements for sustaining Nuevo León’s competitiveness, said Betsabé Rocha Nieto, the state’s Secretary of Economy, during a new edition of C-Suite Conversations at EGADE Business School at Tecnológico de Monterrey.

The session was held on August 24 at EGADE’s Monterrey location, with students from the Master in Business Management and the EGADE Full-Time MBA.

The conversation was moderated by Pedro Carreón, director of the Master in Business Management at EGADE Business School. Rocha shared lessons from a career spanning the public and private sectors, with experience in economic development, investment attraction and business engagement.

For Rocha, moving between both sectors revealed a common principle: companies and governments alike need clarity about where to focus their resources, capabilities and decisions.

“In a company, you have to understand your core business. In government, we also need to know what we must do today, this year and the next,” she said.

Unlike a company, she added, the outcome of public policy is measured not only in revenue but also in social impact, which requires incorporating a broader range of interests and needs into decision-making.

Collaboration among business, academia and government for competitiveness

Rocha said collaboration among academia, business and government has been one of the components of Nuevo León’s economic development model over the past two decades.

According to the secretary, this triple-helix model has accompanied the development of clusters in industries such as software, healthcare, automotive and home appliances, bringing together efforts to address shared needs in talent, infrastructure, innovation and supplier development.

“That is the model that works: academia working with companies and closely aligned with government,” she said.

Rocha also pointed to Consejo Nuevo León as a mechanism designed to provide continuity to strategic priorities beyond the term of any single administration.

From nearshoring to local supplier development

Discussing opportunities associated with nearshoring and North America’s trade environment, Rocha said attracting new investment is only one part of the challenge for Nuevo León.

Among the priorities she identified is strengthening local suppliers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, so they can expand their participation in value chains through certifications, machinery and new production capabilities.

As an example, she mentioned import-substitution programs in which a company identifies inputs or processes currently sourced abroad and explores developing them with local suppliers.

“A supplier-development project has to end with a purchase order. Otherwise, it remains nothing more than good intentions,” she said.

Under this approach, she explained, government, anchor companies and suppliers can share responsibilities to turn capability development into commercial opportunities.

Leadership, career decisions and building networks

Rocha also shared lessons from her professional career and her transition from the private sector to public service, a process that led her to reflect on the opportunity cost behind career decisions.

For the secretary, choosing a career path means recognizing that every opportunity requires giving up other alternatives and assessing which option best aligns with the purpose of each stage.

She also emphasized the importance of building networks beginning in university.

“You have to understand who is around you and who the people you trust are who can help you get closer to where you want to go,” she shared.

For Rocha, these networks become valuable when they enable collaboration around shared projects and goals.

C-Suite Conversations is an EGADE Business School series that connects EGADE Business School students with leaders from different sectors to discuss leadership and the challenges facing organizations and the economy.