By José Ángel de la Paz

The call for the EXATEC Awards 2021 is out, bringing the opportunity to identify, visualize, recognize and celebrate the career and achievements of EGADE Business School Alumni.

Nominate your candidate here. The deadline for submitting a nomination is September 4, 2020.

The EXATEC Awards are the highest distinction bestowed by Tecnológico de Monterrey on its alumni, seeking to recognize their most outstanding achievements that also reflect the spirit, value and principles of the Institution.

The EXATEC Awards consist of two categories:

• EXATEC Trajectory: Honors alumni whose sustained outstanding performance has positively enhanced Tec’s reputation and prestige, nationally or internationally, with a high degree of social responsibility in diverse fields, such as business, education, science and research, public service, human rights, volunteering, philanthropy, the arts or sports.
   
• EXATEC Merit: Honors alumni who, through their professional work, have had a positive impact on Tec and on its community. This accolade is awarded though the campuses, regions or graduate schools that participate in the calls.

Seguramente conoces a más de un egresado que merece ser reconocido. ¿Qué te parecería que ganara uno de los premios EXATEC?
Te invitamos a revisar la convocatoria 2021 ? https://t.co/9FAQtFyBw2 pic.twitter.com/eW3K1tjOBB

— EXATEC (@EXATEC) July 7, 2020

ABOUT THE NOMINATIONS

Any Tecnológico de Monterrey undergraduate, graduate or high school alumni who meet the call specifications can be nominated.

Any individual or company can propose candidates for the EXATEC Awards. Self-nominations are not accepted.

Nominated alumni for both prizes must comply with the following characteristics:

• Be leaders in their fields, with verifiable evidence. Their professional impact can be in any field and have repercussions anywhere in the world.
   
• Have at least fifteen years of professional experience or be at least 35 years old. Posthumous nominations are accepted no more than five years after the nominee’s death.

PAST RECIPIENTS

The recipients of the EXATEC Awards 2020 can be found here.

Past EGADE Business School recipients of the EXATEC Merit Award are: Jorge Luis Torres Aguilar, graduate from the Global OneMBA and President of FedEx Express in Mexico, in 2020, and Ana Karen Ramírez, graduate from the Full-Time MBA in Innovation & Entrepreneurship and founder and CEO of Epic Queen, in 2019.

By José Ángel de la Paz

EGADE Business School - Tecnológico de Monterrey has joined a global network of organizations that propel entrepreneurship in emerging economies, with the appointment of Dr. José Ernesto Amorós as a member of the Steering Committee of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) Central America and Mexico (CAM) Chapter.

ANDE is a global program of the Aspen Institute, which, through its representation in Mexico and Central America, works to create a flourishing entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region, fostering relations and encouraging collaboration among its members.

“The Steering Committee is made up of leaders who bring strategic guidance and support to the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs. For EGADE, the importance of this relationship lies in the connection with a high-impact global organization, The Aspen Institute, and the contributions we can make in key projects,” commented Amorós, National Director of Doctoral Programs at EGADE Business School, and leader of the Research Group with Strategic Focus in Entrepreneurship and Innovation of the Undergraduate School of Business at Tec de Monterrey.

Over 60 organizations comprise the ANDE Central America and Mexico Chapter membership, including investment funds, accelerators, incubators, foundations, universities, researchers, government agencies and corporations. Members provide financial, educational and business development support services for Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs), based on the conviction that SGBs generate jobs, stimulate long-term economic growth, and produce social and environmental benefits.

The chapter operates in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, and regularly organizes events to promote knowledge exchange, thereby creating opportunities to meet new allies, engage with potential investors, discuss challenges, share experiences and perspectives, and build a sense of community.

Dr. Amorós began his three-year term as a member of the ANDE Central America and Mexico Chapter on July 15th this year.

By José Ángel de la Paz

“Leaders evoke inspiration that comes from within and move others to be protagonists rather than spectators,” claimed Salvador Alva.

In the webinar “Transformative Leadership”, the fifth and last of the Getting Ready for Business series, the former president of Tecnológico de Monterrey observed that, in the current context of uncertainty, being a transformational leader is key to driving innovation and embracing challenges that will help organizations remain relevant.

“Leaders generate results, make things happen. They don’t just sit back and watch the action from afar; they generate the action. They have the capacity to attract talent, to attract other leaders. They are like magnets. Ultimately, leaders are multipliers of value,” he said.

The Getting Ready for Business webinar series, held from June 29 to July 9 by EXATEC (Tec Alumni Association) and EGADE Business School, targeted recent graduates in order to provide them with the tools to forge their professional path in business.

The inaugural webinar, “Opportunities for the Future Business”, was offered by Ignacio de la Vega, Dean of EGADE Business School and the Undergraduate Business School at Tec de Monterrey, who talked about the transformation of leadership in the current context.

José Francisco Gúzman Tanikawa, Professor of Marketing at EGADE Business School, presented the webinar "Personal Branding for Business Success", in which he explained to the recent graduates how to build their personal brand.

The Director of Student and Alumni Relations of EGADE Business School, María Livas, then gave the recent graduates advice on positioning themselves in the professional world in the webinar "Professional Branding for Career Success".

Moreover, Jaime Martínez Bowness, director of the EGADE Business School Mexico City site, moderated “Life Stories: Pathways to Success”, a panel with graduates Andrés Alba and Mónica Camacho, from the Full-Time MBA in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and Fernando Iracheta and Sofía Ponce, from the Master in Business Management, who shared their success stories.

By José Ángel de la Paz

The identification of a set of rules to quantify the financial sustainability of the family business, regarding the achievement of its non-economic goals, is part of the contributions of new research by Dr. Federico Trigos, professor at EGADE Business School at the Tecnológico de Monterrey.

The findings are presented in the paper "The Sustainability of Resource-Sharing Family Business in Relation to Family Non-Economic Goals", co-authored with Dr. Mario Doria, professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana, and published in the prestigious International Journal of Project Management and Productivity Assessment (IJPMPA).

The researchers introduce financial sustainability elements into the Socio-Emotional-Wealth theory and also identify a particular kind of family business to be called resource-sharing.

For the study, Trigos specified, they interviewed owners of small- and medium-sized companies from the manufacturing, retail and service sectors in Mexico, United States and Italy.

“All these businesses have family expenses that are paid for by the company, such as tuition or even real estate. It also works the other way round, with family resources being shared with the company, but not recognized financially by the same,” explained the also member of the Strategic Focus Research Group (GIEE) in Strategy and Management of Organizations in Emerging Economies.

Doria stated that, when the company and the owner family share resources without due recognition, they are jeopardizing the business’s sustainability by making financial decisions based on distorted information that does not reflect the economic reality.

Trigos highlighted that their research provides feasible, applicable financial metrics that allow the family to gain a greater understanding of their interaction with the company, as well as a model for discovering the company’s position and helping the owner family to make better strategic decisions, so as to sustain finances and, at the same time, socio-emotional wealth.

Doria commented that the results of this investigation will be included in a book to be published in the near future with the support of the IMEF Foundation. 

You can consult the scientific article here.

By INSTITUTIONAL COMMUNICATION | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL

EGADE Business School at Tecnológico de Monterrey has presented its Decalogue for the Economic & Business Refounding of Mexico, a guide to key aspects to reactivate the country through a more conscious model of doing business and taking advantage of the opportunities that arise after the contingency of COVID-19.

“In our institution, we are committed to the development of new generations of leaders who transform our societies. The pandemic has shown us the pressing need for better leadership to better deal with the health crisis and future social and economic metastases," said Ignacio de la Vega, dean of EGADE Business School and the Undergraduate Business School at Tec de Monterrey.

Publishing the document, EGADE Business School reinforces its commitment to the Mexican entrepreneurial and entrepreneurial ecosystem and contributes to finding collective solutions to the effects that the health crisis has caused in society.

"With this decalogue, we join the search for collective solutions to the challenges that face us as humanity," added De la Vega.

The ten keys of the decalogue, in summary, are:

1. Develop a more conscious business model. Companies should forget about capitalism that only benefited the shareholder, prioritizing business strategies that incorporate sustainable production, and actively participate in entrepreneurship and social innovation.

2. Build resilient societies and organizations. The shock caused by the pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of most companies and institutions. It is urgent to implement future thinking mechanisms and establish guidelines for a more just and sustainable future for all.

3. Establish the entrepreneurial ecosystem as the core of recovery. The pandemic has created opportunities that many entrepreneurs have been able to capture. It is necessary to consolidate an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation in which companies, universities, and research centers participate as poles of attraction for talent.

4. Leave no one behind: invest in development, education, and opportunity generation. As in previous crises, the most vulnerable populations are suffering the effects of this crisis more acutely. The revival of the economy must go hand in hand with creating opportunities for vulnerable communities populations through public-private investment, and education.

5. Take a closer look at opportunities for a new trade globalization and regionalization scheme. The new reality incorporates a brake regarding globalization and the maintenance of global supply chains, which configures a new map of opportunities that Mexico cannot miss.

6. Embrace digital transformation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. COVID-19 has highlighted the urgency of having a national program for the adoption of sales and distribution technologies for proximity commerce, as well as incorporating better e-commerce tools and support mechanisms for proximity logistics.

7. Leverage economic recovery through sustainability and innovation. There is an opportunity to redefine what type of companies and sectors will receive investment, how the economy will be reactivated, directing growth towards a fairer, more inclusive, responsible, sustainable, and competitive model.

8. Drive talent in a connected educational system. Aligning universities and training agents with the new economy and the new technological contexts must be a priority to enhance their impact on the development and competitiveness of the country.

9. Drive global governance and multilateralism. To face the challenges of the future, a multilateral governance system is needed that transcends the needs and capacities of a single institution or interest group, that cares about the common interest, and that incorporates the capacities of diverse groups.

10. Forge collaborative, transparent leadership. We need leaders who can think strategically and communicate effectively, but also who go beyond words and act according to goals and with the decision to face the challenges of an unknown world that must be reinvented and rebuilt.

The full document of the Decalogue for the Economic & Business Refunding of Mexico can be downloaded here.

Since the beginning of the health emergency, the priority of the Tec and EGADE Business School has been the health and safety of its students, professors, and collaborators.

In this way, last March they announced the closure of their campus and headquarters, as well as the implementation of the Digital Flexible Model to ensure and guarantee the academic continuity of their students, demonstrating that, despite adverse conditions, it is possible to maintain the quality standards at a distance and continue to fulfill its purpose: Educating that Transforms Lives.

Recognizing the ability of its community to adapt and be flexible in the face of the uncertainty and diversity of its geographic footprint at the national level, the Tec and EGADE Business School are preparing to start the semester August-December 2020 under HyFlex+, a different and innovative model that will allow students combine face-to-face and remote activities.

DOWNLOAD THE DOCUMENT

By José Ángel de la Paz

Accelerating digital transformation is the new norm, assured Desmond Mullarkey, president and CEO of SAP México.

In the webinar “Digital strategy: turning challenges into opportunities”, from the EGADE Future Forum series, the executive explained that organizations with a strong digital core and solid processes will be able not only to beat the pandemic, but also to innovate.

“A lot depends on the organization’s maturity. The ones that lack these factors won’t survive,” said Mullarkey, who commented that his company has managed to migrate 100% of its projects to remote-service models, prioritizing employee and customer health and safety, owing to COVID-19.

Likewise, María Pía Aqueveque, founder and CEO of Deep Tech CODE, observed that the contingency has made organizations more aware of the importance of data-driven decision-making.

“During these months, we have realized that there are numerous process-enhancing technologies or solutions available that we had never used before, such as Zoom. In addition, deep tech, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and big data, among others, through a combination of cryptography, traceability, georeferentiation, facial recognition, 3D visualizations, temperature taking and data analytics, allow us to carry out, in a more efficient manner, critical infrastructure maintenance, and monitoring remotely, thereby reducing our collaborators’ exposure,” added the Chilean economist and entrepreneur.

The webinar was moderated by Gilberto Olavarrieta, director of Digital Programs at EGADE Business School, who commented that the School will shortly be launching the new Specialization in Digital Strategy.

WATCH THE WEBINAR:

By José Ángel de la Paz

Christiane Molina, research professor in the Department of Strategy and Leadership at EGADE Business School - Tecnológico de Monterrey, coauthored the book México 10 emprendedores sociales (Mexico 10 Social Entrepreneurs) recently published by LID Editorial, in collaboration with CEMEX, the CEMEX-Tec Prize and Disruptivo.tv.

The work documents the success stories of Mexican social enterprises that are remarkable not only for their business models, but also for the impact they have had on the communities in which they operate.

Molina’s contribution presents the story, challenges and achievements of Iluméxico, a Mexican social enterprise founded in 2009 to distribute isolated solar systems in the country’s rural communities, where more than 500,000 families have no access to electricity and rely on candles, diesel and other lighting sources that are inefficient, expensive, harmful to health and hazardous to the environment.

“The essence of its business model could be said to lie in the critical step of service delivery. Going where neither other companies nor public services go, and knowing how to do so, has been key to the consolidation of Iluméxico. Very often, customers can only be reached by using pack animals, barges and other means of transportation. Of the communities the company serves, 25% can only be reached on foot. The platform for accessing the communities together with market knowledge allow Iluméxico, which today takes solar energy to homes, to aspire to reaching even further in the future. In short, the last mile is their specialty,” Molina said.

At present, Iluméxico is led by the entrepreneur Manuel Wiechers Banuet and its impact translates into more than 23,000 installed systems, which represent a total installed capacity of 3.7 MW and in excess of 17,000 accumulated tons of displaced CO2, as well as over 103,000 users distributed among almost 2,000 communities.

En 2010 instalamos el primer equipo solar autónomo de 10[W] en Los Tuxtlas,Veracruz. Hoy contamos con 23,100 instalaciones en 27 estados de la República Mexicana, 9,210 de ellas son equipos de 325[W]. Gracias por ser parte de la historia y por tu confianza en iluméxico. pic.twitter.com/I5Qc4lTPZv

— iluméxico (@ilumexico) April 29, 2020

Other Tec de Monterrey professors participated on México 10 emprendedores sociales, addressing the cases Blooders, Échale a tu casa, Grupo Murlota, Hipocampus Centros de Aprendizaje, Isla Urbana, Pixza, Promesa, Someone Somewhere and Tierra de Monte, whose stories seek to inspire more people to implement a project that will generate positive change in the country and worldwide.

The documented social companies were selected by the book’s coordinators, Juan Del Cerro, founder and CEO of Disruptivo.tv, and Joshua Hammerschlag, professor at Tec de Monterrey, with the support of representatives from the social entrepreneur ecosystem in Mexico and Latin America (Ande, Ashoka, Impact Hub, Make Sense, New Ventures, Possible, Promotora Social México, Sistema B, SVX, Unreasonable Institute México e yCo.).

Professors Christian Salazar, Jairo Ruiz, Yoshiko Sakai, Romain Pouzou, Christiane Molina, Hilda Ortiz, Luis Alonso Castellanos, Isaac Lucatero, Joshua Hammerschlag and Verónica Tena researched and wrote the 10 cases.

The new book was launched on June 24 in a virtual presentation given by the coordinators, some of the authors, and guests, including Martha Herrera, global director of Responsible Business and Shared Value at CEMEX, and director of the CEMEX-Tec Center.

By José Ángel de la Paz

As the leading business school in Latin America recognized worldwide for its commitment to continuous improvement and innovation, EGADE Business School - Tecnológico de Monterrey constantly strives to build extraordinary experiences for its community, in any circumstance.

In March, as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic and in compliance with institutional provisions to safeguard the health and safety of its community, EGADE Business School announced its migration of all the face-to-face classes to an online format.

Another implication of this transformation was the transfer of the School’s diverse activities and events to a virtual format through platforms such as Zoom and Webex, also in compliance with the social distancing recommendations of the health authorities.

Using VirBELA immersive technology, EGADE Business School has innovated the way in which it holds meetings, conferences, bootcamps, and briefings, enabling hundreds of students, alumni, and prospects to interact through avatars in virtual 3D spaces.

This platform has hosted: the Dean’s Welcome, a student welcome event at the start of the Abril-June 2020 trimester, led by Ignacio de la Vega, dean of EGADE Business School; the conference “Disrupt the Disruption” for students and alumni; the Virtual UX Bootcamp for EGADE MBA students; the MBM Student Chat, a panel with Master in Business Management alumni for the program’s candidates, among other events.

¡Desde la bienvenida virtual con nuestro decano, @Ignaveg! Estamos seguros de que este periodo académico estará lleno de retos y aprendizaje que los ayudarán a desarrollar más habilidades y competencias para un mundo global en los negocios. #EGADELiFE pic.twitter.com/c7vN6bYBpF

— EGADEBusinessSchool (@egade) May 4, 2020

Moreover, some of the Full-Time MBA in Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Master in Business Management sessions have been held on the VirBELA virtual campus.

“We needed an improved virtual experience where, instead of being passive listeners, our students could be active players and game-changers. With VirBELA, they can now create their avatars, explore our virtual campus and even dance Zumba, all while receiving a cutting-edge education. This gamification educational approach has driven the EGADE virtual experience in every sense,” commented Julien Depauw, director of Academic Innovation at EGADE Business School.

During the contingency, and to continue to consolidate digital competencies, EGADE Business School has also encouraged students and alumni to participate in activities such as EXATEC EGADE Virtual Talks, EFMD Virtual Career Fair Series by Highered, Peeptrade Tradier Challenge, Speed Networking Week and virtual mentoring programs.

In addition, EGADE Business School graduation candidates have enjoyed the virtual celebrations Celebrate the Class of 2020 and Tec Forever, two unique experiences prior to their face-to-face graduation ceremony, which will be held as soon as health circumstances permit.

For the business community, EGADE Business School has launched, during the contingency, two webinar series: A la altura del desafío: liderazgo en el contexto de COVID-19, which has already finished, and the new EGADE Future Forum, presenting faculty and academic and business leaders who will contribute knowledge to address the challenges and capitalize the opportunities of the “new normal”.

As a precedent to the fresh impetus EGADE Business School has given to virtual and immersive experiences, last year the School inaugurated a virtual reality room to allow its community to explore its trends and applications in business and research.