Vicente Fox
Former President of Mexico
Vicente Fox served as President of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. The first candidate from an opposition party to be elected president since 1920, he garnered 42 percent of the vote, marking the first time that the then-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party had lost a presidential election. Under his leadership, the country experienced a stretch of fundamental economic strength and stability.
Although in 1991 Mr. Fox did not officially win his first run for Governor of his home state of Guanajuato, in 1995 he was elected by an overwhelming majority of two votes to one.
Under Fox’s leadership from 1995 to 1999, Guanajuato became the fifth most important Mexican state economy and, in certain productive sectors, even surpassed the national average.
Mr. Fox studied Business Administration at the Universidad Iberoamericana. He then received a Top Management Diploma at the Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. He rose in the Coca-Cola Company from a route supervisor to the president of the company for Mexico and Latin America.
President Fox’s upbringing on a ranch in Guanajuato taught him to value the loyalty of everyday people, and to appreciate Mexico's enormous potential to become one of the world's leading nations. He said, "I fully understand the value of opportunities. I grew up on an ejido with peasant children and the only difference between myself and my childhood friends lies in the opportunities I received."
Since leaving office, Vicente Fox has been involved in public speaking and in the development of Centro Fox, a center for the advancement and study of democracy that encourages a sense of commitment and solidarity among the Mexican population for the underprivileged and for those who have not enjoyed the benefits of development.
In his book, released in October 2007, "Revolution of Hope," The Life, Faith and Dreams of a Mexican President Fox outlines a new vision of hope for the future of the Americas.
Founder
Pollo Campero
Dr. Gutiérrez has a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration, a Masters Degree in International Management and Finance and a Doctorate Degree, Summa Cum Laude, in Political Sciences and Sociology from the Universidad Pontificia of Salamanca.
He is the Corporate President of CMI, Corporación Multi-Inversiones, a multinational company incorporated in 1902 with over thirty-thousand employees with presence in three Continents. Its operations include six sub-divisions: Molinos Modernos, an Industrial and Cattle Division, Pollo Campero, Projects for the Generation of Renewable Energy, Development of Construction Projects and a Financial Division.
In addition, Dr. Gutierrez is the Director General of Libre Encuentro, a television program which for 19 years has been conducting analysis, interviews and debates on social, economic and political problems of the world, with emphasis on Latin America. Its audience is located in Central America and in two Hispanic television networks in the United States. In Guatemala alone, the weekly audience is one and one half million viewers.
Dr. Gutiérrez is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Francisco Marroquin University, and Vice President of Banco Reformador. Is a member of the “G50”, Group of the 50 with headquarters in Washington, D. C. Participates in the Council of the Americas based in New York and in Barómetro, a civic group in Guatemala.
For seven years Dr. Gutiérrez was President of the Chamber for Free Enterprise. He has also been a Director of the Guatemalan Managers Association, Director of the Chamber of Commerce, Director of the Banco de Occidente and an active member of the group of political observers of Latin America.
Since the democratic opening in Central America during the 80s, in addition to being a businessman committed to development and democracy, Dr. Gutiérrez has had a relevant participation in critical moments in the region as confirmed by his public career.
President and Founder
Kidzania
In 1997 he founded a company to develop the concept of La Ciudad de los Niños recently named KidZania, in which he holds the position of President .The first center opened on September, 1999 in Santa Fe Shopping Center, in Mexico City. Since then, his company has focused on developing the concept within Mexico and abroad.
Mr. Lopez Ancona had over 2 years of experience in Private Equity and 4 years of experience in Strategic Consulting before leading this project. He was Vice-president of Equity Capital Group a division of GE Capital of General Electric in Mexico City.
Previously, Mr. Lopez Ancona worked as business consultant for Booz Allen & Hamilton in Mexico City. His experience in such company was focused on developing business strategies, access to new markets, costs reductions and channel distribution strategies for consumer products in several industries such as pharmaceutical, oil and manufactory.
Founder
Crepes & Waffles
Eduardo Macia is a visionary and a successful businessman. He and his wife Beatriz Fernandez, both graduates of CESA, are the co-founders of Crepes & Waffles.
While Beatriz is the poet, the inspiration and the artist, Eduardo is the strategist. From his experience: "the greatest lesson I have learned in life is that one should not lose focus, especially in the early years of corporate life; I have also learned that one person cannot become like a prisoner of his/her dream business. My suggestions for people who want to devote as entrepreneurs are: persist, resist, insist and never give up. "
Crepes and Waffles is a delightful gastronomic alternative, which also finds its restaurants in the social sense of the word employment. It is a well rounded project of life, love, art and taste.