John Schick is the MCG Managing Partner. He formed MCG in 1978 with other veteran Mexican consultants. He has managed more than 350 engagements in Mexico. Before founding MCG, he was the Vice President in Mexico of Economex Corporation, a private U.S. investment firm that specialized in introducing new technologies into that country. He was, concurrently, a General Partner in Mexico of Chapultepec Properties, Ltd., a consultancy that evaluated real property investments in Mexico for U.S. and Mexican clients.
John has an MBA from Harvard University and a BA from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut. He has been an active organizer and participant in
seminars on Mexico and a member of related professional societies including the I.E.E.E. and the New York Academy of Science.
Ralph Biedermann advises clients in planning and implementing Mexico manufacturing, marketing and distribution strategies. His firm, The MRB Group in Chicago, a MCG partner, also provides international trade and manufacturing policy advisory services for corporations that must monitor Mexico business and global changes that effect their operations.
Ralph has been the representative in the U.S. for the Mexican States of Tamaulipas and Yucatan.
He works extensively with major industrial parks, Shelter Plan operators and contract manufacturers in Mexico. Ralph served as president of the Mexican
subsidiary of Brunswick Corporation. He has worked as well for General Electric and Northrop Grumman Aerospace. Ralph has a BAE degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an MBA from St. Johns University and
a DBA in International Trade from The George Washington University.
Salvador Nunez and Georgina Corona
manage their consultancy, Cosmex Internacional in Monterrey, Mexico. Cosmex was formed in 1990 to assist U.S. and other foreign firms in starting-up business operations in Mexico. The firm provides a broad range of strategic, operating and administrative services to both new and established businesses. For new companies, these include research and consulting, strategic studies, competitive analysis, supplier identification, cost pro-formas and site selection. Cosmex also advises regarding H.R., wage and benefit costs as well as identifying appropriate Mexican professionals in law, tax and audit.
Sal has worked as an executive and consultant in Brazil, China and the U.S., as well as in Mexico. His professional assignments have included
marketing and organizational work with Caterpillar, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Mary Kay and Bank of Tokyo. He has a B.S. in Chemistry from Syracuse University, New York.
Georgina was an Account Director for many years with Grey Advertising in Mexico City advising international clients. At Cosmex, she is a senior
consultant working with clients in research, legal, administrative, H.R. and related issues that face new foreign companies in Mexico. Georgina is a director of PCI-Media Impact, an international
non-profit organization to improve the condition of women in underdeveloped countries. She has a B.S. in Marketing from the Instituto Technlogico Autonomo de Mexico.
Jose A. Jiménez, Tom Johnston and Lourdes Ramírez
are managing partners of their consultancy, Business Development Partners, S.A. de C.V. (BDP), in Mexico City. Jose co-founded BDP in 1993 as Trade Management Services, Inc., and converted to BDP in 2005. The company draws on the long careers of each of the partners to provide customized market research, channel identification, relationship building, product promotion, fabricator searches and other business support services in the Mexican market. BDP specializes in research and partner identification for small and medium sized manufacturers of high quality industrial equipment and components. The company also works closely with providers of agricultural and food industry products and equipment to establish them in the Mexican market.
José A. Jiménez has over 30 years of experience in international research and trade promotion, having served clients including the Australian Embassy
Trade Commission, the Délégation Générale du Québec trade promotion office, the State of Illinois trade promotion office and the Massachusetts Port Authority. José holds a B.A. in Economics from Long
Island University (LIU) in New York and conducted post-graduate studies in Korea, the United States at LIU and in Mexico at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.
Tom Johnston has, for over 25 years, combined his experience in research and manufacturing. He has consulted for the Agency for International
Development and the World Bank in Central America, managing the Southern Cone representation office of the State University of New York in Chile, and has overseen manufacturing operations in Mexico for a New
York apparel firm in the early years of NAFTA. Tom has a Masters degree in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley and a B.A. in Latin American Studies from the State University of New
York.
Lourdes Ramírez worked for 25 years in trade promotion in Mexico. She began her career with the American Chamber of Commerce and later joined the
California Office of Trade and Investment in Mexico. Lourdes assisted several hundred California companies over the course of 12 years, serving as Senior Trade Specialist and later as Acting
Director. She is a specialist in Mexico’s retail industry, overseeing representation and recruitment services for the International Housewares Association in Mexico and Central America since 2003.
Scott Koolik has lived and worked in Mexico for over 20 years. He heads his own Mexican company, Integrated Environmental Management Services, S.A. de C.V. (IEMS), in Monterrey with other offices throughout Mexico. Scott has performed hundreds of environmental, health and safety regulatory compliance audits and property transfer assignments within Mexico and other Latin American countries. Other of Scott’s projects include Due Diligence/Phase I and II assessments, regulatory negotiations and EHS audits as well as the investigation, design and construction of large-scale wastewater treatment facilities, industrial ventilation systems, and ground water and soil remediation projects.
Scott has a wealth of knowledge regarding Mexican environmental, health and safety regulations. He is the author of many articles and a
frequent speaker at international conferences regarding Mexican start-up regulations including transport, industrial facility operation, environmental, health and safety issues as well as ground water treatment.
Scott is a Civil Engineer from George Washington University and holds a M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Texas at
Austin. He is a registered professional engineer, a U.S. Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP), and an Environmental Management and System Compliance Systems auditor.
Jorge Diaz Padilla is a professional Mexican consulting engineer. He specializes in engineering and management consulting, technical audits and management information systems in Mexico. He is the founder and CEO of SYSTEC, S.A. de C.V., a Mexican consulting firm that provides project development and management services for a wide range of private and government clients in Mexico.
Jorge is the President of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers, a prestigious world-wide organization based in Geneva. IFCE
represents more than 25,000 engineering consultants. He is the first Latin American to serve in this post.
He has taught at the School of Engineering of the National University of Mexico, the Mexico National Polytechnic Institute, the Technology Institute of
Monterrey and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jorge has a CE and ME in Civil Engineering from the National University of Mexico and a PhD from Massachusetts of Technology. Jorge is a former
president of The Mexican Academy of Engineering, the MIT Enterprise Forum and the Academic Council of the Mexican Society of Civil Engineers.
Guillermo Dies is a senior Mexican corporate advisor with broad experience in the food and forestry products industries. Prior to establishing his consulting practice, Guillermo served in a succession of managerial positions in his native Mexico as well as in Argentina and the United States.
During 30 years with Productos de Maiz, S.A. de C.V., Guillermo managed technical, manufacturing and marketing programs as Director of the Technical
Sales and Service Department in the Industrial Division. He served as well as the Marketing Group Manager in the Consumer Products Division. Brands included Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, Karo corn
syrup and Knorr bouillons and soups. He was also Technical Director in charge of R&D, Quality Assurance, Nutrition and Packaging Engineering. Productos de Maiz’s Consumer Division is now a
part of Unilever.
Guillermo has been Director of Materiales for Ponderosa, S.A. de C.V., Mexico’s largest distributor of forestry products. Prior to
assignment, Guillermo was the Commercial Director of Fibracel, S.A. de C.V., Mexico’s largest producer of fiberboard. Earlier he was Assistant Commercial Director of Cia. de las Fabricas de Papel de San
Rafael y Anexas, S.A., a major Mexican paper manufacturer.
Guillermo has written and lectured extensively on the use of starches in the food industry. He is a member of several Mexican professional
societies including the Institute of Chemical Engineers and both the Association of Food Technologists and the Institute of Food Technologists. He is also a member of the American Society for Quality.
Ing. Dies holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the National University of Mexico (UNAM) and completed post graduate studies in marketing and
business administration. He speaks both English and Spanish fluently.
Bo E. Wallsten is one of Mexico’s most experienced real estate professionals. He pioneered the practice of real estate brokerage in Mexico in 1965. A Mexican citizen of Swedish parents, Bo founded the first full-service real estate business in Mexico and developed it into one of the few prestigious realty firms in the country. More than half of the Fortune 500 firms with business in Mexico have chosen Bo to represent them in Mexican real estate transactions.
Wallsten developed the first computer-based Multiple Listing Service in Mexico in 1967. Later with partners, he acquired the Century 21 franchise
for Mexico and developed that business into Mexico’s largest commercial and residential brokerage. Concurrently, with other partners, Bo founded Credito Inmobliario, now Mexico’s fourth largest
and most profitable mortgage company. Bo has retired from Century 21 and recently founded Wallsten Capital Group, a Mexico City real estate development firm and a MCG strategic partner.
Bo has an undergraduate degree from Ohio State University and an MBA from UCLA. He is a member of the Mexican Association of Realtors and was one
of its first presidents. He is also a member of the International Real Estate Federation and of similar Mexican and international organizations.
Harry Barr is a finance professional with over 30 years of international banking experience. He began his career at Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco and subsequently worked for two small trade finance “boutique” firms. He now manages his own financial services firm, BridgeGate Capital, which concentrates on leasing, project financing, and trade financing for clients in Mexico and the United States.
Harry has worked in Mexico continually since 1981 and has established a broad base of relationships in the financial community. He is also highly
skilled at developing unique financing solutions as well as sorting out problems and disagreements that can frequently arise between joint venture partners. Currently, Harry is actively involved in
establishing new equipment leasing and factoring entities in Mexico.
Harry is fluent in Spanish and has an undergraduate engineering degree from Brown University as well as an MBA degree from Northwestern
University. Prior to beginning his career at Wells Fargo, he was a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru and subsequently worked for USAID in Central America.
Robert A. Salvatore is a sales and marketing consultant who has worked and lived for over 40 years in Latin America, principally Mexico. He has a broad corporate background in sales and marketing management, general management, import/export marketing, sales and management training in addition to venture capital funded start-ups. Bob has managed operations for Xerox Corporation in El Salvador, Caracas, Venezuela and Mexico City. In addition, he has worked in all of the Latin American markets in various sales and marketing functions for Xerox and later as a sales and marketing consultant with his own firm in Mexico City.
Bob established his firm, Integrated Marketing Solutions, after leaving Xerox, consulting in the United States, Mexico and Latin America. He has
provided services to companies that improve their entire business processes from marketing through collections to obtain increased productivity and cash flow. He has also represented Paradigm Corporation in the
marketing and delivery of their accelerated learning techniques business game, Zodiak, in Mexico and Latin America.
Bob lives in Tucson, Arizona where he is active also as a mergers and acquisitions broker, assisting individuals and corporations in selling, buying or
merging businesses in the U.S. and Mexico. He works with MCG in developing and executing cross border investment and market entry strategies for new products.
Arne Martinsen is a marine and rail transportation specialist. He has completed assignments in seaport planning, design and development in Mexico for both private business and government clients. Arne has advised U.S. and Mexican businesses and other shippers and carriers in the logistical aspects of rail and marine infrastructure and development.
Arne developed the Master Plans for the Mexican Ports of Ensenada, Lazaro Cardenas, Salina Cruz and Coatzacoalcos for the Mexican Government. He also
prepared Plans for the operating concessions for the container terminals in the Ports of Vera Cruz and Altamira on the Mexican East Coast.
Martinsen was Vice President of Delta Bulk Terminal, Inc., a New Orleans grain terminal. He, earlier, was Fleet Manager for specialized ships providing
forest products service from U.S. West Coast ports to Mexico. He advised Illinois Central RR and Mexican partners in their bid for a section of the original Mexican rail system. Arne has a degree in Naval
Architecture and Marine Engineering in his native Norway.
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