Full-Time MBA International Week 2018: Doing Business in Mexico

From March 6-10, 2018 the IPADE Full-Time MBA program hosted more than 200 students from 18 top international MBA programs for the annual International Week-Doing Business in Mexico program. Every year, a group of business students enrolled in elite MBA programs from around the world gather at IPADE Business School for the “Doing Business in Mexico” seminar, a one-week program in which participants have the opportunity to interact with their colleagues from Mexico and other visiting countries while they learn about Mexico as an emerging market.

The seminar is composed of four central thematic pillars, with each pillar consisting of a variety of activities (case discussions, plenary sessions with guest speakers, company visits, etc.) to enrich each participant’s experience. The four pillars that compose the seminar’s structure are presented below:

1. Understanding Mexico’s Context and Culture
2. Doing Business from Mexico
3. How to Compete in Mexico
4. Creating Social Value in Mexico

Over the course of the week, participants engaged with distinguished faculty members from IPADE, as well as renowned business leaders and international experts. Speakers included Arnoldo de la Rocha y Navarrere, founder of the Pollo Feliz chain; Enrique Beltranena, CEO of Volaris; Pablo Moreno Valenzuela, President of Grupo ampm; and IPADE faculty and staff.

“It’s a pleasure to be up in front of such a diverse audience that is interested in doing business in Mexico,” said  Full-Time MBA  Director Ernesto Bolio during his welcome address to students. “We hope that you enjoy International Week 2018 and have a wonderful time here in Mexico and at IPADE.”

International Week offers international MBA students the opportunity to:

• Get to know emerging markets, the role they play in the current globalized world, and their impact on the global economy;
• Interact with other MBA students, both international and Mexican;
• Explore Mexico as an emerging market; and
• Experience the Mexican culture and acquire greater knowledge of the country and its business opportunities.

Participants were assigned to a team when they arrived in Mexico City, and each team was required to submit a project at the end of the week. The project asked each team to work with their international colleagues to present a company that had the potential for success in Mexico, whether a Mexican product or service that could be exported to international markets or an international business model that could be successful in the Mexican market. At the end of the week, each team was asked to present their business proposal to members of the IPADE faculty and Directors from the Full-Time MBA program.

In addition to the academic sessions held during the week, participants conducted site visits to top Mexican companies, including a visit to the hangars of Aeromexico to experience the Dreamliner 777, the industry-leading jet airliner. The group also visited the headquarters of Kidzania and La Casa de Toño and visited major tourist sites in the city, including the Historic Downtown of Mexico City, the pyramids at Teotihuacan, and the Mexico City Anthropology Museum.