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.
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.
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.
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.
Peter Kaszas is a food and beverage marketing consultant in Mexico. He is the Managing Director of Marketing Outsource, a Mexico City based strategic partner of MCG. The firm provides a wide range of marketing and market development services in Mexico for the food and beverage industries. Its focus is in new product market development.
Peter served earlier as Commercial Director of the Mexican subsidiary of Dawn Foods International, an importer and manufacturer of bakery products. He launched the cookie and cracker line for Ralston Purina de Mexico and the Caterplan Food Service line for Best Foods in Mexico. He was Export Manager of Clement Jacques, a major Mexican fruit and vegetable processor.
Peter has graduate and undergraduate degrees from the National University of Mexico, the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Panamerican University, Mexico City. He has taught in several colleges and universities and published extensively in food trade magazines. Peter was born in Hungary and is a Mexican citizen..
Alejandra León is a Mexican telecommunications engineer with extensive experience in developing and managing marketing programs for new telecom products, services and technologies in both Mexico and the U.S.
Alejandra is the Business Development Director of TSS, a Mexican solutions integrator focused on Broadband Access and Optical Transport Networks. TSS, a partner of
Mexico Consulting Group, provides consulting and engineering services for business in Mexico and marketing and sales of telecommunications products and solutions.
Ms. Leon has worked with Harris Corporation where she was Sales Manager for Call Center Systems in the U.S. and Mexico and with AFC for whom she opened and managed the
Mexico sales office. Alejandra has substantial experience in contract negotiations in both the U.S. and Mexico.
Ms. Leon works extensively in
broadband access networks (IP, xDSL, FTTx), telephony (SIP, MGCP, H.323 and V5.2); Fiber Optics transmission systems: DWDM, CWDM, SDH NG; and Triple Play (VoD, VoIP, Video IP, HSI).
Alejandra served
as Deputy Director for Information Systems of CONACYT, the Mexican Science and Technology Council, the equivalent of the U.S. National Science Foundation. She was responsible for the design and development
of the Mexican Internet backbone for scientific and educational institutions. Earlier, she was Chief of Data Transmission for Telecom de Mexico, a government-owned telecommunications company where she was
manager of all satellite audio and video transmission between the U.S. and Mexico.
Alejandra has taught at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional in the ESIME (School of Engineering) and lectured in several
conferences on data networks. She has a BSECE from the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico and a MSEE from the National University of Mexico.
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.
Steven Rosenberg has been a consumer and industrial marketing consultant in Mexico for 35 years. He is the General Director of Planeacion Avanzada, S.A. de C.V., a Mexican firm specializing in consumer and industrial market research for the food, raw material and transportation industries. Clients include U.S, European and Mexican companies. Steve represented the State of Georgia Trade Office as its Mexico business development officer for five years. He has been an active consultant in the Mexican Maquiladora (in-bond manufacturing) industry.
Before founding his own firm, Steve worked as New Projects and Investment Manager for Esteve Hermanos, S.A. de C.V., a Mexican multinational agricultural company. He was earlier a Plant Superintendent with the Mexican subsidiary of Corn Products International.
Steve has a BA degree from the University of the Americas in Mexico and has completed graduate there and at Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois. He has been a Director of the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico. He is currently President of Rotary International in Naucalpan, Mexico. Naucalpan is the center of Mexico’s largest industrial base.
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.
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.
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