FEMSA’s José Antonio Fernández Carbajal named one of world’s top 30 CEOs by Barron’s

Barron’s, 3/23/2013

During Fernández’s tenure, FEMSA has grown from a $1.2 billion Mexican beverage company into a $36 billion Latin American powerhouse. It operates the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottler and the region’s fastest-growing retailer, the Oxxo convenience-store chain. When it became clear that global giants were transforming the beer industry, this pragmatist sold the beer business that his wife’s family founded in 1890, to Heineken, in a lucrative deal that gave FEMSA a 20% stake.

As a child, Fernández was called Diablo, a common nickname for hyperactive kids. He still has energy to spare. After two FEMSA security guards were killed in a drug shootout, he sought new ways to make the city of Monterrey safer, focusing more on community and social programs to improve prospects for youth. He also teaches an engineering course at his alma mater, the Tecnológico de Monterrey.

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Harvard Business Review names Mexico Institute Board Co-Chair and FEMSA CEO the Best CEO of the Year

José Antonio Fernández Carbajal

Harvard Business Review, January-February 2013

For years, people have bemoaned executives’ zealous focus on short-term results, which often leads CEOs to make moves that undermine their firms’ long-term prospects and, some say, act irresponsibly. But all the talk won’t change anything if the business world doesn’t adopt a new way of measuring performance. Three professors from France’s Insead believe they have the answer: an innovative scorecard that evaluates CEOs on the basis of the results they delivered over their entire tenures in office. It incorporates three metrics: industry-adjusted shareholder returns, country-adjusted shareholder returns, and increase in market capitalization over that time frame.

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The Harvard Business Review review recognized José Antonio Fernández Carbajal as the top CEO in Mexico. Fernández Carbajal is the head of FEMSA, the 5th firm on Expansión’s list of the largest Mexican companies.

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With Stake in Stability, Businesses in Mexico Help City Shaken by Violence

Three Mexico Institute Board Members were featured in a New York Times story highlighting the commitment of the business community in Monterrey, Mexico to help recruit vetted police forces, build confidence in state law enforcement institutions, and ensure stability and safety in Mexico’s industrial capital.

The New York Times, 1/10/2012

… As part of its effort to contain the criminal violence that has shocked this prosperous city, the state government wants to recruit and train 14,000 new, uncorrupted police officers by 2015. With its not-so-subtle suggestion that you, too, can look this good, the sign urges, “We Need You.”

It is no coincidence that the state government of Nuevo León is using the language of marketing to build its new police force. Behind much of its effort to restore stability are Monterrey’s captains of industry…

“I confess and make mea culpa that we woke up late,” said José Antonio Fernández Carbajal, the chief executive of Femsa, one of the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottlers and a big Mexican retailer.

Mr. Fernández and other business executives are now in the thick of efforts to recover the city’s peace. Their companies helped design the advertising image and campaign for the new state police force, and they are staffing recruiting booths and a call center. They are also paying part of the cost of government redevelopment plans, injecting money into community groups and sponsoring school programs.

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The only reason security situation in Mexico isn’t worse is because criminals don’t want it to be: Fernández Carbajal (In Spanish)

Jose Antonio Fernandez

Milenio, 9/1/11

Tras definir como una atrocidad la tragedia del casino Royale donde murieron 52 personas, el presidente y director general de Femsa, José Antonio Fernández Carbajal, señaló que Nuevo León “ha tocado fondo”, y no estamos peor “sólo porque los criminales piensan que no les conviene”.

En su discurso al encabezar la entrega de los premios Eugenio Garza Sada 2011, Fernández Carbajal criticó a los gobernantes, a la sociedad, a los sistemas de justicia e incluso a las instituciones educativas por “lo que hemos dejado de hacer” y que ha provocado la situación de inseguridad que golpea a la entidad.

“Si él viviera, Don Eugenio Garza Sada estaría triste, indignado, por la violencia y seguridad y corrupción que vive Monterrey.

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