Eugenio Garza Sada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eugenio Garza Sada (January 11, 1892 – September 17, 1973) was a Mexican businessman and philanthropist of Jewish descent who is best known for founding the ITESM in 1943.

Contents

[edit] Early Life

Garza Sada was born to Isaac Garza and Consuelo Sada. His father Isaac, together with his uncle and other entrepreneurs founded Cuauhtemoc Brewery, now Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery, in 1890.

In 1913, the Garza Sada family left Mexico for security reasons stemming from the Mexican Revolution. They settled in the United States. During those years they faced financial difficulties, as their major source of income, the Cuauhtemoc Brewery, was unprofitable during the Revolución. As consequence, Garza Sada's family joined the workforce. At one point, Garza Sada worked as an usher for a movie theater, then a salesman in a clothing store. Garza Sada enrolled in Western Academy, a military school, for high school. Afterwards, he studied civil engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), graduating in 1917.

[edit] Professional Life

In 1917, when the family was able to return to Mexico from Boston, Garza Sada began working at the Cervecería Cuahutémoc Moctezuma, a major beer producer in Monterrey, Mexico, where his father was General Director, the equivalent of a modern CEO. His first job there was in the Statistics Department, and from there he was promoted to positions of greater responsibility. After his father died, Garza Sada was named the company General Director.alternating the job with his brother Roberto.

During their management, they started a large number of businesses to support beer production, such as a glass company (to make the bottles for the beer), which later became Vitro. They also opened 'Grafo Regia', a business which produced the stickers for the bottles and boxes to pack the beer bottles in. He and his brother also founded 'Hojalata y Lamina de Monterrey', known today by its acronym, HYLSA.

[edit] Philanthropic activities

In 1943, along with a number of other prominent businessmen, Garza Sada founded the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in September 6, 1943, with the hope of creating an educative institution with strong principles and high academic standards. Garza Sada's model for the ITESM was the MIT. His belief was that an "institute of technology" was a better model than a university because an institute of technology would create a more capable and business-oriented workforce for his industries as well as for other local industries. [1]

[edit] Kidnapping attempt and death

During the 1970s the Mexican political situation was difficult, with several groups looking to destabilize the government, including communist guerillas who sought funding for their activities. One of those guerillas groups, Liga 23 de Septiembre planned to kidnap Garza Sada to obtain a millionaire ransom. The morning of September 17, 1973, a small group of 23 de Septiembre guerillas ambushed Garza Sada's car at a red light in downtown Monterrey. The kidnapping attempt turned into a gunfight when Garza Sada's bodyguard intervened, and Garza Sada was killed by multiple gunshot wounds received while reaching for his own gun. Garza Sada's funeral was attended by more than 200,000 people.

In 2006, a Mexican Secret Police document filed in the Mexican National Archives uncovered that the Mexican government was aware of the kidnapping conspiracy a year before it actually happened, yet did not prevent it because of political reasons. [2].

[edit] Eugenio Garza Sada Award

This award was created in the memory of Garza Sada as a means to preserve his values and ideas. This award is financed by FEMSA, the holding company of Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma, and by the ITESM [3].

[edit] Legacy

Garza Sada helped transform Monterrey into an industrial city. He and his brother founded most of the important companies in Monterrey: Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, Hylsa, Titan, Grafo Regia, and others. To the present day, these companies are seen as examples of social responsibility. Garza Sada's companies extended social benefits to their employees, such as medical, educational and financial aid, at a time when such benefits were not required by law.

Today, he is renowned as a visionary in Monterrey, admired for his strong principles and social conscience. A major avenue that passes by the ITESM bears his name.

[edit] References