News & Highlights

  • March 2025
  • EVENT

BiGS Roundtable in Mexico City

On March 13, 2025, in Mexico City, Harvard Business School’s Institute for Business in Global Society (BiGS) and the Latin America Research Center hosted a solutions-driven roundtable, bringing together business leaders, policymakers, and civil society representatives to explore the role of business in addressing economic inequality in Mexico and beyond. Participants engaged in thought-provoking discussions on navigating the evolving expectations of business in society. The conversation focused on actionable measures for Latin American firms to address inequality, highlighting emerging strategies for expanding equity ownership, poverty alleviation, and fostering deeper community collaborations.
  • October 2024
  • EVENT

Entrepreneurship Event in Mexico City

LARC hosted a breakfast in Mexico City, bringing together a diverse group of social impact entrepreneurs to engage in meaningful discussions about the unique challenges and opportunities present in the Mexican setting. This gathering provided a platform for entrepreneurs to share their insights and experiences, promoting collaboration and networking among individuals dedicated to driving positive change in their communities. In candid conversations, participants explored pressing issues such as access to funding, regulatory hurdles, and the evolving social landscape, while also identifying innovative solutions and potential partnerships. The meeting highlighted the importance of collaboration in the social impact sector and aimed to empower entrepreneurs so that they can navigate the complexities of their environment more effectively.
  • October 2024
  • EVENT

Revitalize, Reinvent, Reskill: Unlocking Workforce Productivity Event in Medellín

In October, in collaboration with the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard (D^3), LARC hosted the "Revitalize, Reinvent, Reskill: Unlocking Workforce Productivity" event in Medellín, Colombia, which gathered 80 participants—predominantly C-suite executives from Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, and Uruguay. Key takeaways included the importance of employees’ continued reskilling in line with companies’ strategies, as well as emphasizing the critical role of middle managers as "champions of change" with the right incentives. Effective communication was highlighted as essential to this ongoing process, and companies were urged to begin measuring and piloting reskilling initiatives to maintain their competitiveness. Participants also identified a significant gap between corporate skill demands and academia, calling for greater collaboration between the private and public sectors with educational institutions to develop relevant curricula. Throughout this event led by Professor Raffaella Sadun, Professor Joe Fuller, and Professor Jorge Tamayo, attendees’ engagement remained strong, both in discussions and in networking opportunities. For more details in Upskilling, Reskilling and Digital Transformation, click on the following links: Reskilling in the Age of AI Designing a Successful Reskilling Model
  • JUNE 2024
  • ALUMNI EVENT

Alumni Event with HBS Club of Brazil

The HBS Club of Brazil hosted a dedicated event for search funds in June 2024. Gustavo Vaz (MBA 2018), Marcos Noll Barboza (GMP), and Paulo Molinari (MBA 2020) talked about this innovative investment vehicle that enables investor groups to back entrepreneurs (searchers) looking to identify and acquire privately held companies. Searchers' primary goal is to find promising businesses—typically in the lower middle market—and take over its operational leadership.
  • April 2024
  • Article

Laura Catena Ascends to the Summit of the Burgeoning Wine Industry

In Latin America, female entrepreneurs are making a profound impact on economic growth and development. While much of this momentum comes from small enterprises, there are inspiring stories of women who succeed at the highest levels of business. Such is the case of Laura Catena, a graduate of Harvard University. Laura serves as the managing director of Bodega Catena Zapata, a world-renowned family-owned winery started by her great-grandfather. She also owns Luca Wines, further proving her leadership and entrepreneurial spirit in Argentina's wine industry. Her journey exemplifies how women are driving innovation and prosperity across the region.

New Research on the Region

  • May 2025
  • Case

Netflix Beyond Streaming: Strategies for the Next Era of Entertainment

By: Juan Alcacer and Lorenzo Lucidi

Netflix loses subscribers for the first time in over a decade—can the streaming pioneer reinvent itself before competitors, costs, and churn catch up? In 2022, facing fierce competition and shifting consumer behaviors, Netflix confronts its most critical strategic inflection point. With subscriber growth slowing, market value tumbling, and content costs skyrocketing, the company considers bold moves: live sports, advertising, and theatrical releases. Students must analyze Netflix’s evolving business model, assess emerging growth avenues, and decide how the platform can maintain its leadership in a maturing, fragmented, and rapidly converging entertainment industry.

  • April 2025
  • Case

Techint: Strategic Choices for Community Impact

By: Lauren Cohen, Virak Prum, Kenneth Charman, Pedro Levindo and Mariana Cal

In early 2024 Erika Bienek, Chief Community Relations Officer at Techint, had to decide whether to invest in a new company-owned and operated technical school in Veracruz, Mexico, or invest instead in strengthening the city’s public education system. Techint, a global industrial conglomerate with $38.4 billion in annual revenues and 97,000 employees in 2023, had a longstanding commitment to community development through education. Over the past five years, the group invested $204 million in its Community Relations program, focusing on four synergistic education initiatives. The Roberto Rocca Technical School (RRTS)—owned and operated by Techint—offered high-quality technical education to underprivileged students, while other programs strengthened public school infrastructure, provided scholarships, and supported after-school learning. TenarisTamsa, Techint’s subsidiary in Veracruz, had been active in the region for decades, and a new RRTS would expand its footprint. However, some stakeholders argued that broader impact could be achieved by supporting public schools serving over 40,000 students or by launching a community training center to meet urgent workforce development needs in the local energy sector. With Techint’s tradition of deep community engagement and rigorous standards, the question for Bienek and her team was how to allocate the newly earmarked $30 million to generate the greatest long-term impact for Veracruz—through direct, measurable educational transformation, or broader support for the public system.

  • March 2025
  • Case

Taylor Guitars: Making Employee Ownership Work The Taylor Way

By: Dennis Campbell, Petros Kusmu and Stacy Straaberg

In 2013, guitar manufacturer Taylor Guitars’ co-founders Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug were considering several exit options including selling to a competitor or to a private equity firm. The co-founders decided, instead, to embark on a seven-year process to transfer 100% of the ownership of the company from themselves and third owner partner Andy Powers to Taylor Guitars employees. The co-founders felt an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) would best preserve the company’s values and distinct culture. In 2024, the co-founders, Powers (now president and CEO), CFO Barbara Wight, and Vice President of Human Resources Shaun Paluczak took time to reflect on the ESOP. Many employees were still unclear about what the ESOP meant for them, with some likening it to a retirement plan. The challenge for the leadership team was how to activate employees’ sense of ownership in the company to enhance Taylor Guitars’ performance.

See more research

Montevideo Staff

Fernanda Miguel
Christopher P. Torto Executive Director
Mariana Cal
Associate Director, Research
Jenyfeer Martínez Buitrago
Senior Researcher
Maria Martha Ruiz Melo
Office Manager
Karina Souza
Senior Researcher

Mexico City Staff

Carla Larangeira
Senior Researcher

São Paulo Staff

Patricia Thome
Assistant Director, Educational Programs
Pedro Levindo
Senior Researcher