News & Highlights

  • 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.
  • APRIL 2024
  • ALUMNI EVENT

Alumni Event with HBS Monterrey Club

In April, Professor Christina Wing delivered a presentation on “Difficult Conversations” to the HBS Monterrey Club, accompanied by a gathering of local alumni and community members. Professor Wing, renowned for her expertise in family business, facilitated a dynamic discussion with the group. The conversation centered on cultivating trust and rapport in challenging scenarios, mastering effective communication with various stakeholders, fostering empathy, and transforming conflict into constructive dialogue. Attendees were encouraged to contemplate the timing, method, and significance of engaging in difficult conversations, emphasizing the value of aligning visions and seeking compromise.
  • NOVEMBER 2023
  • BiGS EVENT

BiGS Event in Latin America

Established in 2022 to help and harness business to address society’s issues, BiGS hosted its first international event in São Paulo, Brazil, in November 2023, with about 70 Latin American business leaders, entrepreneurs, NGO executives, and public sector leaders in attendance. Under the title, “Democratizing Development: How Business can Create Wealth for All,” the invite-only event contributed to advancing BiGS' mission to leverage the power of the private sector and international markets to find solutions to social problems. Participants highlighted business’ capacity to address societal challenges, showcasing accomplishments such as innovating new business models tailored to serve disadvantaged communities, channeling investments into underserved regions, and prioritizing workforce education initiatives. BiGS’ event also facilitated networking among like-minded leaders, fostering sustained collaboration and an ongoing exchange of ideas.
  • November 2023
  • EVENT

Alumni Event with HBS Club of Brazil

LARC and the HBS Club of Brazil jointly organized an exclusive event with Professor Michael Chu in São Paulo in November. During the session "Income Inequality in our Region: A Dialog on What to Do About it," Prof. Chu engaged with alumni, leading a group discussion highlighting the importance of addressing inequality. He emphasized that it is not only a moral imperative but also crucial for fostering economic growth, social stability, and sustainable development. Prof. Chu highlighted that by addressing the root causes of inequality and promoting inclusive policies, societies can create environments where individuals have better opportunities to thrive, contributing to the well-being of the entire community.

New Research on the Region

  • October 2024
  • Teaching Material

El Salvador: Launching Bitcoin as Legal Tender

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 322-055. In June 2021, Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, surprised the world with the announcement that the country would adopt bitcoin as legal tender, becoming the first nation to do so. Bitcoin was mostly used for trading and had one of the most volatile track records among assets. Yet, crypto adoption as a medium of exchange was starting to gain pace worldwide. Bukele claimed it would be a boon for financial inclusion, investment, innovation, and economic development. El Salvador´s $27 billion economy suffered from persistently low growth, high public debt, and a strong dependence on remittances, which could potentially become cheaper and faster to access in bitcoins. The Bitcoin plan was met with both enthusiasm from Bitcoin supporters and skepticism from credit agencies and multilateral finance institutions, which believed it could bring macroeconomic instability to the local economy. Was bitcoin a viable currency for Salvadorans? Or, as some observers pointed out, was Bukele's plan another sign of weakened governance in his administration?

  • September 2024
  • Case

Comun: Partners in Peril

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Alexis Lefort

In spring 2023, Abiel Gutierrez and Andres Santos, co-founders of Comun, faced a critical decision at their fintech startup serving Latino immigrants. Having launched their product the previous year, they experienced rapid growth but encountered rising fraud and increasing regulatory barriers imposed by their banking partner, Piermont. These challenges threatened the company's core value proposition and the viability of its unit economics. Gutierrez and Santos were at a crossroads: Should they switch partners, a risky move given their limited financial runway, or stick with their current flawed infrastructure and risk stalling the company's growth? The case explores the complexities of partner reliance, regulatory hurdles, and the difficult strategic choices early-stage startups must navigate.

  • September 2024
  • Case

Topaz: Navigating Governance, Legacy, and Change

By: Christina R. Wing and Carla Larangeira

Since its founding in 2011, the Garza Sada brothers and their father positioned Topaz among leading family offices in Monterrey, Mexico, with several assets under management. Topaz aspired to have a transformative impact across multiple Mexican industries. An industry titan himself, founder Dionisio Garza Medina had previously forged a 30-year-plus career at Grupo Alfa, a publicly listed Mexican conglomerate, serving as its chairman and CEO, and positioning the group among global leaders in the auto parts and cooked food businesses. By the late 2010s, Topaz had multiple assets across the education, oil and gas, and real estate sectors, as well as investments in venture capital. In mid-2020, the group encountered unexpected challenges as Dionisio Garza Medina, the chairman and driving force behind Topaz´s decisions, suffered several strokes and took an extended leave of absence, leading his sons and wife, Balbina, to support the ailing Dionisio and to grow the business. After the strokes, the brothers adopted a previously designed yet untested governance structure, creating an executive committee whereby they agreed on business decisions and relying on an advisory board created earlier. Four years later, as the siblings reflected on the governance changes they had implemented, as well as Topaz’s structure and their respective roles, whereby Dionisio son was at the helm and brothers Luis and Pablo were respectively responsible for wealth management and real estate, they questioned: would it all work out? And how would they evaluate their success in advancing Topaz’s mission of generating transformation, impact, and leadership in the industries where it operated?

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