THE VALUE OF HAVING A GLOBAL VISION- ERNESTO M. HERNANDEZ

RECENTLY RETIRED president and managing director of General Motors de México, Ernesto M. Hernandez, sees the business world "with no boundaries, with no borders." One manifestation of this trend is how businesses are run through global boards. There is an increased value placed on diversity, "diversity of thought," Hernandez observes. The international vision and experience that Hernandez, who is a graduate of a major public university in Mexico, brings to the table has helped him gain seats on four company boards. “A Mexican national running an international company, with relevant experience in Latin America," he said. "We Latinos can and know how to do big things".

Hernandez sees a future in which the value of people like him in governance will increase as ESG trends and workplace shifts in global companies expand the vision needed to be a successful corporate director.

Ernesto M. Hernandez left General Motors in 2020 after spending his entire 40-year working career in this company, the last eight as President and Managing Director of GM Mexico.

He came to GM out of the Instituto Politecnico Nacional in Mexico City with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. "Half of my career was in the nutsand-bolts side of the house," he said, and included engineering, manufacturing, planning, and purchasing. He acquired a well-rounded education which included an MBA from the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM) and a MSc degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hernandez would eventually turn to marketing, sales and service and became vice president of General Motors in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. When he was appointed president in 2011, he became the first Mexican national to run this company.

The first opportunity to be a corporate director came in 2014 when Hernandez accepted Constellation Brands invitation to join its board and got the green light from GM. New York based Constellation is a major wine, beer and spirits producer and retailer and its beer portfolio features several foreign brands, including Mexican imports Corona and Modelo.

Today, the retired GM executive's resumé features directorships in two Mexican companies, DINE and Grupo KUO. Hernandez crossed another border when he received a seat on the board of Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. a Canadian manufacturer of snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, and personal watercraft.

During his ongoing tenure on corporate boards, Hernandez has found that his ability to run an entire region for GM has been a big asset. His experience in the technical, commercial, and financial aspects of a major business, and his responsibility for P&L, were paramount.

In various ways, Hernandez also is a harbinger of the new global director having held several international roles for GM, dealing with different "employees, unions, governments, suppliers, and distributors, among other stakeholders."

What Constellation Brands judged, Hernandez said, "is that my experience in this region would be valuable because they have a big manufacturing footprint in Mexico," he said. With BRP, Hernandez, enjoys a front row look at a business that fascinated him because of "the variety of amazing products they have." The Canadian board values his background as it relates to the technical aspects of design and manufacturing of the products they offer.

Hernandez expects international boards to gradually change to include directors that represent people in the different regions and countries where they have operations more closely. "In that sense," he said, "I am probably a good representative of the people in Mexico, in Latin America”. Hernandez also shares important insights "to navigate the specific ways of doing business in Mexico”, which can be valuable to a company operating there. “I am able to provide recommendations in how to approach problems and in the way we run operations", he said.

Looking forward, Hernandez points to "the changes the pandemic has advanced, and a lot of political and social movements all over the world" as part of a reality in which running businesses through global boards will become the new norm. Moreover, as the world of work and business relations becomes borderless, Hernandez said, "having the right people serving on the boards aids to the success of these companies in different countries." Another factor, Hernandez sees acquiring greater eminence is the migration of office work thanks to technology, creating greater opportunities for more people wanting to participate in global positions.

Hernandez said a major challenge comes from the different ways of “misrepresenting globalization”. He asserts that "a global enterprise makes sense because it creates job opportunities for people in many different regions and countries. Opportunities that would otherwise be absent or lost". Another trend that Hernandez sees emerging in a new environment is leaders becoming more conscious about the importance of understanding biotechnology, big data, etc. "This pandemic is but a sample of what could happen”, he said. Still, he is optimistic because humanity has been able to adopt to many different changes and this will not be the exception. “But certainly, we are living in strange times.”

Two things, however, remain constant for Hernandez, a devoted family man who has a son and daughter in their 30's. His golf game remains "lousy", and his grandson is the light of his life.

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