FROM THE NATIONAL PALACE OF COLOMBIA to the remote rainforest of Guatemala, the Bravo Business Award winners are leading countries, companies and institutions through change. 

Colombian President Álvaro Uribe is restoring confidence to a nation that has suffered through decades of despair. Tourism Minister Rubén Blades is instilling pride among Panamanians. Brazilian Central Bank Governor Henrique de Campos Meirelles is returning value to the Real and economic policy.

The Bravo winners’ focus on core competencies transcends borders. Enrique Cueto is flying LAN Airlines through turbulent skies to global markets with a winning mix of cargo and passengers. Subramaniam Ramadorai is bringing India’s know-how of Offshore Development Centers to Latin America. Luis Fernando Santos is delivering award-winning news and information from his media organization via a host of dynamic new platforms to audiences in Colombia and beyond. 

The Bravo pioneers change the status quo. In Argentina, Marcelo Argüelles explores new pharmaceutical possibilities and exports to world markets in competition with global leaders in biotechnology. Vivian Pellas transforms a personal challenge into a state-of-the-art facility to care for children with severe burns in Nicaragua. Richard Hansen is turning Guatemala’s rich history into its greatest asset for protecting its future.

Every year, the more than 160,000 Latin Trade readers worldwide nominate business, political and social leaders to be recognized for outstanding achievement. In consultation with leading international experts, Latin Trade editors select winners in nine categories. This year’s Bravo winners share a commitment to excellence and proven leadership in times of great change.

To download the entire 2008 Bravo Business Awards Commemorative Issue, click here.

ÁLVARO URIBE VÉLEZ
President, Colombia

ACHIEVEMENTS President Álvaro Uribe has achieved a remarkable and major turnaround in Colombia. Since taking power in 2002, the security climate has improved dramatically and investor confidence has soared. In 2007, GDP expanded 7.5%, foreign direct investment topped US$9 billion, exports have risen to more than US$29 billion, and approval of a negotiated U.S. free trade agreement is on the agenda.

BACKGROUND Born in 1952 in Medellin, President Uribe is a lawyer with specialized training at Harvard and Oxford. The former mayor of Medellin, Antioquia governor and two-time senator was elected president for the first time in 2002, reelected in 2006. He is the most popular president in Colombia’s history.

“Democratic security, investor confidence and building social cohesion constitute the basis of what we are fundamentally seeking in Colombia: confidence.”

LEADERSHIP

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
President Álvaro Uribe has profoundly changed Colombia. After almost a half century of violence, peace is a real possibility. The economy and investment are showing sustained growth. Colombians are optimistic for the first time in generations. Latin Trade speaks with President Uribe to understand the roots of his revolution and what’s left to be done.

When you assumed the presidency for the first time, Colombia was in crisis. Was there an action plan to stabilize the country? Was the plan carried out as contemplated?
We proposed a 100-point democratic manifesto to the country. This has been the guide for our work. Of course, we have made periodic adjustments but without ever departing from the basic idea. Today, we can outline the plan in three areas: democratic security, investor confidence and building social cohesion. They are profoundly related. Democratic security and investor confidence make social cohesion possible. At the same time, social cohesion is the great legitimizer of democratic security and investor confidence. The three elements constitute the basis of what we are fundamentally seeking in Colombia: confidence.

What does Colombia need to keep growing?
It’s very important to maintain fundamental principles and project them over time. For example, with regard to investor confidence, we are a country that completely respects investor rights. Repeating this statement is important at a time when there are some sectors of Latin America that are tempted by state-run capitalism, hostility toward private investment. It’s very important that Colombia continue on the path of improving macroeconomic indicators. We need to continue with administrative reforms.  It’s very important to maintain fiscal incentives like the free-trade zones. To move ahead with “rules of the game” stability agreements, many of which have been signed. To move ahead with free trade agreements. Aside from democratic security and investor confidence, what are the remaining obstacles to rapid growth of the Colombian economy?  Lack of infrastructure and the need to accelerate the integrated educational revolution.

Improving education is A challenge throughout the Americas. How does Colombia plan to achieve this goal?
We have goals and the will to achieve them. We are starting with national coverage of basic education. By 2010, we should have universal coverage. We had 21% or 22% coverage of university education and we should finish the administration [2010] at about 35%. We had a million Colombians a year in vocational training, this year we should finish with almost 6 million. We are providing 16 million hours of vocational training a year, when the country used to give only 5 million. We have integrated secondary education with vocational technology training and these programs with universities so that the learning process is a continual process. We are also moving forward in the telecommunications revolution with virtual training. We want to have 1 million Colombians studying English via the Internet. Today, we have almost 400,000.

How do you plan to improve infrastructure?
Infrastructure is wide open with lots of possibilities: public works contracted by the government, private concessions, mixed concessions, strong support for domestic construction projects, and a strong commitment to international investment in our country. We are now starting to execute large-scale projects. To promote urban competitiveness, we are building nine mass-transportation systems in Colombia. We have made great progress in ports. Colombian ports can operate as free-trade zones. We are making progress in highways that will connect the interior of the country. There’s much more to be done. The big projects, like connecting Bogota to the ports, are just getting underway or are being put up for bid.

Are there going to be more privatizations?
We have reformed 411 state-run entities. We have not dismantled the government. For example, the Colombian government continues to be an investor in the telecommunications company, but the [private] shareholders own 51%. Our idea is not to go from government to no government. It’s not to go from bureaucratic dictatorship to a complete government pullout. The challenge is to go from a state-owned political guild to social efficiency.

Will an additional 10% of Ecopetrol be sold?
Congress authorized up to 20% capitalization. We have only capitalized a little more than 10%, so we have 9% left. When will we do it? The economic authorities will watch for the right moment to do it. Before this government, Ecopetrol invested US$500 million to US$700 million a year. This year, it has the ability to invest more than US$4 billion without affecting the Colombian government’s budget or its level of debt.

What are the next steps to maintain the rhythm of foreign investment and exports at US$9 billion and US$29 billion, respectively?
Direct foreign investment is growing quickly in Colombia and so is the global rate of investment. In the past, we had less and more inconsistent direct foreign investment. It entered when we invited foreign and domestic bidders to invest in a TV channel, mobile telephony, or an oil well. Now it’s starting to be more consistent. In recent years when the beer company [SABmiller] invested, we had more than US$10 billion in direct foreign investment. The next year, it was US$6.5 billion. Last year, it was US$9 billion. This year it will probably surpass US$10 billion. The global investment rate has gone from 12% to 14% [of GDP] to 21%, 25.5% and 27.5% in recent years. This year, despite the economic difficulties, we have maintained the high rate of global investment. What makes the difference is that we have investor confidence.

What happens if the Free Trade Agreement with the United States is approved in the U.S. Congress?
I don’t think that we will increase very much our exports to the United States in the short term, but there will be an increase in investment in Colombia. There are a lot of investors waiting for this agreement before investing in the country. It’s a huge step to stimulate investment in Colombia. We want a high rate of licit investment to become an alternative to illicit crops. The agreement with its impact on investment is a great alternative to illicit crops.

What were the key elements to achieving improved security in Colombia?
We worked with the same army, the same police force as before, the same justice system, the same legal framework. It was the change in political concept from the idea that security is worthless, that it is an extreme-right issue. Security is a democratic value. You have to work for it and inject it into the hearts of Colombians. We still have to keep working so that the country reaches a point where the progress in security becomes irreversible. We have to put into practice in government that old popular saying, “perseverance overcomes what promises cannot attain.”

Instead of talking about your reelection, you talk about your ideas: “Colombia needs to reelect democratic security and investor confidence as paths to social policy.” How is that done?
First, make an effort to achieve good resu lts in the short term. Second, recognize what still needs to be done. Third, provide a patriotic example for all Colombians. And then comes the most important element: Support citizens deeply committed to these ideas.

“Our idea is not to go from government to no government. The challenge is to go from a state-owned political guild to social efficiency.”

RUBÉN BLADES
Minister of Tourism, Panama

ACHIEVEMENTS Since 2005, Panama has been among the hottest destinations in the Americas. Arrivals of 1.5 million and revenues of US$1.8 billion are expected in 2008, more than 50% growth in the past three years. Almost US$500 million in new hotel investment was announced in the first half of 2008 and real estate expanded by more than 50,000 new units in the past 18 months.

BACKGROUND The Grammy-winning salsa singer, songwriter, lawyer and actor worked his way up from the mailroom at Fania Records to record Siembra, the best-selling salsa record in history. The Harvard-trained lawyer ran for the presidency in 1994 and became tourism minister in September 2004.

“The domestic tourism campaign is directed at an economic market, as well as a spiritual and emotional market. It’s going to strengthen pride in Panama.”

TOURISM

SINGING PANAMA’S PRAISES
Rubén Blades has been on the global stage since 1969, when his first record was issued. As Panama’s minister of tourism, he is using his 40 years of experience defending his music and competing internationally to promote Panama. The lawyer with a master’s degree from Harvard University talks to Latin Trade about the challenges of establishing a tourism destination.

How did RubEn Blades become tourism minister of Panama?
When Martín Torrijos launched his candidacy in 2004, I told him that I would support him because he was the best candidate. He won and offered me the [tourism] ministry. Originally, I wanted to administer the prison system, but Martín thought my international name recognition might help us on an international level to create attention for Panama.

What were your expectations at the beginning?
To create order. Panama is a place that traditionally has been poorly managed. There have been a lot of problems due to corruption and mediocrity. A long-term, sustainable order is being created.

How did you position Panama as a tourism destination so quickly?
It was a combination of factors. The Torrijos Administration took steps that were interpreted by international investors as necessary measures. The clean up of public finances was vital. The initiative to build the third lock of the Panama Canal sent an important signal. The tourism policy changes began to take effect because national policy started to take Panama toward the light. We reached a million visitors in 2005. We have increased that number by 50% in the last three years.

Where did you begin?
First, I had to create an infrastructure that would allow me to apply what I know. The infrastructure and the personnel here didn’t work. There had to be a clear direction with a clear strategy. That required a new structure. For example, we didn’t have a clear idea about the areas that had been designated tourism zones. There were no inventories of anything, from land titles in an area to existing infrastructure. We had to create a master tourism plan that would truly work. Now we have a master tourism plan with an office that will remain for the entire 15 years of the plan, specialists to run it, and designated funds for its operation.

How did you convince people to support your project?
What started to change the opinion of many people were the results generated by the new structure. For example, advertising campaigns are now uninterrupted and the funds are guaranteed. When we arrived in 2004, public bidding for the advertising campaign was done annually. That meant that every six months, everything had to be done again. Now we do multi-year campaigns with designated funds for five years. Things started to change when the private sector, for the first time, had an international advertising campaign without interruptions. Since this campaign was affecting their wallets, they said, “Hmmm. Even if it’s just this that gets done, let’s see what more will happen.” For that reason, among others, Panama starts to make progress internationally. We did something else that had never been done before, we launched a national tourism campaign.

Why?
The domestic tourism campaign is directed at an economic market, as well as a spiritual and emotional market. It’s going to strengthen pride in Panama. The first campaign will be “The Nine Wonders of Panama.” Each province will choose a destination that it considers the best in the province and vote on which one is the best. The winning destinations will be part of the “Know Your Country” campaign.

“A long-term, sustainable order is being created.”

ACHIEVEMENTS When Henrique Meirelles became governor of the Central Bank in 2003, Brazil was in financial turmoil. Today, inflation is 6%, interest rates have tumbled, and reserves have soared to more than US$200 billion. Meirelles’ economic policy leadership has helped Brazil obtain an investment grade rating this year.

BACKGROUND Among the first generation of global Brazilian executives, Meirelles cut his teeth at BankBoston in Brazil just before the debt crisis erupted in the 1980s, rising to global president of BankBoston (later FleetBoston Financial) in 1996. Served as a congressman for the state of Goias, before becoming Central Bank governor in 2003.

“People said, ‘The Brazilian economy is like jabuticaba (a fruit only found in Brazil), it works only in Brazil.’ I disagreed. I believed that the Brazilian economy would respond very well to sound macroeconomic policies. It did.”

FINANCE

BANKING ON PROFOUND CHANGE
Henrique de Campos Meirelles could have been a firefighter. At BankBoston in Brazil during the 1980s, he led the bank through the debt crisis and hyperinflation to become the global president of BankBoston (later FleetBoston Financial). Now, as governor of the Central Bank of Brazil, he is a key element to the country’s economic stability. Meirelles speaks to Latin Trade about his crisis leadership experience.

which crisIs was the most important?
Without a doubt, when President Lula invited me to take over the Central Bank at a critical moment for Brazil. It was the peak of a very important financial crisis involving the foreign exchange market, inflation and fiscal accounts, as well as a high level of uncertainty reflected by the 1,500 basis points of Brazil risk. It gave me the opportunity to use all of my experience to help my country. I always believed that the right policies would work in Brazil as they worked in other countries. That was not the prevailing view. There was an expression that Brazil is different. People said, “The Brazilian economy is like jabuticaba (a fruit only found in Brazil), it works only in Brazil.” I disagreed. I believed that the Brazilian economy would respond very well to sound macroeconomic policies. It did.

How do you stay focused when financial markets panic?
In late 1983 in Brazil, we had “black Fridays,” when the market would frantically discuss what new government measures would be announced on Monday that would shake the markets. No responsible manager would leave his or her desk on Friday. I had decided to take a four-month, advanced management program at Harvard Business School. One colleague asked me, “How can you leave for four months? On Fridays, I don’t dare leave my desk for four hours and you are going to be gone for four months.” When I returned four months later, I realized that not much had happened in Brazil. The frantic changes were only on the surface. The profound changes were like profound currents in the ocean. As president of BankBoston in Brazil, I changed my way of working. I delegated dealing with the surface to some very capable people and I began to dedicate myself to the deep currents.

How did you communicate that the Brazilian government’s 2003 economic plan was going to be a profound change?
When we took the hard measures in 2003 to adjust the Brazilian economy. I announced that inflation would come down to target and that we were taking measures to support this target. When Brazil began to grow, most analysts did not notice. In July 2003, I gave a speech in São Paulo to the financial markets to announce that Brazil had embarked on a sustainable growth path. Prepare yourself for growth and invest, I told them. The growth happened in 2004 and the companies were not ready. Inflation came back to some extent so we had to put on the brakes. Eventually investment increased and the potential growth rate increased.

With regard to deep currents, are there profound currents for Governor Meirelles to aspire to governor of a state or higher office in Brazil?
From my vantage point, that’s all surface. The deep current is that I expect to be working hard to help Brazil for a long time. To give you an idea, when my father was 56 years old, he retired from public service after 36 years. He decided that he was too young to retire and resumed his practice as lawyer for another 36 years until 1992, when he retired again. Six months later, he decided that the second retirement was premature.

“I always believed that the right policies would work in Brazil as they worked in other countries.”

ACHIEVEMENTS LAN dropped “Chile” from its name to reflect its successful expansion to Argentina, Ecuador and Peru. During one of the most challenging operating environments in recent history, LAN posted record net income on $3.5 billion revenue in 2007. LAN formed an alliance with Brazil’s TAM, prepared to launch a cargo airline in Colombia, and announced the largest fleet expansion in its history.

BACKGROUND When the Cueto family led the purchase of LAN in 1994, Enrique Cueto jumped from CEO of cargo airline Fast Air to lead LAN. Cargo served as the backbone for his strategy to expand the Chilean passenger airline into an award-winning operation with shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

“The difference between LAN and other airlines is the manner in which our cargo and passenger businesses support each other, enabling us to deliver during difficult times with significantly better results.”

AVIATION

THE SINGAPORE AIRLINES OF SOUTH AMERICA
Enrique Cueto has transformed LAN Airlines into a world leader with a successful mix of cargo and passenger service in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Argentina. LAN achieved record profits in 2007, but LAN CEO Cueto wants to take his three-legged-table strategy—security, service and efficiency—to more countries in Latin America. Cueto speaks with Latin Trade about what’s next for the multi-latina airline with annual revenues of US$3.5 billion.

Why are you starting airlines in Latin America?
Latin America is 5% or 6% of world traffic. The United States is a third of world traffic. Europe is 25%. If you take out Mexico and Brazil for the Latin America’s 6%, there’s only 3% left. Each one of our countries is 0% of nothing. British Airways is joining together with Iberia, and Air France with KLM, where they represent 24% of world traffic and they are considered small. Imagine our region. First, we need to grow. Second, we need hubs in Chile, Peru, Ecuador and now Argentina. We have always wanted to be the Singapore [Airlines] or Cathay [Pacific Airways] of South and Central America. When someone flies to South America, we want them to think about flying on LAN.

How are you achieving the record performance in the difficult operating environment?
The region has been growing like never before in history. We have very strong currencies in the region. So when we had to increase rates, we passed along the cost in dollars. Because the currencies were revaluing, the impact in local currency was much less. We are also working in very strong markets. The difference between LAN and other airlines is the way in which the cargo and passenger businesses complement each other to allow us to achieve significantly better results.

What role does cargo play?
We are far and away the largest cargo airline in Latin America. When currencies are strong, imports grow in importance. Transport rates have less on an impact on imports than exports. If you pay two or three dollars per kilo to ship imported technology and components in South America, one dollar more in transport costs is practically nothing compared to the total value of the merchandise. When you export asparagus and sell it at US$4, if transport goes up a $1 than, your costs increased 25%. Fortunately, increased costs [for LAN] came when less-price-sensitive cargo was growing.

Why are you expanding cargo operations on Colombia and Central America?
Cargo, unlike passengers, goes only one way. A passenger normally comes and goes. Not cargo. If computers are imported, you don’t take them back the next week. For that reason, traffic is entirely unbalanced. Our cargo operations with all-cargo aircraft require multiple traffic rights. Colombia is a big cargo exporter, especially to the United States. Central America, too. We lacked service [to these areas]. What we are trying to build a cargo gateway to Latin America from Miami.

What about the alliance with Brazilian airline TAM?
The Brazilian market is very large and we have always wanted to do something with Brazil. We have flights to Brazil from all of the South American countries where we operate. There’s important domestic traffic within Brazil and there are TAM passengers that want to fly within South America, to Buenos Aires and later to Santiago o to Lima and then Cusco.

Many Chilean multi-latinas are sold when the company reaches the stage of entering Brazil. Is there any possibility that LAN will be sold?
LAN is worth 4Bi (US$4 billion). LAN is worth more than British Airways. It is not going to be easy for someone to buy LAN. To the contrary, we need to understand what is happening in the world and take advantage of our current valuation.

President, Casa Editorial
El Tiempo

ACHIEVEMENTS Santos led Casa Editorial El Tiempo’s transformation from the country’s leading newspaper

El Tiempo into a multimedia operation with record profits of US$40 million in 2007. The group’s ad revenue is outpacing the market and the US$338 million strategic alliance with Grupo Planeta of Spain has positioned El Tiempo to expand its TV operations with a bid on a commercial broadcasting license.

BACKGROUND When Santos returned from studying journalism in Kansas in 1970, he led a shift to integrated management of Colombia’s largest newspaper El Tiempo. In 1996, he was named president of Casa Editorial El Tiempo. Santos is a member of one of the country’s most prominent families—his brother, Juan Manuel, is minister of defense, and his cousin, Francisco Santos, is vice president of Colombia.

“Everyone has to work for the same purpose, the audience, not a specific product. What we want is to aggregate audiences.”

MEDIA

EL TIEMPO FOR CHANGE
During the past year, Luis Fernando Santos has led Colombia’s leading daily, El Tiempo, through one of the most dramatic years in its almost 100-year history. In 2007, the family-run newspaper achieved record profits and signed a strategic alliance to sell a majority share for US$338 million to Spain’s Grupo Planeta. Santos talks to Latin Trade about taking the company into a new era.

What is the hardest part of building a multimedia platform?
Today, the audience sets the conditions. It’s an ever-changing audience. Every day it has different devices, different habits and less free time, but it is interested in being informed. We have to respond to these audiences with digital platforms, television, mobile phones and the Internet. We started 10 years ago to move toward this idea with our portfolio of products.

How do you make the multimedia strategy coherent?
Obviously, coherence has to do with content generation. It was as easy as saying 100% of the publishing house’s content will go to a database. From this database, we can take content to enrich all of our products. Everyone has to work for the same purpose, the audience, not a specific product. What we want is to aggregate audiences. It sounds simple as a concept, but it took us four years to create the culture.

Print media continues to represent the largest share of your revenues. What’s the role of multimedia?
I have no doubt that part of the success in 2007 has to do with multimedia sales. The change in the sales area was just as hard as the newsroom because we had to change salespeople’s mentality from selling quarter pages, certified circulation, pop-ups on the Internet, and 30-second TV spots to selling niches, audiences and aggregated audiences. Nonetheless, “other revenues” [which includes multimedia] now represent 25% of the publishing house’s total revenues and we are doubling sales every year. The most interesting aspect is that the clients that buy multimedia packages are growing faster than those that don’t.

Why did you look for a partner?
This company is about to celebrate 100 years. We have a very broad shareholder base, with almost 32 families. The publishing house’s equity structure included a lot of fourth and fifth generation owners, which is typical for a family-owned business. In addition, we foresaw an increasingly competitive environment. The shareholder composition and the competitive environment led us to the decision that we needed a strategic partner. We started the process in 2006, and it was very successful, because we had seven international groups interested.

Of those seven groups, you went with Grupo Planeta. Why?
Planeta has a strong brand in the region with more than 40 years of history. For the last 10 years, the group has been entering media. They bought Antenna 3 and La Razon. They have a good track record with alliances, which was important to us. Now, they want to become a very aggressive player in the region. They saw El Tiempo as the tip of the spear for the region.

You talk about expanding beyond ColomBia. How?
Acquisitions. I am convinced—and this has nothing to do with Planeta—that the next five years will see a shake up in ownership of media groups in Latin America. All the families are in the fourth and fifth generation. All are in very competitive situations. For the same reasons that we did it, they are going to wind up doing it too.

ACHIEVEMENTS Tata launched a major expansion in Latin America, with a service center in Guadalajara, a US$200-million outsourcing deal with the Social Security Institute of Mexico (IMSS) and major contracts with ABN Amro bank (now Banco Santander) in Brazil, the Civil Registry in Chile and Banco Pichincha in Ecuador. It employs more than 5,000 professionals in Latin America and caters to more than 150 clients in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.

BACKGROUND Ramadorai led Tata Consultancy Services’ creation of Offshore Development Centers in India—a cornerstone of the company’s growth into a US$5.7 billion software and services companies with more than 110,000 associates in 53 countries. Ramadorai, who learned mathematics from his father and earned degrees in physics, electronics and computer science, started as a trainee engineer 36 years ago and became CEO in 1996.

“In the future, delivery will not be out of India alone.”

TECHNOLOGY

OUT-SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
Shortly after joining the Tata Group 30 years ago, Subramaniam Ramadorai set off to the United States to open the first international office of Tata Consultancy Systems (TCS). The idea? Instead of importing people to do information technology work, Ram—as he is known—wanted to show that U.S. companies would import services from the same people living in their home countries. Today, TCS is a leading global tech services firm with US$5.7 billion in revenue and more than 116,000 IT consultants worldwide in 42 countries. Ram talks to Latin Trade about developing the business and expanding in Latin America.

How did Tata Consultancy begin?
The Tata Group has always been renowned for its pioneering spirit. Among the many firsts to its name are the founding of India’s first steel mill, its first luxury hotel, its first airline and its first passenger car. Tata Consultancy Systems was created in 1968 to provide computer services to other Tata group companies. The first software export project was undertaken in 1974. Shortly after I joined the company I was sent in 1979 to America and I spent two years knocking on the doors of countless American firms and remained persistent in the face of immense rejection. It paid off when the company won its first customers and proved it could stand on its own feet.  Dealing with adversity only makes a company stronger. If everything is peaceful, individuals and the organization as a whole aren’t pushing themselves to do their best.

How did you identify the opportunity to establish Offshore Development Centers (ODCs) in India?
India had a large resource base of educated professionals and a strong educational eco-system steeped in science and math. Since there was no domestic market for IT services in India, TCS was forced to look at international markets. From the outset, Offshore Development was a strategic partnership between TCS and its customers, to ensure that each customer’s unique business goals and objectives were met. In the future, delivery will not be out of India alone.

The model seems to have been transformed in recent years to develop Centers in Latin America? Why?
ODCs in Latin America, and indeed in other locations such as China, enable customers to benefit from onshore and offshore services in their same time zones and language, as well as with geographic and cultural proximity. In Latin America, we want to tap both the fastest growing IT market worldwide and the talent pool in these countries toward servicing the firm’s global clients across the world.  Today, we provide high quality IT services, business solutions and outsourcing to over 150 regional and global clients across 14 countries in Mexico, Central America, South America, Spain and Portugal.

What has been the key to convincing others to support your project?
Persistence. Since our beginnings in 1968, when we were set up to serve other Tata Group companies with second-hand IBMs and an early ICL machine, TCS has had to overcome challenge after challenge. In the early days, when I joined the company, the government did not make it easy for companies such as TCS to import computers, as there was a suspicion they would serve to displace jobs. As a result, TCS had to pay tariffs of over 100% on new computers. TCS persisted, and by the late 1990s, amongst fears about the ‘Y2K’ bug, the value of its work started to gain global recognition. Today, TCS is India’s largest software company, which is surely proof that persistence pays off.

ACHIEVEMENTS Biosidus, the biotechnology division of Sidus, has pioneered the use of transgenic cows to produce human growth hormones that help children grow and fight cancer, among other applications. With sales of US$40 million and 250 employees in 2007, the company has expanded its efforts to produce genetically modified fruits and vegetables.

BACKGROUND At age 17, Argüelles (now 62) joined the family business that was focused on medicine for children with dwarfism symptoms. In the 1980s, Argüelles led the company into biotechnology with its “Pharmaceutical Dairy Barn” project to manufacture drugs using animals, not industrial processes. It was the first to clone a cow in South America.

“[Manufacturing medicines using animals] has a very promising future because it offers an alternative to produce new molecules in large quantities at low cost.”

BIOTECHNOLOGY

THE PHARMACEUTICAL DAIRY BARN
Biotechnology firm Biosidus emerged in the 1980s from a 70-year-old, traditional, Argentine pharmaceutical company, Grupo de Empresas Farmacéuticas Sidus. With sales of US$40 million and 250 employees, Biosidus has become the pioneering biotech firm in Latin America through innovative use of transgenic cows to produce human growth hormones.  To learn more about its origins and the company’s progress, Latin Trade talks with Sidus Chairman Marcelo Argüelles.

When did the company start and when did you get involved?
Sidus is a family-owned company that just celebrated its 70th anniversary. My father and uncle started the company and it began as a typical Argentine pharmaceutical company, producing products like calcium and cough medicine. At the beginning of the 1980s, the company took the strategic decision to create Biosidus, which today is the star of the group. I have worked all my life in Sidus. I started to work here at 17 years old and now I’m 62. At the beginning, I worked in the marketing area, which was my specialty, but later, with the creation of Biosidus, I shifted to the strategic design of biological and biotechnological integration.

Did you imagine that you would work your entire life in the company?
Yes. I was lucky to work for a number of years with my father, who was my mentor and who taught me everything that I have contributed to this industry. I never thought about other alternatives.

How was Biosidus created?
All pharmaceutical companies, be they small, mid-sized or large, share the objective of integrating toward two areas: pharma-chemistry and biology. Argentina has a very important scientific substratum in biology and we understood that there were opportunities to begin developing in the field of biology, which later became biotechnology. Initially, Biosidus started as the biotechnology area of Sidus, but we realized later that it was going to be necessary to create a different structure for Biosidus.

How is the company positioned in the market?
Right now, I would venture to say that Biosidus is the only company of its kind in Argentina and Latin America.

What is Biosidus’ export strategy?
The company is looking to enter into the principal international markets; in some we have already signed contracts. We are currently exporting 70% of our production, principally to Latin America. Brazil, Mexico and Colombia are among our top markets.
We also have an important presence in the Middle East and Asia, in countries like China, India, Thailand, Pakistan and Indonesia.

What type of technology is Biosidus’ developing?
We use traditional technologies of biotechnology production, which are cellular cultures and bacterial fermentation. Biosidus is working on the production of recombinant proteins in transgenic animals.  Our transgenic cows of Pampa variety produce human growth hormones in their milk. Our Porteña cows produce bovine growth hormones, while the Patagonia cows produce insulin. [Manufacturing medicines using animals] has a very promising future because it offers an alternative to produce new molecules in large quantities at low cost.

What has been your biggest challenge as head of the company and how have you overcome it?
The principal obstacles have been the macroeconomic situation of our country, the financial-economic difficulties and the lack of risk financing in emerging countries. Biosidus has been financed by a group of pharmaceutical companies. It is also very necessary to have a group of talented people so that we can compete with the big multinational companies.

“Right now, I would venture to say that Biosidus is the only company of its kind in Argentina and Latin America.”