Jose Ruiz

A study to quantify and map the quality of human capital in 2008 and 2013

If we consider talent to be a global commodity, as precious as oil or water, then it should be possible to analyze it as a commodity; to predict its supply and demand. The Global Talent Index, developed in collaboration with the Economist Intelligence Unit, explored the distribution of talent in the world in 2007 and 2012.

When we developed the Global Talent Index, only three Latin American countries – Argentina, Brazil and Mexico – were included; their low performance within the global context came as no surprise.  The Latin America Talent Index uses the same methodology but allows closer examination of the region’s talent pool by assessing: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.

In the past, the challenge for Latin American companies has been access to capital and technology in a market dominated by exporting, mining and agribusiness, oligopolies and government controlled companies. Business interests were dependent on government actions and vice versa. Leadership was important, but not a key success factor in fostering corporate growth and profitability.

Unprecedented advances have occurred since the early-1990s, helped by the opening up of markets, deregulation, the modernization of economies, greater integration and interaction with global markets, the development of local financial and capital markets, and the creation of large global companies headquartered in the region (‘multi-latinas’).  As a result, leadership and talent have started to emerge as important competitive factors. The 2008 global financial downturn has created new priorities and placed new demands on the current leaders. In the short term, companies may be concerned with quarterly results but in the long term the differentiator will be their ability to identify, develop and retain highly qualified talent. The Latin America Talent Index reveals such talent will continue to be scarce over the next five years, posing a challenge to companies and economies eager to continue their growth and consolidation.

Permanently reversing this trend relies heavily on government policies, business strategies and cultural values, and practical results may take time to appear. But as soon as awareness is raised amongst businesses, governments and individuals, and affirmative action adopted, the present and projected talent shortfall will start to be reversed.

This study represents an important first step in this process.

Manoel Rebello, Regional Managing Partner, Latin America
Heidrick & Struggles

| Download Full Latin America  Report (PDF document)

| Download Full Global Report (PDF document)

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NEW YORK and CHICAGO, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ — Heidrick & Struggles, the leading executive search and leadership advisory firm, has placed the top two executives of government-sponsored mortgage finance company, Freddie Mac, in the past three months.

Heidrick’s search on behalf of the company for a new Chief Executive Officer culminated in the appointment of Charles E. “Ed” Haldeman, Jr., formerly Chairman of Putnam Investment Management, LLC, in July. Bruce Witherell, formerly Managing Director of Morgan Stanley, was named Chief Operating Officer in September.

“This is a critical time for Freddie Mac — its appointment of exactly the right candidates in these two key leadership roles will have a significant impact on the stabilization and recovery of the U.S. housing market,” says Keith Meyer, Vice Chairman at Heidrick, who led the search. “It is an honor for Heidrick and Struggles to have been a part of such an important process.”

“The appointment of the right CEO and COO is always critically important to the future success of the enterprise, but for Freddie Mac the stakes are of national importance,” Jory Marino, Managing Partner, North America said. “The positions require a broad mix of leadership skills, financial acumen, and vision. Ed Haldeman and Bruce Witherell perfectly embody these attributes.”

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The Mexico City office recently hosted a CEO Roundtable on Succession Planning with Stephen Miles (Atlanta) as the keynote speaker.

The event was attended by 64 CEOs and Chairmen of some of the most important companies in Mexico, including Advent, Alstom Power, AMGEN, Bayer, Bearing Point, Burger King, Cadbury Schweppes, Ch2MHILL, Coty, Daemon Quest, EMC, Estee Lauder, Genomma Lab, Grupo Coraza, Jorisa Group, Johnson & Johnson, Juniper, MAERKS, Merz Pharma, Neolpharma, NFL, Nissan, Roche, SAS Institute, Schoeders, Siemens, Standard Chartered, Stryker, Superama, Wamex and World Access among others.

Juan Ignacio Perez (Mexico City) opened the event by asking the attendees whether it is possible to establish succession plans in such a dynamic environment and what factors should be considered.  

Stephen’s thought-provoking presentation was based on the articles “Succession Planning: How Everyone Does It Wrong” and “Succession Planning: How To Do It Right” which were recently featured in Forbes magazine. During his keynote, Stephen stressed the importance of promoting and establishing corporate governance practices to help ensure proper succession planning, with direct impact on company value.

Addressing the questions of whether succession plans are possible or altered when the environment changes, Stephen commented that succession plans are not subject to any landscape or specific environment issue, but ideal candidates must know how to react in all kinds of situations: “If the environment is changing and the plan of succession is broken, then it is a sign that it was not properly built in the first place.”

“The attendees were clearly engaged thanks to a great, robust presentation,” said Juan Ignacio. “It was an extremely valuable morning filled with useful information and the opportunity to build and expand our client relationships.”

About Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.
The world’s premier provider of senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services. The firm’s executive recruiters and leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. In Mexico, Heidrick & Struggles operates offices in Mexico City and Monterrey. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles please visit www.heidrick.com 

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Mexico’s troubled oil industry – How many Mexicans does it take to drill an oil well?
Oct 1st 2009 | MEXICO CITY
From The Economist print edition

More than 140,000, and even then they’re not very good at it. For this, now acute, problem, blame the politicians

IT IS bad enough that Mexico’s economy is in deep recession, triggered by its close links to the ailing United States. To make matters worse, the country’s oil industry, its fiscal cash-cow for the past three decades, is declining swiftly (see chart). As recently as 2004 Cantarell, the country’s main offshore field, produced 2.1m barrels per day (b/d) of crude. Now its output is just 600,000 b/d. There are no obvious replacements: 23 of the 32 biggest fields are in decline. Barring big new finds, the world’s seventh-largest oil producer is forecast to become a net importer by 2017.

The Mexican treasury is ill-prepared for this. Taxes and royalties from Pemex, the state-owned oil monopoly, have accounted for almost two-fifths of federal revenues in recent years, compensating for one of Latin America’s weakest tax regimes (which collects just 11% of GDP). If oil output drops below 2m b/d, as many industry-watchers fear, the government would be forced to cut spending by more than 10%—or jack up taxes correspondingly, to avoid an unsustainable budget deficit. This might threaten economic recovery…

|Read Full Story at Economist.com

About Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.
The world’s premier provider of senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services. The firm’s executive recruiters and leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. In Mexico, Heidrick & Struggles operates offices in Mexico City and Monterrey. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles please visit www.heidrick.com

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