Connections eMagazine

By Maria Fernanda Cobo

IBM has launched a new global program called The Greater IBM Connection, an initiative focused on strengthening the collaborative network of colleagues and leaders that have played a role in the success of our business. The new program encompasses both current and former IBMers and provides an exclusive stage to create collective intelligence and promote cross-generation innovation efforts, in order to stimulate our business, insights and Value contacts.

In Mexico, this collaborative network started with three meetings led by Rodrigo Guerra, general manager, IBM Mexico 1980 - 1995; Alfredo Capote, general manager, IBM Mexico 1995 - 2000, and Alfonso Alva, director, Mexico manufacturing plant, 1990-2003. These three leaders shared the meaning of “Being IBM” and know first-hand how IBM lays the foundation for a professional life of success.

"One of the things that used to happen to me at IBM was thinking that the world started and ended with IBM. Today I know there is a diversity of worlds and forces pushing the dynamics of markets. If there is something that IBM gives us is that it makes us extremely competitive and efficient at the points we dominate, and once you get out it is evident that the competencies that you have a professional are High-Value qualifications," said Guerra.

Capote said, "It is incredible to see that the generation of knowledge changes societies completely. The essence of IBM is the importance it bestows on its people. What gives IBM its entrepreneurial and innovative character is that its people are able to generate knowledge, and this makes us unique in the market."

"At IBM we realize that we can do more than what we believed we were able to do. For us, nothing is impossible, and every minute we invest in IBM, we are redesigning our professional career as we grow and take on new challenges," added Alva.

Capote says IBM is an Entrepreneurial company at its core. "IBM generates value through knowledge of its clients and markets. This trait is its main asset, which is also mirrored by its capacity for transformation: the dynamics of the client and of the market are IBM’s dynamics."

How to grow at IBM?

Guerra says, "We must take advantage of our global reach—learning from others outside will allow us to develop integrated knowledge; we must learn from each position we are appointed to. Every position has its challenge and is an opportunity for development. When assuming a leadership position, let’s always consider honesty, loyalty and reliability."

According to Capote, the key to growth inside IBM is to innovate: "Our concern with continued improvement, looking one step ahead, makes us innovative. Let’s understand the market in depth, and look to innovate in something for which the market is willing to pay. But innovation is also a personal thing: we must strive to be better persons day after day, and develop a spirit of constant change to experience absolute happiness."

Alva added: "We must enjoy and feel great passion for what we do, we must have our goals clear, always try to team, particularly with those who think completely differently from us, and maintain a collaborative spirit, always ready for change, keeping in mind that we have to serve a wider audience than ourselves—we have to serve IBM, the community, the industry, and above all, our work colleagues."

Executive Profile

Rodrigo Guerra

• CEO and general manager, IBM Mexico, 1980-1995.
• Past executive president (1991), CETRO, a private-sector trust for the support of micro, small and medium companies in the country. He was vice president, COOPARMEX, and president of the Importers and Exporters Association of Mexico.
• President, Universidad Regiomontana, Since 2001.

Alfredo Capote

• CEO and GM, IBM Mexico, 1995-2000.
• Member of the Board of the Monterrey Institute of Technology, the Executive Committee of the Nacional Federation of Private Business, and of the National Institute of Finance Executives.
• President of FUNDES (Fundación para el Desarrollo Sostenible / Foundation for Sustainable Development).

Alfonso Alva

• Manufacturing director, IBM Mexico, 1990-2003.
• Past Chairman of the Board, Instituto de Fomento al Comercio Exterior (Foreign Trade Promotion Institute) of Jalisco State.
• Chairman, Institute of Information Technologies, at the Monterrey Institute of Technology, Guadalajara Campus.