Daniel Chavez Moran: Creating More Value

Retired Mexican entrepreneur Daniel Chavez Moran learned from his mother, a great teacher who dedicated her life to helping children combat ignorance and poverty, that the true measure of a man’s success is not what he makes of himself but how he helps others. That is why Daniel Chavez Moran created Fundación Delia Moran A.C. in 2002 to help young children whose day-to-day life is a constant struggle to survive. That is also why he founded the non-profit Vidanta Foundation, with a primary goal of promoting the social sciences and culture of Latin America as well as promoting corporate social responsibility. A recent paper published by the Harvard Business Review explains the impact corporations can have in creating even more economic and social value for the communities they serve. Here are excerpts:

Companies must take the lead in bringing business and society back together. The recognition is there among sophisticated business and thought leaders, and promising elements of a new model are emerging... 

The solution lies in the principle of shared value, which involves creating economic value in a way that also creates value for society by addressing its needs and challenges. 

...Capitalism is an unparalleled vehicle for meeting human needs, improving efficiency, creating jobs, and building wealth. But a narrow conception of capitalism has prevented business from harnessing its full potential to meet society’s broader challenges. The opportunities have been there all along but have been overlooked. Businesses acting as businesses, not as charitable donors, are the most powerful force for addressing the pressing issues we face. The moment for a new conception of capitalism is now; society’s needs are large and growing, while customers, employees, and a new generation of young people are asking business to step up. 

...The concept of shared value, in contrast, recognizes that societal needs, not just conventional economic needs, define markets. It also recognizes that social harms or weaknesses frequently create internal costs for firms—such as wasted energy or raw materials, costly accidents, and the need for remedial training to compensate for inadequacies in education. And addressing societal harms and constraints does not necessarily raise costs for firms, because they can innovate through using new technologies, operating methods, and management approaches—and as a result, increase their productivity and expand their markets.

Related posts: Daniel Chavez Moran on sustainable development and Daniel Chavez Moran celebrates the growing role of women.

Daniel Chavez Moran On Revitalized Trade Relations

Building on lessons learned from his career as developer of five-star hotels and resorts, golf courses, vacation ownership resorts and tourism infrastructure throughout Latin America, the now-retired Mexican philanthropist Daniel Chavez Moran founded the non-profit Vidanta Foundation in 2005 to support public policies that strengthen democracy and promote economic and social development in Latin America.

With positive international relations and integration of the region in the global economy being key to that vision, Chavez Moran notes this news of successful trade meetings between Canada and Brazil as published by CBC News:

Canada signed a series of agreements with Brazil Monday that Prime Minister Stephen Harper says will boost business ties and increase the flow of goods and people between the two countries. 

Harper and President Dilma Rousseff signed the pacts on air travel, pension benefits, international aid and other areas at the presidential palace in Brasilia. 

Brazil is the first stop on Harper's six-day tour of South and Central American countries that will see him try to improve trade relations in perilous economic times. 

The agreements signed Monday will enhance Canada's competitiveness and translate into other benefits for Canadian businesses and consumers, Harper said in a release announcing the agreements. 

“Brazil is a major global economic player and a key priority market for Canada,” said Harper. “These agreements will benefit both countries by promoting greater two-way flow of people, goods and services, enhancing our competitiveness and further strengthening our partnership in key areas of shared interest.”

Related posts: Daniel Chavez Moran notes economic news and Daniel Chavez Moran on contemporary inter-American relations.

Daniel Chavez Moran: Investing in Infrastructure

A retired businessman, Daniel Chavez Moran understands the value of investing in infrastructure improvements for future growth. Through his philanthropic work with the non-profit Vidanta Foundation, he seeks to promote scholarship in the social sciences to influence the formulation of public policies that strengthen democracy and economic sustainability for the future of Latin America.

Chavez Moran notes with interest this recent technology article from The Atlantic, a U.S. publication, on how expanded broadband internet access in Latin America can create a pathway to jobs:

Is a poor broadband network holding back the region's economy? Investing in infrastructure doesn't mean just roads and bridges anymore.
In the days of the Great Depression, governments built roads and bridges in an attempt to nudge the economy into a recovery. Is expanding the broadband network the 21st-century equivalent? 

Latin America is ripe for such an effort, argues Raul L. Katz of Columbia Business School. The underdeveloped broadband network there is holding back the region from faster economic growth. 

In 2008, 5.5 percent of people living in Latin America had access to broadband Internet. In Europe and America, around a quarter of people did. Chile, the Latin American country with the most developed broadband network, still has a lower rate of access (8.4 percent) than Greece, the lowest-ranking European country surveyed. 

The potential jobs growth will come from closing the gap between the demand for broadband (estimated based on the size of the Latin American economies) and its availability. The largest gaps are in Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela. Additionally, about 15 percent of Internet users have dial-up connections, many of whom would switch over to faster broadband were it available and affordable. 

Greater Internet access could certainly encourage the development of businesses ranging from small tech start-ups to global firms.

Related posts: Daniel Chavez Moran on the economic outlook for 2011 and Daniel Chavez Moran on Latin America’s decade of growth.

Daniel Chavez Moran Remembers the Victims of September 11, 2001

As the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States nears, Daniel Chavez Moran remembers the victims and their still grieving families from all across the Americas. He was touched by the remembrances recently shared by Colin Powell, the former United States Secretary of State, who was in Lima, Peru, on that fateful day to attend a meeting of the Organization of American States, the 34 democratic nations of the Americas.

Secretary Powell’s reflections as printed in the July/August 2011 issue of Americas, an official publication of the Organization of American States:

...Early that morning, I was having breakfast at the home of President Alejandro Toledo. There were eight of us at the round breakfast table and we were discussing, of all things, cotton textile quotas. President Toledo was anxious for the United States to improve the quotas for Peruvian textiles. Suddenly, my assistant came into the room and handed me a note saying a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. We didn’t know if it was an accident, a mad man, or a terrorist attack. A short while later he handed me a second note which said that another plane had crashed into the second World Trade Center tower. It was definitely a terrorist attack... 

At the conference, my colleagues extended their condolences and promised support in responding to the crisis. I thanked them and said the best immediate support they could provide was to pass the Democratic Charter so terrorists would see that we remained steadfast to our principles, even in a time of tragedy. The Charter was passed by a vote of acclamation. 

In the ten years since, the Charter has grown to become a defining standard of democratic ideals in the Americas. Just before leaving the conference on the morning of 9-11, I made a statement that ten years later seems as relevant today as it was on that fateful day:

“A terrible, terrible tragedy has befallen my nation, but it has befallen all of the nations of this region, all the nations of the world, and befallen all those who believe in democracy. Once again we see terrorism, we see terrorists, people who don’t believe in democracy— people who believe that with the destruction of buildings, with the murder of people, they can somehow achieve a political purpose. They can destroy buildings, they can kill people, and we will be saddened by this tragedy; but they will never be allowed to kill the spirit of democracy. They cannot destroy our society. They cannot destroy our belief in the democratic way...”

Related posts: Daniel Chavez Moran on partnering with the Organization for American States and Daniel Chavez Moran on international solutions to strengthen democracy.

Daniel Chavez Moran: Opening Doors to the Future

Daniel Chavez Moran eagerly awaits the announcement of the winners of the 2011 Vidanta Foundation Prize for "Contributions to the Reduction of Poverty and Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean." A jury meeting on August 26th in Cancun, Mexico, will select first, second and third place winners from among the more than 200 nominations received.

The annual Vidanta Foundation Prize is a joint initiative by the Organization of American States (OAS), the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) and the Vidanta Foundation, the nonprofit organization founded by retired businessman and philanthropist Daniel Jesus Chavez Moran.

Its aim is to provide recognition and support for outstanding projects carried out in Latin America and the Caribbean. The prize helps open the doors to the future, with a first place award of $100,000; a second of $75,000; and a third, $50,000.

Here are excerpts from last year’s announcement by OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza:

October 15, 2010: The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, presented the prizes of the Grupo Vidanta Foundation to the Mundo Mujer Foundation, of Colombia, to the Chilean organization Un Techo para Chile and to Comunidades de la Tierra, of Guatemala, for the work these organizations carry out to fight poverty in the region.

In a ceremony held in the Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City, Secretary General Insulza highlighted the value of the efforts of these organizations, which structure their activities around issues related to poverty. The head of the OAS praised the work of the winners in influencing the elaboration of public policies that fight the causes of underdevelopment and for creating awareness of the negative social effects of inequality and discrimination. 

..."I wish to recognize the talent of our people and the importance of taking advantage of it to benefit others,” Secretary General Insulza said. He added that the prize is given at a time when poverty rates in the region have fallen in recent years, and when despite the crisis Latin America and the Caribbean have persevered. “The reason for this has to do with public policies and with economic growth, but above all with initiatives like those undertaken by these groups, intended to fight poverty.”

Related posts: Daniel Chavez Moran announces Vidanta Foundation Prize entries and Daniel Chavez Moran announces 2011 deadline.

Daniel Chavez Moran on Foundation Advisor Dr. Jorge I. Domínguez

Founded by philanthropist Daniel Chavez Moran, the Vidanta Foundation is a non-profit institution focused on the promotion of Latin American studies, and the analysis of Latin American international relations and strategies for a positive integration of the region in the global economy.

Along with Dr. Roberto Russell, president of the Vidanta Foundation who was recently appointed to the advisory board of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, an equally esteemed advisory committee helps to guide the work of the Foundation.

The committee includes Dr. Jorge I. Domínguez, the Antonio Madero Professor for the Study of Mexico, vice provost for international affairs, special advisor for international studies to the dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, and chairman of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies at Harvard University.

His current interests center on comparative politics and international relations in Latin America, United States-Latin America and United States-Mexico relations and issues relating to public opinion and democracy in Mexico.

Along with numerous awards, distinctions and publications, among notable recent works is “Contemporary U.S.-Latín American Relations. Cooperation or Conflict in the 21st Century,” edited by Dr. Domínguez and Rafael Fernández de Castro. This book, from a project funded by the Vidanta Foundation, brings together a collection of essays on the relations of various countries in the region with the U.S. in the last decade.

Related posts: Philanthropist and retired businessman Daniel Chavez Moran on the path to Mexico's future and Daniel Chavez Moran on the affiliated institutions of the Vidanta Foundation.

Daniel Chavez Moran: Rising Retail Sales

An accomplished businessman and entrepreneur from Mexico, the now retired Daniel Chavez Moran built his businesses with a reputation for service and a skill for responding to marketplace opportunities. Chavez Moran read this retail news in the Wall Street Journal with interest for the growth opportunity it shows for Latin America in the global retail market.

Adidas Sees Latin America Helping It Meet 2015 Sales Target

BUENOS AIRES (Dow Jones)--German sportswear company Adidas AG (ADS.XE, ADDYY) hopes to ride its ubiquitous brand to sharply higher sales over the next five years as it piggybacks on improving lifestyles and rising disposable income in emerging markets like Latin America.

Adidas is the world's second-largest maker of sports goods by revenue after Nike Inc. (NKE), and is synonymous with soccer across much of the world.

The company is on track to meet its target to increase net profit 10% to 15% this year amid steady growth in sales, Chief Executive Herbert Hainer said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires on Thursday.

Adidas has plans to increase its total sales 42% to 17 billion euros ($24 billion) by 2015, from EUR12 billion last year, Hainer said.

Today, Latin America accounts for about EUR1.3 billion, or 10%, of its annual sales. While its operations are growing worldwide, the company expects brisk sales to continue in Latin America thanks to rising incomes in the soccer-mad countries.

Adidas has enjoyed eight years of double-digit sales growth in the region, said Charlie Maurath, head of Adidas Latin America, at a press conference. The pace has been even higher in Argentina, where sales have grown at an annual rate of about 25% in the last few years, said Walter Koll, the director of Argentina operations.

Philanthropist Daniel Chavez Moran, through his work with the Vidanta Foundation, studies the challenges and opportunities faced by the nations of Latin America in the 21st century global economy. Related posts: Daniel Chavez Moran on Latin America's fast-growing retail market and Daniel Chavez Moran on Latin America’s decade of growth.