Annual Forum
The VIF Forum is the most important event of our organization.
Since 2008, our forum has managed every year to bring together over 500 business people, investors, opinion leaders, politicians, entrepreneurs, pundits, and students to hear and share ideas that will assist our country in its development.
The VIF Forum makes it possible to generate intellectual capital and visualize investment opportunities both in Mexico and abroad.
This Forum is a place to share valuable ideas that can add multiple benefits to all its participants; it also seeks to join forces and resources in favor of Mexico’s social wellbeing.
When interests are aligned, everyone wins.
Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio, founder and CEO of Bridgewater Associates, the biggest hedge fund in the world.
José Antonio Fernández Carbajal
José Antonio Fernandez Carbajal, President of the Administration Committee at Fomento Económico Mexicano (FEMSA) and of the Technological Institute and of Superior Studies of Monterrey (ITESM).
Neera Tanden
Neera Tanden, American domestic policy advisor and President of the Center for American Progress touches on the commercial, political and social relationship between Mexico and the US.
Premio VIF Embajadores
Dr. José Sarukhan, biologist researcher and former dean of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), teaches us about Mexico’s advantage in biodiversity.
León Krauze
The Mexican journalist, writer and host León Krauze, was the moderator in the tenth edition of VIF.
VIF Coyuntura
Jesús Silva-Herzog, Carlos Puig, Javier Tello and León Krauze debate over the social and political environment surrounding the Mexican presidential elections.
VIF Innovación
High impact ideas: Someone Somewhere, a platform that helps indigenous artisans to better connect with clients all over the country. BRIQ.MX, an internet platform that connects potential investors to participate in real estate projects.
Leon Krauze
Mexican reporter, host, and writer León Krauze was the moderator of the ninth edition of the VIF Forum
VIF Coyuntura
Enrique Krauze, and Jesús Silva-Herzog spoke about the economic, political, and social context in Mexico. They shared their opinions on relevant issues such as corruption, the independent candidates and the relation between Mexico and United States.
VIF Innovación
One high impact project: Matt Dalio CEO of Endless Mobile a firm that has developed a free educational operating system meant to be useful without internet.
Ernesto Torres Cantú
Ernesto Torres Cantú is the CEO of Citibanamex, a firm with more than 30 thousand employees in Mexico.
Mauricio Leyva
Mauricio Leyva CEO of Grupo Modelo, company that sells the best-selling beer in the world.
Enrique Hidalgo
Enrique Hidalgo CEO in Mexico of ExxonMobil, the largest energy company in the world.
VIF Inversiones
Three firms share a specific investment idea; Martín Werner from DD3 Capital Andres Maza, from GBM Global and Fernando Sordo from Acacia Capital.
Security Panel
Security experts, Carlos Puig, María Elena Morera and Eduardo Guerrero, discuss about the current security context in Mexico and the rule of law in Mexico and its consequences.
Independent Candidates for the Presidency of the Republic
Emilio Alvarez Icaza and Pedro Ferriz de Con, two independent candidates for the Presidency of the Republic, spoke about the importance of citizen participation, political parties and the context of Mexico in the 2018 elections.
National Anti-Corruption Panel
Luis Pérez de Acha, Commissioner of the National Anti-Corruption System, and Juan Pardinas, Director of IMCO, spoke about corruption in Mexico and the challenges and opportunities of the National Anti-Corruption System.
Josefina Vázquez Mota
Josefina Vázquez Mota, economist and mexican politician. She is one of the candidates of the Estado de México governors of PAN political party
Hans Humes
Hans Humes is the Chairman and Founder of Greylock Capital, an investment firm that focuses on emerging markets worldwide.
Carlos Rojas
Carlos Rojas, Founder and Chairman of Rotoplas, told us about the challenges and opportunities arising from the scarcity and quality of water. Nowadays, Rotoplas is present in 12 countries, has 0ver 2,500 employees and 23 thousand points of sale, and serves around 8 thousand direct clients.
Alejandro Ramírez
Alejandro Ramírez, Chairman of the Mexican Council of Business, told us of the role of the business sector in Mexico, its challenges, and its opportunities. Alejandro Ramirez is also the CEO of Cinépolis, the largest Mexican cinema chain, with over 200 million visitors per year.
Xavier López
Xavier López Ancona is the founder of one of the most successful Mexican startups: Kidzania. Nowadays, it has 10 million visitors per year, and can be found in nearly 20 different countries, including Japan, India, the UK, Brazil and, more recently, Russia.
Javier Arrigunaga
Javier Arrigunaga is the Chairman of Aeroméxico, the largest Mexican airline. The company operates over 600 flights per day to 86 destinations in four continents, and has a fleet of over 100 aircrafts. In 2015, the company transported over 18 million passengers.
VIF Embajadores
Diego Luna is a well-known Mexican actor and director. Diego Luna told us about the current situation of Mexican Cinema and where we are headed.
Max Kaiser
Max Kaiser is the Director of Anti-corruption of the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO). Currently, he is a UN advisor on matters regarding the fight against corruption and government purchases. He participated directly in the group that drafted and negotiated the Law against corruption in government contracting, released in 2012.
VIF Coyuntura
Opinion leaders, such as León Krauze, Carlos Puig, and Jesús Silva-Herzog spoke about the economic, political, and social context in Mexico. They shared their opinions on relevant issues such as corruption, the peso devaluation, Pemex, the progress of Reforms, and the independent candidates.
VIF Inversiones
Two investment firms will share a specific investment idea for the Mexican stock market; GBM Global, an investment fund of Grupo GBM; and Sabino Capital, a Mexican research and investment firm.
VIF Innovación
High impact ideas: Nebia, a startup that produces showers that save 70% more water than a conventional shower. Reserbus, an online and mobile platform to purchase bus tickets to anywhere in Mexico.
León Krauze
Mexican reporter, host, and writer León Krauze was the moderator of the eighth edition of the VIF Forum.
Enrique Ochoa
Enrique Ortega is the CEO of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), he is also professor of Constitutional Law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico . He was appointed Vice President of the Latin American Regional Business Council of the World Economic Forum. In June 2015, Oil & Gas magazine recognised him as Man of the Year.
Alfredo Harp
Alfredo Harp is one of the best investors in Latin America, as well as one of the most successful philanthropists in Mexico. In the ‘70s, he founded Acciones y Valores de México, one of the first brokerage firms in the country. He is currently Chairman of the Alfredo Harp Helú Foundation.
Isadore Sharp
Isadore Sharp is the Founder and Chairman of the Four Seasons luxury hotel chain. Sharp started out in the hotel business in 1960, designing a motel for a friend, which led him to create his own hotel chain in Toronto.
Salim Ismail
Salim Ismail is the founder and CEO of Singularity University. This organization is based in Silicon Valley, offering education programs, innovative agreements, and business incubator, to help individuals, companies, institutions, investors, NGOs, and governments. Among its founding partners we find Google, NOKIA, and LinkedIn.
Carlos Puig
Carlos Puig is the anchor of TV interview program “En 15”, broadcasted daily on Milenio Televisión, and he writes for Milenio Diario, where he has a daily column by the name “Duda Razonable”. He is the managing editor of Milenio Digital. He wrote for The New York Times on blog Latitude, and for Bloomberg.
Carlos Elizondo
Carlos Elizondo Mayer-Serra is the host on TV program “entre tres”, broadcasted on TV Azteca; since 1991, he has been a professor, analyst, and researcher at the CIDE (Research Center for Economic Development). He is also part of the National System of Researchers of CONACYT (National Council of Science and Technology) as a Level III […]
Juan Pardinas
Juan Pardinas is the current General Director of the Mexican Competitiveness Institute (IMCO), and he also collaborates with public opinion programs on radio and TV. Before his current position, Juan Pardinas was a researcher for the Center of Research for Development (CIDAC) and a professor at UNAM, ITAM, and LSE.
VIF Inversiones
Stock Investment Ideas: Three firms will share a specific investment idea for the stock market. GBM Global, an investment fund of Grupo GBM; Sabino Capital, a Mexican analysis and investment firm; and Arcano Group Spain, a mutual fund based in Spain.
VIF Innovation
High Impact Ideas: Big Data; Intelimétrica is a company devoted to the generation of quantitative intelligence and solutions based on Big Data. Crowdfunding; Fondeadora is the most important crowdfunding platform in Latin America; it has financed the realization of over 400 projects.
León Krauze
Mexican reporter, host, and writer León Krauze will be the moderator of the seventh edition of the VIF Forum.
Hank Paulson
Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., headed former President George W. Bush’s economic team and, as of 2008, faced the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. He headed the US treasury in July 2006, with over 32 years of experience in the financial world.
Carlos Puig
Carlos Puig is the anchor of TV interview program “En 15”, broadcasted daily on Milenio Televisión, and he writes for Milenio Diario, where he has a daily column by the name “Duda Razonable”. He is the managing editor of Milenio Digital. He wrote for The New York Times on blog Latitude, and for Bloomberg.
Carlos Elizondo
Carlos Elizondo Mayer-Serra is the host on TV program “entre tres”, broadcasted on TV Azteca; since 1991, he has been a professor, analyst, and researcher at the CIDE (Research Center for Economic Development). He is also part of the National System of Researchers of CONACYT (National Council of Science and Technology) as a Level III […]
Salomón Chertorivski
Salomón Chertorivski has a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University; he is the head of the Mexico City Department of Economic Development. In 2011, former President Felipe Calderón appointed him Minister of Health.
Tom Barrack
Tom Barrack is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Colony Capital, a private capital investment fund for real estate. Barrack has invested around US$60 billion in assets worldwide. He was Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior during former President Reagan’s administration.
Alberto Torrado
Alberto Torrado was one of the founders of Grupo Alsea in 1989 with the opening of the first Domino’s Pizza in Mexico. Alberto was corporate director of DIA from 1998 to 2001; in 2002, he was Chairman of the Board of Alsea, and from 2005 to 2007, he was General Director.
Gabriela Hernández
Gabriela Hernández is the General Director of General Electric (GE) in Latin America. She headed the Ministry of Communications and Transportation between 2007 and 2009, first as General Director of Telecommunications and Broadcasting Policy, and then as Undersecretary of the agency.
José Antonio Meade
José Antonio Meade is a Mexican economist and attorney, Minister of Foreign Affairs on President Enrique Peña Nieto’s cabinet. During Felipe Calderón Hinojosa’s presidential term, he was Minister of Energy and Minister of Finance and Public Credit.
Javier de la Calle
Javier de la Calle is the General Director of Nacional Monte de Piedad. Before this, he was General Director of IXE Banco, and Deputy General Director of Banamex. He holds a Master’s in Business Management from IPADE. He was named one of the 300 most influential leaders in Mexico by magazine Líderes Mexicanos.
Álvaro Uribe
Álvaro Uribe obtained a PhD in Law and Political Science in 1977. Later, he would specialize in Administration and Management at Harvard University in 1993. From 1995 to 1997, he was Governor of Antioquia. On May 26, 2002, he was voted President of the Republic of Colombia in the first round of elections.
Mario Molina
Dr. Mario Molina was the first Mexican to be awarded the Nobel Prize of Chemistry. He currently chairs the Mario Molina Center for Strategic Studies in Energy and the Environment. He is a professor at the University of California in San Diego. He holds 7 Doctorates Honoris Causa, and over 10 worldwide acknowledgments.
Alejandro Ramírez
Alejandro Ramírez is the Deputy General Director of Cinépolis. He worked as Mexico’s Deputy Permanent Representative before the OECD in Paris, France. He was Technical Minister of the Human and Social Development Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic. He has collaborated with the World Bank in Washington, D.C., among other positions.
Manuel Medina Mora
Manuel Medina Mora is the co-president of Citigroup and Chairman of Banamex’s Board. He holds a master’s from Stanford Graduate School of Business. From 1996 to 2001, he was General Director of Grupo Banamex-Accival.
Juan Pardinas
Juan Pardinas is the current General Director of the Mexican Competitiveness Institute (IMCO), and he also collaborates with public opinion programs on radio and TV. Before his current position, Juan Pardinas was a researcher for the Center of Research for Development (CIDAC) and a professor at UNAM, ITAM, and LSE.
José de Jesús Valdés
José de Jesús Valdés is currently the General Director of Alpek. He started working in Alfa in 1976. He has chaired the Board of the National Chemical Industry Association, the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of the Mexican Republic, and the Chamber of the Transformation Industry of Nuevo León.
Isaac Volin
Isaac Volin is the Mexico and Latin America CEO of BlackRock. Previously, he was Vice-President of Financial Planning at Consar (the national pension savings system) for four years, and he was at the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) for six years. BlackRock is an investment management firm.
Gerardo Zamorano
Gerardo Zamorano is the Investment Director and Member of the Board for Investments in Emerging Markets at Brandes Investment Partners. He focuses his research on the telecom sector. Formerly, he worked for the World Bank at the International Finance Corporation in the Latin America department.
Felipe Vergara
Felipe Vergara is a Co-Founder and CEO of Lumni Inc, a social company that seeks to create a philanthropic market to invest in human capital. He has also created three other companies in the fields of education and finance, and has been a consultant for McKinsey at the New York and Paris offices.
Claudio X. González G.
Claudio X. González G. has a PhD in Law and International Relations (1991) and a Master’s in Law and Diplomacy. He cofounded and is a patron and Chairman of Mexicanos Primero, A.C.; he was a cofounder of Fundación Televisa, A.C.; he also cofounded and is a member of the technical committee of BÉCALOS.
Armando Laborde
Armando Laborde has been the Director of Ashoka for Mexico and Central America since 2006. He was the first CEO of ProMujer México from 2002 to 2006, and part of the founding team of FinComun Servicios Financieros Comunitarios, where he collaborated from 1994 to 1999.
Claudio X. González Laporte
Claudio X. González Laporte is one of Mexico’s most influential entrepreneurs. He chairs the Board of Kimberly Clark de México and the Mexican Business Council (CMN). He has also been a member of the boards of Grupo Carso, América Móvil, Televisa, General Electric, Unilever, Home Depot, and Kellogg’s Company.
Álvaro Rodríguez
Álvaro Rodríguez is the Director and founder of IGNIA. Before founding IGNIA, he was the CFO of Vitro. In 2005, he was awarded “Young Global Leader” (YGL) by the World Economic Forum.
Alonso Quintana
Alonso Quintana has been the CEO and General Director of Empresas ICA since July 2012. He also chairs the Executive Committee and is a member of the Board. Before taking on his current position, he was Head of Finance from 2007 to 2011. During that period, he secured the financing for the fastest growth in […]
Francisco Gil Díaz
Francisco Gil Díaz is the CEO of Telefónica in Mexico and Central America. Before that, he headed Mexico’s Ministry of Finance and Public Credit during Vicente Fox’s administration; he was also Vice-Governor of the Mexican Central Bank and a member of the Board of Banamex-Accival.
Íñigo Meirás
Íñigo Meirás, CEO and Managing Director of Ferrovial. This is one of the largest infrastructure companies in the world, with assets such as Canada’s 407 ETR and the main airports of London, including Heathrow.
Josefina Vázquez Mota
Josefina Vázquez Mota is a Mexican economist and politician, and member of political party Partido Acción Nacional (PAN). During Felipe Calderón Hinojosa’s presidency, she headed the Ministry of Public Education. She was also the first woman to run for president with one of the main political parties.
Manlio Fabio Beltrones
Manlio Fabio Beltrones is a Mexican economist and politician, and member of political party Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). He was Governor of the State of Sonora, a federal deputy, and a senator, where he presided over the Chamber of Senators at one time.
Marcelo Ebrard
Marcelo Ebrard is a Mexican Politician who was the Mayor of Mexico City for a term. He chaired the UN’s Global Network on Safer Cities from 2012 to 2014. In December 2010, the World Mayor Project acknowledged Marcelo Ebrard as the Best Mayor in the world.
John Mack
John J. Mack is the President and CEO of Morgan Stanley. He was formerly the President of Pequot Capital Management, Co-CEO of Credit Suisse Group, and CEO of Credit Suisse First Boston.
José Antonio Chedraui
José Antonio Chedraui is a member of the Board and General Director of Grupo Comercial Chedraui. He was an outstanding rider who represented Mexico at the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 and in Beijing in 2008.
Francisco García Paramés
Francisco García Paramés is an investment manager from Spain. In 1989, he joined Bestinver Asset Management, property of multinational company Acciona where, after 2 years as an analyst of Spanish securities, Paramés has turned Bestinver into the European benchmark for Value Investing.
Carlos Salinas de Gortari
Carlos Salinas de Gortari is a Mexican economist and politician. He was president of Mexico from December 1, 1988 to November 30, 1994. Before that, he was minister of programming and budgeting during Miguel de la Madrid’s presidential administration.
Carlos Labarthe
Carlos Labarthe is the cofounder and CEO of Compartamos Banco de México. He is also a member of the board of Gentera, advisor of Controladora AT and Worldfund, a member of Ignia, and Chairman of the Board of Promoción Escolar, S.C.
Antonio Del Valle
Antonio Del Valle is currently CEO and Chairman of Grupo Empresarial Kaluz and Mexichem; he was formerly President of Bancrecer and Bital. He has chaired the center for Economic Studies of the Private Sector (CEESP), and the Mexican Bankers’ Association. In 2004, he was awarded the Medal for Entrepreneurial Merit by Anahuac University.
Roberto Hernández
Roberto Hernández is a Mexican investor and entrepreneur. Alongside Alfredo Harp, he cofounded Accival in 1971, where he acted as Chairman of the Board until 2003. He was also part of the Board of the Mexican Stock Exchange from 1974 to 1979.
Emilio Azcárraga Jean
Emilio Azcárraga Jean has been the Head of Grupo Televisa since 1997; moreover, he is a business advisor for Banamex-Accival, Hombres de Negocios, and Univisión, as well as for the “Ciudad de México”, Endeavor, and Axo groups. On March 24, 2000, he was named Chairman of the Iberoamerican Television Organization (OTI).
José Antonio Fernández Carbajal
José Antonio Fernández Carbajal is currently the CEO and Chairman of FEMSA. He was formerly the Vice-President of Sales for Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, and held leadership positions in various companies such as Gamesa, Dreis & Krump, Cuprum, Grupo Visa, and Oxxo.
Whitney Tilson
Whitney Tilson is a US investor, founder of T2 Partners, where he manages investment funds focused on Value Investing. Tilson is also a cofounder of Value Investor Insight, a newsletter about investments, and of the Value Investing Congress, a conference on investments.
Pedro de Garay
Pedro de Garay is currently a member of the development board of Anahuac University, and Portfolio Manager at Grupo Bursátil Mexicano (GBM).
Kenneth Shubin Stein
Kenneth Shubin Stein is the founder and head of Spencer Capital Management; he is also an associate professor at Columbia Business School. He formerly worked as a portfolio manager for Promethean Investment Group. Moreover, he was an analyst of medical technology for Abernathy Group in New York.
Guy Spier
Guy Spier manages Aquamarine Fund; he is the General Director of the Spier family’s office, and he acts philanthropically as chairman and founder of the Weizmann Science and Business Club. He is also a co-host of TEDxZurich. He worked as an investor banker in New York, and as a management consultant in London.
Mohnish Pabrai
Mohnish Pabrai is an Indian entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He founded Dakshana, and won the 1999 KPMG Illinois High Tech Entrepreneur Award. He has published the Low Risk Value Method to high returns.
