Limpiemos Nuestro México Cleanup Campaign Is Back

Azteca’s Latest
Novela, La Loba
page 3
March 2010 • Num. 25
Ricardo Salinas
Presents at TED
2010
page 6
Limpiemos Nuestro México
Cleanup Campaign Is Back
Fundación Azteca has teamed up with
Mexico’s Environmental and Education Ministries, Grupo Bimbo and
Grupo Alen for the triumphant return
of the Limpiemos Nuestro México
cleanup campaign.
The 2009 Limpiemos Nuestro México
campaign had the goal of collecting
1,000 metric tons of garbage, with the
base participation of 50,000 volunteers. The actual turnout was over one
million people, with 3,500 metric tons
of garbage collected, vastly exceeding goals.
With additional partners, the campaign is once again expected to surpass goals for the next action day,
which will be on Sunday, March 21.
“We are changing habits and spreading the word about throwing litter
where it doesn’t belong,” said Ricardo
B. Salinas during the kick-off event in
February.
cont. p. 4
Washington
Awards and
Celebrations
page 7
Esteban Moctezuma; Fernando González, SEP; Bimbo CEO Daniel Servitje; Education Minister Alfonso
Lujambio; Ricardo Salinas; Environment Minister Juan
Rafael Elvira; Sandra Herrera, SEMARNAT; Carlos
Septién; Ma. Carmen Gómez, Grupo Allen and Gustavo Guzmán
Elektra Presents Its
“Show Room”
page 10
March, 2010
Innovation at Grupo Salinas
The concept of constant innovation runs throughout our organization from our
Chairman Ricardo Salinas to all of our employees.
Ricardo was present at this year’s TED Conference, where great minds from
throughout the world shares ideas. He has attended this event in the past.
However, this is the first time that he participated as a speaker. He presented
his views on the market importance of the bottom of the pyramid (BOP), in
addition to listening to some of the top thinkers of the world.
Content
He also attended the Edge dinner, hosted by John Brockman, bringing together a select group of about 50 businessmen and thinkers, which included
Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Larry Page and Steve Case, to name a few.
Caminos de la Libertad and
Fundación Freidrich Naumann
This month Elektra will be holding its second “showroom” event, where the
entire product line of Elektra is put on display in a small stadium so that regional managers can decide what their ideal product mix should be. The event
is also used for a sample group of clients to give feedback to ensure that our
stores have the right product mix in every store.
Organize Political Reform
3
Azteca’s Latest Novela, La Loba
3
Names & Faces: Sara Soriano
4
The Best or Ricardo Salinas´Blog
4
Fomento Cultural to Sponsor
Our electronic communication platforms continue to be developed, as we
won an international award for www.ricardosalinas.com. And our Chairman
was awarded the Medalla Mozart for his promotion of the Orquesta Sinfónica
Esperanza youth orchestra.
Hot Art Fair in Mexico Fundación Azteca is now breaking ground for a second rural city or ciudad
rural in Chiapas that will concentrate disperse population with new housing,
education, technology and job opportunities.
ricardosalinas.com Receives iNOVA
5
Ricardo Salinas Presents at TED 2010 6
CHCI International Fellow Arrives
in Mexico
Award
6
7
Washington Awards and Celebrations 7
A Musical Celebration
Finally, we were in Washington last month to congratulate the chief of staff of
Congresswoman Ileana Ross-Lehtinen for outstanding service and celebrate
the third year of our “Issues: Caras y Voces” news segment that spotlights U.S.
Latino leaders.
8
Proyecto 40 Begins Second Universo 40 Journalism Workshop
8
TV Azteca to Broadcast
Pacman Pacquiao-Clottey Bout
9
Grupo Salinas Reports Strong
Results for Fourth Quarter Thank you for your interest,
Luis J. Echarte
and Full-Year
10
Elektra Presents Its “Show Room”
10
Italika Suppliers Visit
Ensamblika Plant
11
Grupo Salinas is...
11
Breaking Ground for Second
2
Sustainable Rural City in Chiapas
12
Values: Customer Focus 13
Contact Information
13
www.gruposalinas.com
Azteca’s
Caminos de la Libertad and
Fundación Freidrich Naumann Latest Novela,
La Loba
Organize Political Reform
TV Azteca is back on track with hit noveConference
las with La Loba, starring Ivonne MonCaminos de la Libertad, an ongoing forum that promotes freedom, joined forces
with Fundación Freidrich Naumann for a conference on political reform entitled
Analisis de la Nueva Reforma Política; La Democracia que Tenemos y el Estado
que Queremos.
The event was held on February 16 on the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
México (UNAM) campus in Mexico City and included participation from top
scholars, intellectuals and electoral institute representatives to discuss issues
such as re-election of members of Congress, reducing the size of the Mexican
Congress and requiring an absolute majority for presidential elections.
3
tero, Mauricio Islas, Mauricio Barcelata
and Rossana Nájera.
The program launched on February 8 on
Mexico’s Canal 13, and February 22 in the
United States on Azteca America. Early
ratings show about a 30% increase from
the program’s predecessor in Mexico.
The story centers around Ángeles
Fernández, La Loba, played by Ivonne
Montero, who is orphaned at birth when
her mother is wrongly incarcerated. As
an adult, La Loba, decides to look for her
biological mother.
On the way, she
finds love and
vengeance.
March, 2010
Names
& Faces
Sara Soriano •
Chief Credit Officer
Banco Azteca
Although Sara has officially been working at Grupo Salinas since 2006, her contact with Salinas companies as a financial
securities lawyer dates back to 1998.
She focused her efforts on Grupo Salinas
operations with two outside law firms, the
first of which she began working at while
still in college. As an outside legal support
team for key transactions, she gained a
unique perspective of operations.
learn,” says Sara. “It’s been a logical progression from consultant to operator.”
When not at Banco Azteca, she enjoys
travelling, reading and living history,
specifically French, Russian and over all,
Mexican history.
She first came in house as part of the
Grupo Salinas legal team, dedicating
herself to portfolio investments. She has
been at Banco Azteca since last year.
Her responsibility is to make strategic
recommendations to the Credit Committee to ensure the proper handling of
bank’s credit portfolio.
After years of legal consulting on credit
activities, she is now making them.
“My position at Banco Azteca has been
an important opportunity to grow and
cont. from p. 1
The Best of
Ricardo Salinas’
Blog
The campaign includes a coordinated
series of television spots on Azteca 13,
Azteca 7 and Proyecto 40 to increase
awareness of the problem of littering
and improper refuse handling in Mexico.
It is estimated that Mexico produces
100,000 metric tons of garbage per
day, and 12,000 metric tons daily in
Mexico City alone. Improper disposal
of garbage creates serious health and
accident risks, in addition to aesthetic
considerations.
Snowball: Many people identify Warren Buffett as one of the richest men in
the world. However, much more interesting aspects of his life are his personality and his business and market philosophy. The Snowball, Warren Buffett and
the Business of Life, by Alice Schroeder, takes a closer look.
Limpiemos Mexico: Fundación Azteca announced the launch of the second
Limpiemos Nuestro México cleanup campaign. We organize this campaign
because we feel that our country urgently needs a change of habits, and we
need everyone’s participation. As a group of companies, were are dedicated
to action. However, we can’t act alone; the government and most importantly
society in general are essential participants. I am pleased to know that we are
convinced about the need to clean up our Mexico. Now we must act.
www.ricardosalinas.com
The Limpiemos Nuestro México mascots
4
www.gruposalinas.com
Fomento Cultural to Sponsor
Hot Art Fair in Mexico Fomento Cultural Grupo Salinas will be the principal sponsor of the Hot
Art Fair México 2010. The announcement was made earlier this year at
the Nina Menocal Gallery in Mexico City as part of the international activities of Hot Art Fair.
In Mexico, the inaugural Hot Art Fair will be held on November 24-28. This will
be the first year that the event will be held outside of Switzerland. Hot Art Fair
Basel, which is held from June 14-29, is now in its fifth year as the premier international
art fair.
The Hot Art Fair creates platforms for the promotion of contemporary artists
and galleries.
Mexican artists have been a key part of past Hot Art fairs in Basel, a role that it expected to further develop with the Mexico City event. The fair is also supported by
the Mexico City Culture and Tourism Department.
Flor Gutiérrez and Emma Hernández, Fomento Cultural Grupo Salinas; Omar Cruz, Rocío
Harispuru, Nelsa Farrugia and Nina Menocal, Hot Art Fair; Mercedes García Ocejo, Fomento
Cultural Grupo Salinas; Juan Luis Morales, Hot Art Fair and Santiago Espinosa de los Monteros
5
Santiago Espinosa, Mercedes García Ocejo, María Laura Medina
de Salinas and Nina Menocal
March, 2010
Ricardo Salinas Presents
at TED 2010
CHCI
International
Fellow Arrives
in Mexico
Ricardo B. Salinas was back this year at TED, the international thought forum held
in Long Beach, California. However, this year he was on stage as well as in the
audience.
He participated in the TED Professors’ Circuit, with a presentation entitled: The
Bottom of the Pyramid to the Rescue of the Global Economy. In his speech, he
emphasized that our most precious global recourse, humankind, is vastly underused.
There are about 5 billion people in the world at the bottom of the pyramid that
are not part of the global market economy, and there is a lot that the private sector can to do to incorporate them. It makes good business sense and good sense,
period.
QuickTime™ and a
Photo - JPEG decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Some of the TED presenters for this year include Benoit Mandelbrot (the father
of fractal geometry), Daniel Kahneman (Nobel Prize in Economics), Michael Specter (staff writer for the New Yorker and author of Denialism) and Steven Wolfram
(CEO of Wolfram Research and creator of the Mathematica software).
The Grupo Salinas-sponsored international fellow through the 2010 partnership with the Congressional Hispanic
Caucus Institute has been selected and
has arrived in Mexico.
The fellow dedicates half of his/her time
studying the Mexican Congress and aiding Grupo Salinas with international activities and the other half with research
projects for U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid.
Rita Rico has a PhD from UCLA in political science and her prior experience
also included work on the staff of Senator Reid.
Her research will give her a unique
insight on the differences between
congresses in the United States and
Mexico. She will also be working with
Fundación Azteca America on several
of its Census campaigns and studying
ways to improve living standards of the
Latino community in the United States.
Ricardo Salinas Pliego; Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos and Bill Joy, Kleiner Perkins
6
www.gruposalinas.com
Washington
Awards and
Celebrations
Grupo Salinas was in Washington
DC last month for a special cocktail
ceremony sponsored by Fundación
Azteca America and the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute.
The ceremony included a special
achievement award for Arturo Estopiñán, chief of staff of the office of
U.S. Congresswoman from Florida,
Ileana Ross-Lehtinen, as well as the
celebration of the third year of “Issues: Caras y Voces,” a special news
segment that highlights leaders of
the Latino community and is aired
on Azteca America in the United
States and Proyecto 40 in Mexico.
ricardosalinas.com Receives
iNOVA Award
The event, which was standing
room only attendance, included top
congressional staff members, key
media, diplomats and other distinguished members of the Washington community. Grupo Salinas was
represented by Nathalie Rayes,
Daniel McCosh, Jaiver Medina and
Armando Guzmán.
The personal website of our Chairman, Ricardo Salinas, www.ricardosalinas.com
has been recognized as top of its class on a global level by iNOVA Awards www.
mercommawards.com.
iNOVA recognizes important achievements in the creative design of Internet sites,
originality, clarity, and relevance of content, as well as user-friendliness and functionality. The universe considered for this award comprised 11 nations, among
which are Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the US, the UK, Switzerland, Singapore and Mexico.
The website of Ricardo Salinas www.ricardosalinas.com received the award for the
importance of its content, its attractive format, and user-friendliness, in the category of personal websites. We invite you to visit the site. Comments are welcome.
7
Award Recipient Arturo Estopiñán, Nathalie Rayes,
Armando Guzmán, CHLI Director Octavio Hinojosa
and Daniel McCosh
March, 2010
A Musical
Celebration
Ricardo Salinas was awarded on January 29 the Medalla Mozart for his effort of promotion with the Orquesta
Sinfónica Esperanza Azteca youth orchestra, part of the Programa Musical
Esperanza Azteca (PROMESA) music
program.
The award is presented by the Academia Medalla Mozart, with the support of the Austrian Ambassador to
Mexico, Dr. Werner Druml, and the
Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes
(INBA).
Universo 40
Journalism
Workshop
Returns
PROMESA is sponsored by Grupo Salinas and Fundación Azteca to educate
youth in excellence, teamwork and self esteem through the development of musical talent.
The project was presented with an inaugural concert in Mexico City that featured
300 youths from the state of Puebla performing music by Beethoven and Handel.
Ricardo Salinas was one of four recipients of the award. In the area of merit and
lifetime achievement, the academy recognized Luis Samuel Saloma and Aurora
Serratos. For performance, the award was given to the Mexican Opera singer
Fernando de la Mora.
Proyecto 40 has begun its second annual investigative television journalism
workshop, Universo 40, with 12 enthusiastic college students from top Mexican universities.
Participants get hands on experience
under the guise of Proyecto 40 reporter and producer Marco Antonio Coronel, as well as news manager Mariana
Ulloa and guest professors and reporters.
Investigations from the inaugural
workshop are currently aired on the
monthly Proyecto 40 program Cazadores de Historias.
8
www.gruposalinas.com
TV Azteca to Broadcast
Pacman Pacquiao-Clottey Bout
The upcoming welter-weight world championship fight between Manny Pacman
Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey, which has been tagged as simply “The Event,” will
be transmitted live on Azteca 13 on March 13.
The match brings together the Philippine seven-division world champion against
the former IBF welterweight champ from Ghana.
The fight will take place in the new Dallas Cowboy
Stadium, which will be adapted for the fight to seat
40,000 spectators. The announcement
was made by promoter Top Rank
during a press conference that
included Dallas Cowboys owner
Jerry Jones, WBO President José
Sulaimán and TV Azteca CEO
Mario San Román. Outside of
Mexico, the fight will be transmitted on closed-circuit pay-per-view
systems.
José Sulaimán (seated); Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (podium)
9
• Pacquiao:
A national idol in the Phillipines has become one of
the most popular fighters
in history. In addition to his
seven world titles, his last
two fights were purchased
through PPV by more than
two million people.
• Clottey:
Born in Ghana and currently a resident of the Bronx.
He returns to the ring after
a decision loss to Miguel
Cotto in Madison Square
Garden. His IBF welterweight title was the result
of a 2008 win against Zab
Judah in Las Vegas.
José Sulaimán with Mario San Román and Rodrigo Fernández
March, 2010
Grupo Salinas
Companies
Report Strong
Results for
Fourth
Quarter and
Full-Year
TV Azteca, Grupo Elektra and Grupo
Iusacell reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter and fullyear of 2009.
Net sales at TV Azteca rose 6% to Ps.
3.10 billion for the fourth quarter and
were up 2% to Ps. 9.97 billion for the
full-year 2009. Meanwhile, EBITDA
increased 12% to Ps. 1.57 billion, a
historic record for a fourth quarter,
and for the year was up 6% to Ps. 4.12
billion, also a record. Market share
of the commercial audience was 41%
for the quarter, thanks to successful
programming in all day parts, most
notably telenovelas, news and entertainment, including the hit musical
reality program La Academia.
Consolidated revenue for Grupo
Elektra was Ps. 11.48 billion for the
quarter and up 2% for the year to
Ps. 42.80 billion. EBITA rose 36% to
Ps. 1.22 billion in the quarter and increased 4% to Ps. 5.64 billion for the
Elektra
Presents Its
“Show Room”
For the second year running, Elektra presented last month its “show
room” in Mexico City. The event uses
a small stadium to exhibit the entire
product line of Grupo Elektra.
The two-day event allows regional
managers to select optimum products lines for their stores, as well as
giving a complete product line perspective for all employees. The second day includes a sample group of
clients that give feedback that is used
in adjusting the product mix at stores.
Emile Sarraf and Ricardo Salinas check out the latest
netbooks
On site are the latest electronics,
computers, white goods, furniture
and motorcycles, from traditional stalwart brands like Sony, LG, Samsung to
new names like Vizio and Haier.
10
year thanks to strong performance in
retailing and finance businesses, as
well as significant cost reductions. At
the end of the year Banco Azteca reported 8.7 million active savings accounts, a 27% increase, and 9.5 million credit accounts.
Revenue at Grupo Iusacell was Ps.
2.76 billion for the quarter and Ps.
11.15 billion for the year. EBITA was
Ps. 516 million in the quarter and Ps.
1.94 billion for the year.
www.gruposalinas.com
Italika
Suppliers Visit
Ensamblika
Plant
At 18 months since its inauguration,
the Ensamblika motorcycle plant was
the host to a visit from top Loncin executives, the primary supplier of Italika components.
Italika CEO Alberto Tanus and Plant
Director Omar Gómez hosted Loncin
CEO Gao Yong, VP of Exports Andy
Gong and VP of Manufacturing Xiao
Gang in a tour that included the Toluca plant and the many developments made since its inauguration,
as well as visits to Elektra stores and
other motorcycle distribution points.
The Italika and Loncin executives
also took advantage of the visit to
sign a quality agreement to ensure
that Italika clients continue to receive the high-level of products that
make Italika number one in Mexico.
Italika CEO Alberto Tanus with Loncin Executives
Signing the Quality Agreement
Grupo Salinas is...
a group of dynamic, fast growing, and technologically advanced
companies focused on creating shareholder value, and improving
society through excellence. By making technology available to all
levels of society, Grupo Salinas foments the development of the
countries where it operates.
www.gruposalinas.com
11
March, 2010
Breaking
Ground for
Second
Sustainable
Rural City in
Chiapas
gural sustainable rural city of Nuevo
Grijalva, which was presented last
year and is internationally recognized as a model development plan.
By bringing together eight small isolated communities, the CRS can provide education and health services
that were inaccessible, while maintaining cultural respect for different
cultures in this development of 2,500
inhabitants.
Fundación Executive President Esteban Moctezuma joined Chiapas Governor Juan Sabines for the groundbreaking of the second sustainable
rural city in the state of Chiapas on
January 31.
The development in Santiago El
Pinar will follow the successful inau-
Sustainable rural cities, known as
CRS for initials in Spanish, are an innovative project that meet the eight
UN Millenium Development Goals
to: eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger; achieve universal primary
education; promote gender equality
and empower women; reduce child
mortality; improve maternal health;
combat HIV/AIDS, malaria,and other
diseases; ensure environmental sustainability and develop a global partnership for development.
The goal is to inaugurate 464 homes
by this summer.
Esteban Moctezuma, Executive President
of Fundación Azteca
Esteban Moctezuma with community leaders of Santiago El Pinar
12
www.gruposalinas.com
Values: Customer Focus
José Ramón Vargas
Chief Designer of Italika
Italika motorcycles are the ones to beat in the
Mexican market. Six of every ten bikes sold in
the country belong to the brand. Behind the
achievement is a team of designers, engineers
and sales people that work together to be the
best.
José Ramón Vargas, chief designer of Italika, in
a fundamental piece of the development of the
motorcycles. He began working in the corporate offices fours years ago in the first stages of
the development of the brand.
His career has grown along with Italika. One of his first tasks was the Italika corporate identity manual. Later, he developed the corporate image and effective sales
promotions. He is currently focused on developing consumer-oriented strategies.
Contact
Information:
“My biggest challenge is to learn from our clients,” says José Ramón. “We live
in a country of constant evolution and our clients constantly demand more from
us. They compare first, and then choose their best option. We have gained acceptance of a Chinese product, breaking the paradigm of Chinese exports being
disposable.”
Investor Relations, Grupo Salinas
Bruno Rangel • (5255) 1720-9167•
[email protected]
Fernanda González Rul •
(5255) 1720-7000 ext. 72539
[email protected]
Today, the brand has its own identity and the support of 500 service centers. Innovation is the strategy to be competitive, as well as knowing clients and habits
to meet design, quality, comfort, functionality and dependability requirements.
Public Relations, Grupo Salinas U.S.
Nathalie Rayes • (818) 683-4178 •
[email protected]
The cost-benefit is very important given that customers look for prices that are in
line with their purchasing power, as well as cutting-edge designs that Italika has
been known for from the start.
“We’re currently working on strategies of ownership pride with a finished product
from our plant in Toluca,” added José Ramón.
The objective is to maintain customer preference. “The volume that we currently
have is impressive and a source of satisfaction that motivates me to improve creative elements,” he added.
Adapting the product to consumer needs and localizing it are two achievements
that have awakened clients to a sense of connection with the Italika brand.
13
Press Relations, Grupo Salinas
Daniel McCosh • (5255) 1720-0059
• [email protected]
“GS Update” Publication Info
Elena Arceo • (5255) 1720-0060 •
[email protected]
Editorial Committee
Daniel McCosh • Bruno Rangel • Elena
Arceo • Arturo Longares • Ana Santín •
Linda Garcidueñas • Alejandro Vázquez
• Carlos Casillas • Mauricio Torres •
Fernanda Gónzalez Rul