About

Our Approach

We are a network of results.

Strategic knowledge and a culture of innovation are the basis of the accomplishments and solutions we have shared with over 1000 clients among a broad field of industries. We approach each of our projects always trying to improve on what we have learned and crafting better implementation of our support system. This is how we create productivity that improves companies and transforms communities.

Our philosophy of constant innovation becomes knowledge, our knowledge becomes flawless execution. We are not just another service provider, we are strategic partners with our clients. We work passionately together so they can fulfill and surpass all their goals. It is a blueprint rooted in a desire to be a great business ally. A path that leads to better operations and increased productivity. Clear strategies and flawless execution foster strong and long-lasting partnerships.

A Story Of Perseverance: The creation of PRODENSA

Just like any great story, it all starts with the seed of a powerful idea.

Don Armando Charles –founder of this company– first conceived the idea that ignited this worldwide company in the early 80s. He firmly believed in its potential even when others around him didn’t have the audacity and vision to be certain of its success.

Mr. Charles, a native of Monterrey, had an inkling of this concept while working in Chihuahua, where he witnessed the promising business implications of US manufacturers bringing their operations south of the border.

There he learned about the process, the implications and the negotiations regarding sheltering operations and contract manufacturing. He was certain that if that industry was booming in border towns in Chihuahua, the infrastructure and industrial spirit of Nuevo León would be an ideal place for its expansion.
An Important Idea, imported
He presented this plan to his former bosses in the company that he used to worked at. They showed moderate interest but nothing came of it. When he left the company in good terms, his only request was simple: let me take this idea with me in order to develop it according to my vision.

He then assembled from friends and family 8 founding partners, who shared the knowhow and the capital to create PROMOTORA Y DESARROLLADORA DEL NORESTE SA DE CV in 1986.
PRODENSA started to operate from a small office above a pizzeria in Vasconcelos Street in Monterrey. Those early years were characterized by constant travelling abroad in order to promote the state of Nuevo León as the ideal place for several US companies, always supported by the then governor of the state Jorge Treviño and PROEXPORT, a government agency advocating for foreign investment.

As predicted when the company was established, it took Mr. Charles and his partners two years to sign their first client: an electronic company that wanted to manufacture its computer keyboards in Mexico. This was the master key that opened PRODENSA to the world.

In Escobedo, Nuevo León, PRODENSA helped to introduce the concept of industrial parks and the professionalization of the manufacturing operations in the state.
Yet, the growing pains of the company were exacerbated amid the political and economic turmoil of the early 90s. It left PRODENSA at the brink of bankruptcy. From a dozen employees and its early success, the company was reduced to only three. All of the founding partners saw no future and decided to leave. Mr. Charles persevered and put all of his and his family future on turning around the situation and making PRODENSA the most powerful business partner a foreign company can have in Mexico. A lofty goal for a bold mind.

It was back to square one. Lots of travels to the Midwest of the United States, mountains of meetings, hundreds of pitches. The hard worked paid off. In a couple of years the company was back on its stride and on an ascendant trend that has not stopped since then. PRODENSA came back stronger, wiser and certain of the possibilities of amplifying its focus to other regions of the world.

The stability at the turn of the century led to the institutionalization of the company –no longer a family business– and a major overhaul of its practices in order to achieve a key component of its way of doing business: The PRODENSA WAY.

This is how through the years PRODENSA found its place in the world. Always guided by professionalism, integrity and care for each and every one of its employees.

Who We Are

Who We Are

The Team

The leaders that shape our new challenges. Leaders on worldwide industry insights. Each of them an expert on its field and region and how to make the most of it on a worldwide scale. From macroeconomic trends to real understanding at the local level, we are proud to help you maximize your company’s returns through the power of knowledge.

Emilio Cadena

CEO

With a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) and an MBA from the University of Hartford, he has been active for over 20 years in promoting foreign investment for Mexico. Emilio is President of the US-Mexico Foundation, a bi-national non-profit organization dedicated to fostering bilateral cooperation and understanding between the United States and Mexico. He is currently a member of Mexico’s Business Council (CCE), the American Chamber of Commerce Mexico, and the Business Council Steering Committee for the USMCA negotiation. In 2014-2015 he was President of INDEX, Manufacturers for Export Council of Mexico.

Emilio is a guiding mind of The Prodensa Way.

Alejandro Mendoza

President of Real Estate

Rogelio Soto

President Human Resources Services

Marco Kuljacha

President Start up & Shelter Services

Alvaro Garcia

VP of Human Resources

Marcela Cantu

VP of Finance

Maria Elena Sierra

VP of Operations

Enrique Ruiz

VP of Business Development

Carlos Alvarado

VP & Strategic Advisor

Isabel Clavijo

VP of Institutional Relations

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Monica Lugo

Institutional Relations Director

Hector Soto

IT Director

Carlos Loyola

Business Development Director

Gabriela Velarde

Operations HR Services Director

Ricardo Franco

Business Development HR Services Director

Kurt Schmidt

Consulting Director

Alejandro Anaya

Site Selection Services Director

Luis Rodriguez

Construction Services Director

Jose Alberto Ortuzar

International Trade Director

David Antunez

EHS Director

Arturo Quintero

Accounting & Finance Director

Robin Conklen

USA Strategy

Xu Yu

Asia Strategy

Katerine Sheruda

Europe Strategy

HONORABLE MEMBERS

We believe in guidance.

The visionaries of Prodensa, our founder and chairman of the board, are our connection to the community and the people that are the basis for successful client operations. Acting as our moral guidance, they inspire us with their professional ethic to achieve not only great results, but to positively impact the personal growth and wellbeing of our employees.

Armando Charles Lobo

Don Armando Charles Lobo is the Founding Partner of PRODENSA and a reference in the Mexican business world.

He was born in Monterrey in 1943 and spent his childhood in Chihuahua, where he studied at the Instituto Regional all the way through High School.

He came back to Monterrey to study university. On the last two years of his college studies, he started his career as an intern at the Gonzalez Irigoyen & Company Accounting Firm. He graduated with a degree in accounting from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in 1966.

His first job was as chief of credit at Financiera Del Norte, a company part of Grupo Vitro.

Don Armando went back to Chihuahua from 1968 to 1975, where he held several different positions at Aceros de Chihuahua, Troqueladora Magicalor and Nortexport. There he also founded an Accounting and Auditing Advisory firm. These experiences would be fundamental later in his life when he became president of both the American Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Maquiladoras.

He spent five years in Ensenada, Baja California. On this coastal city Don Armando worked for Protexa as General Manager of a fishing company. Upon his return to Monterrey he was entrusted with the General Direction of the Food division of the company. It would be the last position he would hold before creating the company that would define his life.

In 1985 Don Armando became the Founding Partner of what was then known as Promotora y Desarrolladora del Noreste, S.A. de C.V. with a vision of aiding foreign companies to diversify their production within México. This was the start of Grupo Prodensa.

Since then he has worked tirelessly on the expansion of the company. Don Armando has served in several companies as board member and is currently the Honorary Life President of the Board of Directors of Prodensa Global.

David Noel

David Noel is a tireless promoter of values, argueing that they are “the cornerstone to a more humane and just society for all”. This has been his life philosophy, which he has embodied in the works of his authorship, as well as in thousands of conferences at the national and international level. He is a lover of teaching and a mentor of generations, and has taught classes for 97 consecutive semesters. He is the author of 9 books, several of which are used as text in universities in Mexico and Latin America, in addition to hundreds of articles.

He obtained the title of Public Accountant and a master´s degree in Administration with a specialization in Finance, both with honors at the Tecnologico de Monterrey. Since 1972 he began his career as professor and has held various management positions. He was appointed rector of his alma mater in January 2011. His track record and consistency with his philosophy have allowed him to develop strong leadership and moral authority, which has been key to stamping the ethical commitment, citizen engagement and payment of the social activism in managers, teachers, students, graduates and collaborators of the Tecnologico de Monterrey.

He has been honored with numerous accolades. He is a director of companies, civil associations and professional colleges, and has been on the Board of Directors of Prodensa for 15 years. In the last twenty years he has led the construction of 22 community centers in the Monterrey metropolitan area.