Bernardo Garza Sada (1930 – 7 November 2009) was a Mexican businessman who founded the Grupo ALFA conglomerate in 1974. He also served as ALFA's former president. Additionally, Garza Sada was a member of the company's

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

for two decades. Garza Sada, a graduate of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT), is credited with turning Grupo Alfa into a diversified conglomerate with

revenues In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive revenue ...

of $10.6 billion

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

in 2008. ALFA currently consists of four major operations and

consortia A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a co ...

as of 2009 - Alpek, which produces

petrochemicals Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable so ...

and

synthetic fiber Synthetic fibers or synthetic fibres (in British English; see spelling differences) are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis, as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms, such as plants like cott ...

; Sigma, which manufactures food;

Nemak Nemak, S.A.B. de C.V., known as Nemak, is a global automotive parts manufacturing company headquartered in García, Nuevo León, a municipality next to the City of Monterrey, Nuevo León, México. The company manufactures a wide range of automotiv ...

, which builds automotive parts; and Alestra, which consists of ALFA's

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

arm. Alfa also produces televisions, machinery, and has assets in Mexico's

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

sector. Garza Sada also championed the modernization of

Monterrey Institute of Technology Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM; ), also known as Technological Institute of Monterrey () or just Tec, is aresearch university based in Monterrey, Mexico, which has grown to include 35 campuses located across 25 cit ...

, one of Mexico's most important

private universities Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

. Bernardo Garza Sada died at his home in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

, Mexico, on November 7, 2009, at the age of 79. He was survived by his wife and three children. In a statement released posthumously, ALFA called Garza Sada, "Leader and

visionary A visionary, defined broadly, is one who can envision the future. For some groups, visioning can involve the supernatural. Though visionaries may face accusations of hallucinating, people may succeed in reaching a visionary state via medita ...

businessman, promoter of

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and

social responsibility Social responsibility is an ethical concept in which a person works and cooperates with other people and organizations for the benefit of the community. An organization can demonstrate social responsibility in several ways, for instance, by do ...

, driving force for the growth of the company and the country."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garza Sada, Bernardo 1930 births 2009 deaths Garza Sada family Mexican company founders Businesspeople from Monterrey Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni