El Jefe

This week continued pretty much the way it started; going on over night routes in the convenience channel.  I must say, working over nights is no fun.  It completely threw off my time schedule for sleeping, eating, etc.  I was getting to sleep around 5 or 6 and waking up between 12 -2.  I wonder how long it takes for your body to adjust fully to working that shift??  I hope I never have to find out.

So as I mentioned last time, on Friday we were to meet Daniel Servitje, CEO of Grupo Bimbo.  Little did I know that we were going to attend his Q1 meeting that is broadcasted to all our business divisions across the entire world...... and have to get up to present ourselves...... in Spanish!!  First off, what a production this meeting is.  There is a producer type person, a PR person, and tons of other people around helping out.  They have cameras set up in two locations; one filming the podium and one filming the crowd.  There are about 140 people in the room and over 1,000 people watching from the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and China.  Plus Daniel Servitje is sitting in the very front row.  To say I was a little bit nervous to present my self is an understatement.  Good thing it was only a 30 bit to say who I was, where I am from, my time/position in Bimbo, and how long I have been in Mexico.  Before the meeting, I jotted down what I was going to say and felt a little more confident.  However, once you get up there in front of all those people and realize how many other people are watching, it gets a little nerve racking.  I think I did well though.  I felt my voice was a bit shaky and I said I had been in Mexico for almost 2 years instead of 2 months but you can't win them all.  It was kind of an honor to be able to do that.  I mean, there were people on almost every continent in the word watching and now, they technically have heard of me.  I think that is pretty cool.

The meeting basically covers Q1 results and Q2 priorities.  Needless to say, Daniel is an excellent speaker.  He has a good command of the room and knows his business very well.  In closing, he spoke about a couple things I thought were interesting.  He talked about Grupo Bimbo as a company with over 65 years of operation and that a company with that many years might be mature and stagnant.  That is not how he feels about GB at all.  He showed a picture of a young boy holding a soccer ball and said that it represents our company.  We are future looking, eager to grow, learn, and make progress.  He talked about us as builders, not bakers.  Builders make things to last.  We are building a foundation for the future and will continue to develop as a company far into the future.  I thought this was important, especially being that I am young in this company.  There is so much opportunity in Grupo Bimbo for both business and personal growth.  At the center of our values are People and I think GB truly live by those values.  After the meeting we got to chat with Daniel for a little bit.  For a guy of his status, he is super down to earth.  You wouldn't even know that he is the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company.  I can add this to the list of experiences that I feel very honored and fortunate to have had.
       

 The podium.

 Future BBU CEO?!?!  Haha just kidding!!

 Shot from the podium.  My man Lalo holding it down.

After the meeting, we went back to the hotel, got a couple hours of sleep, and went right back to work on the night routes.  This time we were with the Supervisors so it was a bit more relaxed.  We go with them to stores and they show us what they do, which is basically the same thing the supervisors did in the other channels; Supervise. 

Funny story:
So we were in one 7/11, which on a Friday night, has a bunch of cute girls coming in and out, and this tall women walked in.  We were doing our bread thing and she kept looking over at us.  When we were getting ready to leave, she walked over and started talking to us in perfect English.  Her name is Shamila Cohen and come to find out she is a famous actress and Playmate here in Mexico.  She came over because she really liked Joe.  She was basically totally focused on him and being pretty forward.  "You have beautiful eyes" she told him.  She also asked him if he was married and to hang out.  I was dieing.  I thought it was the funniest thing.  Joe gave her one of his cards and they are now Facebook friends.  The whole situation seriously made my night.

Today, we went to Estadio Azteca to watch Club America take on Cruz Azul in the Torneo Clausura.  These two teams are huge rivals here in Mexico and Azul needed a victory in order to move on to the playoffs so this game was a big deal.  Bimbo sponsors America so we asked our supervisor if he could get us some tickets.  Well, he pulled through huge and got us seats literally almost on the sidelines. 

 Estadio Azteca is the largest stadium in Latin America and the 5th largest in the world.  It holds 105,064 fans.  It has hosted two World Cups and one Olympic final.  Today, the stadium was almost full.  With no traffic, it would probably take about 30 minutes to get to the stadium.  We left an hour and a half before the game and still missed half of the first half (and 3 of the 4 goals btw).  Just getting into the stadium was a chore in itself.  You are literally standing back-to-chest with the person in front and behind you. 

 Yeah, those were our seats.  Pretty baller huh?

The Cruz Azul fans (top) sit on one side and the Club America fans (bottom) sit on the other side.  They both chant back and forth the ENTIRE game.  Just jumping up and down, waving their flags, and singing their teams songs.  It is quite a spectacle in itself. 

 During halftime some of our mascots came out.  Can you spot Ocito??

 There he is!! 

The Club America mascot is an Eagle.  During halftime it comes out and flies around.  It is one bad a** bird!!

Us after the game.  The game ended in a 2-2 tie which means Azul is not moving on.  Jose is a huge Azul fan so we were routing for them to win.  It was an awesome game though.  One of the cooler sporting events I have ever been to.

Tomorrow morning, actually this morning since it's after midnight, Jose, Joe and I are leaving for Guadalajara for a month.  We will be learning the Autoservicio channel which is the supermarkets.  I have heard Guadalajara is beautiful so I am looking forward to the change in scenery.  Plus it should be a nice change of pace.  Corrin is already over there so it will be nice to hang out with her some too.  Shout out to Corrin (if you're reading)!!  Tuesday is Labor Day in Mexico so we have the day off which is nice.  Until next time people.....