Mariano Vargas, COO of the family company Beneficiadora Santa Eduviges, visited INCAE on July 1st to participate with Executive MBA students in a class of the Creating Value with Values course. Mariano was the protagonist of the "live case" of this Costa Rican company, which produces, processes and sells specialty coffees in Costa Rica and abroad. The case was organized by the Strachan Chair of Philanthropy and Social Investment and led by its director, Professor Andrea Prado.
Each year, Costa Rica exports more than one million bags of gold coffee to different destinations around the world, always standing out for its flavor, smell, texture and body, as unique features within the world supply. For Mariano Vargas, member of the fourth generation of the Vargas family, being part of the legacy of coffee growers of the Santa Eduviges Coffee Mill has motivated him to stay in the business, and has driven him to take the name of Costa Rica higher and higher in some of the most demanding coffee tastings in the world.
In order to share his experience with the Executive MBA students of INCAE, Mariano visited the campus last July 1st, to conduct a "live case" where he shared three challenges faced by Beneficiadora Santa Eduviges during 2019. At that time, Mariano and his team were looking for ways to increase soil productivity, optimize operations during the harvest period, and diversify the markets served by the company.
The overall challenge of the case was to define strategies to ensure the long-term sustainability of the business. The students discussed as a group possible recommendations, which they then shared with Mariano in a plenary session facilitated by Professor Prado. To conclude, Mariano shared with the students the decisions he made to address these challenges; thus giving real-time feedback to the students about his recommendations.
"Bringing in a young entrepreneur like Mariano Vargas allows students to learn innovative practices with high social and environmental impact that leaders in the region are promoting in their companies. The live case allows them to identify with someone who a few years ago was in their same position, as Mariano is a graduate of the Executive MBA of INCAE. We hope that they will remember this experience from the positions they assume when they leave INCAE, and that they will be inspired to exercise responsible leadership," said Prof. Andrea Prado, director of the Strachan Chair.
For his part, Mariano left as advice to the students: "Not all entrepreneurs are businessmen, and not all businessmen are entrepreneurs ... It is important to surround yourself with objective people who will manage to land the speech, to whom you can comment on an idea and who can validate a hypothesis without having to sin in failed attempts."
The "live case" methodology promotes a discussion around a challenge faced by a company or organization. The objective is that students can propose solutions to meet the challenge. After listening to the recommendations made by the group, the protagonist of the case reveals what was done, what worked and what did not. This allows to create a dynamic learning space with concrete and real examples, as well as to receive real time feedback on the recommendations given.
The Strachan Chair was founded by entrepreneur, philanthropist and former Chancellor of INCAE, Harry W. Strachan. It is funded by the Strachan Foundation and friends of Bain Capital, with the objective of promoting social investment strategies. Periodically, the Chair organizes live cases with entrepreneurs from the region who are generating social and environmental impact, so that they can share their experiences and lessons learned with the students of INCAE .
