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Cecilia Morales Mena '10, Mexico
“I think Thunderbird’s program is helping me to become a better manager for my company so that I can achieve its growth and stability.”


Cecilia Morales Mena '10

Armored cars and bulletproof vests aren’t just the stuff in movies. Thanks to a prestigious award won by Cecilia Morales Mena ’10, they may be the next products offered by her Mexico-based security company.

In September 2009, Morales Mena was named Entrepreneur of the Year in Mexico by the U.S. Pathways to Prosperity program. The endeavor, supported by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, aims to support businesswomen all across the globe, create business opportunities and continue the amicable relationship between the United States and Latin America.

Morales Mena’s company, Yleg SA de CV, was founded in 2005. She provides security equipment for public and private police, security personnel, cash transportation companies, and private security companies.

“I want to grow my company and begin manufacturing armored cars and bulletproof vests,” explains the 29-year old Mexican native. “I would love to have branches around the country and start exporting my products. I would also like to create a nonprofit organization to help Mexican entrepreneurial women start or grow their businesses.”

With lessons learned through Thunderbird and Tec de Monterrey’s joint Global MBA for Latin American Managers program and the Pathways for Prosperity opportunity, Morales Mena feels one step closer.

“I have already gained strategic thinking skills and a global business perspective, and I now have finance and accounting skills that have made me a stronger leader,” Morales Mena says of her Global MBA curriculum. “Being a media major, I always knew I needed more business training, which I’m gaining. I also think the State Department’s program has been an incredible inspiration, and I would love to bring that idea of encouraging and supporting women to my country.”

In addition to hosting a business convention in 2010 that will expose Morales Mena to other entrepreneurs, the Pathways to Prosperity Program offers a personal business mentor and performance assistance to her business.

When she attended the convention in 2010, Morales Mena says she was confident she could share valuable Thunderbird business knowledge with other female entrepreneurs: a global perspective, macro and micro economic factors that could affect businesses differently, leadership skills, competitive strategies and a broader view of how business can be conducted beyond borders.

Even though she’s juggling both her studies and her business, Morales Mena wouldn’t have it any other way. “I really like to conduct continuous research so that I can offer different products that help our societies to feel and to be safer. I also love the possibility of being a source of jobs that contribute to my country’s economy.”

Read more about Cecilia Morales Mena >>