Eugenio Garza Sada

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Eugenio Garza Sada bigraphy, stories - Founders

Eugenio Garza Sada : biography

January 11, 1892 – September 17, 1973

Eugenio Garza Sada (born January 11, 1892 died September 17, 1973) was an industrialist in the city of Monterrey, Mexico best known for founding the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM in Spanish) school system in the country. Garza was born into a business family, with his father founding the Cuauhtémoc Brewery in Monterrey in 1890. After Garza graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he began to work at the brewery, working his way up in the company to eventually take over as director after his father died. Garza and his brother grew the company into a conglomerate and instituted various innovations including benefits and social services for employees. Garza’s inspiration for founding ITESM came from his experience at MIT, as well as the desire to decrease Mexico’s dependence on foreign expert help. He remained the head of ITESM’s board until his death in 1973, as a result of a failed kidnapping attempt.

Life

Eugenio Garza Sada was born on January 11, 1892 in Monterrey, Mexico. He was the fourth of children of Isaac Garza Garza and Consuelo Sada Muguerza de Sada. Ortiz p.13 Both parents came from highly influential business families. His paternal grandfather, Juan de la Garza Martinez, was mayor of Monterrey in the mid 19th century, building the Templo del Roble church in 1853. Ortiz p.16 His father founded the Cuauhtémoc Brewery along with José Calderón Muguerza in 1890 with the help of foreign capital. Ortiz p.18 His birth and early upbringing coincided with the industrialization that was taking place under the Porfirio Díaz regime at the end of the 19th century and very early 20th.

Garza’s upbringing with was religious and conservative, initially attending Marist schools. Ortiz p.13-15 It also revolved around the brewery business, visiting his father at the plant often. Ortiz p.20 He attended primary school at the Colegio de San Juan in Saltillo, Coahuila, two days away from the family home. He attended middle school in Monterrey at the Colegio Hidalgo. Their religious background also led the family to a history of philanthropy, especially supporting hospices such as Melitón Villareal and León Ortigosa in Monterrey, which Eugenio continued later in his life. Ortiz p.57 In 1909, Monterrey experience severe flooding. The Garza house, which survived, became a shelter for the homeless and the company helped with reconstruction efforts. Ortiz p.22

This disaster was followed shortly after by the Mexican Revolution, which required the family to leave Mexico in 1913 and seek asylum in the United States, living in Brownsville and St. Louis . Ortiz p.22-26 He continued high school at the Western Military Academy, a military academy in the United States. He then went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, obtaining a bachelors in civil engineering in 1916. Along with going to school, Eugenio worked as a store clerk and an usher in a theater. During the war, the family house survived but not the original brewery which was destroyed or left in disrepair. Although the family continued to regain control of their properties, Garza’s father felt it was best that Eugenio and his younger brother Roberto continue their education in the United States, not only because of the advanced technology but also because there was more order there. This experience left an impression that would later led to the formation of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education .

In 1917, he returned to Mexico with his brother Roberto and both began working to rebuild the Cuauhtémoc Brewery, which the family had recovered. However, despite being the son of one of the principle founders and a MIT graduate, he was relegated to an inferior position and had to work his way up. Ortiz p.52-53

In 1921, he married Consuelo Lagüera Zambrano. The couple had eight children. Garza’s career was focused on the brewery, which he eventually directed and grew into a conglomerate called Grupo Valores Industriales, S.A. He is considered to be one of the most responsible for the growth of the state of Nuevo León in the 20th century. Most of what he founded still remains. However, he is best known as the founder of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, a private high school/university system in Mexico. He was described as modest, austere, frugal and of few words by various people, including his children. Ortiz p.11 Although he was a millionaire, he rode in an antique car, had only three suits in his closet, all the same cut and color and generally wore cheaper shoes. He reinvested his money rather than spend it on lavish things. Ortiz p.12 His hobbies were gardening and music.