Eugenio Garza Sada

Eugenio Garza Sada was an industrialist in the city of Monterrey, Mexico best known for founding the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) 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 Roberto 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.