The first edition of E. León Jimenes Speaker Series met in Santo Domingo two global references of economic thought and innovation.
Among them, the participation of the Dr. Ricardo Ernstinternational expert in value chains globals, whose intervention provided a strategic view about the challenges and opportunities you face Latin America in the current context.
Ernst, with a career spanning more than three decades in logistics research, competitiveness and global operations, analyzed recent changes in world trade, particularly the shift of the model offshore towards schemes nearshoring.
As he explained, this shift opens up new possibilities for the region, as long as it is committed to structural strengthening and the added value. In his words: “Latin America It has to go from simply being the region in which we enhance the raw material to the region in which we enhance added value“.
The academic also stressed the importance of regional integration as a condition for compete on a large scale. And he emphasized that the fragmentation limits development and that cooperation models, similar to those that inspired CAFTA, could be expanded to form a robust economic bloc.
This vision aligns with his work at the head of the Latin American Leadership Program (LALP), an initiative that promotes the training of leaders committed to regional progress.
Challenges that affect the productivity
During the day, Ernst also addressed the cultural challenges and structural that affect the productivitypointing out the need to balance the emotional dimension characteristic of Latin America with practices more oriented to efficiency and technology.
Likewise, he highlighted the role of the youth as key agent of transformation, remembering that the region has one of the most promising demographic sectors in the world.
Ernst’s participation, along with that of the economist Mariana Mazzucatostrengthened the mission of Speaker Series: offer a space where global knowledge dialogues with local realities to promote more innovative and sustainable decisions.
This effort seeks to promote a purposeful leadershipcapable of converting complex challenges into engines of growth and institutional development.
