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Success in tough times doesn't come easy. But it does come to those who start early and stay with a plan. Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computer, dropped out of college when he found a market for made-to-order computers from his college dorm room 18 years ago. He hasn't changed his successful formula since. "There's a lot to be said about sticking with a model," Dell tells LATIN TRADE.

Like Dell, all of the winners of the Eighth Annual LATIN TRADE Bravo Business Awards have dedicated many years to their cause. They share a common concern for their constituents and clients, a strong belief in integration and, among a number of them, a fondness for the teachings of auto pioneer Henry Ford.

Chile is the oldest and most strident supporter of free markets in Latin America, but President Ricardo Lagos is taking the country's policies to new heights with free trade agreements in 2002 with the European Union and, most likely, the United States. At 44, Salvadoran President Francisco Flares is one of Latin America's most dynamic young presidents. He has embraced dollarization and streamlined bureaucracy while championing Central American free trade with the United States to attract investment. Once a philosopher, he is now a pragmatic politician, doing what needs to be done in the face of national tragedy after two major earthquakes in 2001.

"To quote Henry Ford, 'Companies with just goals don't go very far. Companies need a cause,"' says Fabio Barbosa, CEO of Banco ABN AMRO Real. He has made the client his cause. Like Dell, with his direct computer sales, Barbosa uses increasing knowledge about his customers to find segments of high growth.

Bavaria CEO Ricardo Obregon is now boldly taking the Colombian brewer's proven track record into Panama and Peru, while Wal-Mart de Mexico CEO Cesareo Fernandez Gonzalez is bringing the giant U.S. retailer's stack'em-high, sell'em-low formula to Latin America. Bottom line: Solid management techniques cross borders.

Brazilians Clovis Borges and Oded Grajew are also crossing borders with innovative approaches to environmental protection and corporate responsibility. Borges has brought forest preservation into boardrooms, while Grajew, another fan of Ford, links concerned companies with causes like children's rights.

Of course, the list of Bravo candidates was long. Nearly half a million LATIN TRADE readers worldwide nominated a broad array of Latin American leaders in government, business, finance and technology, as well as mavericks in environmental and humanitarian fields, We then narrowed the field, consulting with international executives, government officials and leading academics. Finally, we whittled down the list of finalists and chose this year's recipients of the LATIN TRADE Bravo Business Awards for their leadership and their contributions to progress in Latin America.

TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

MICHAEL DELL

ACHIEVEMENTS: Dell has successfully introduced its "made to order" concept in Latin America, becoming the second-largest seller of PCs in the region. Dell PC sales surged 47% in the first half of 2002 while the overall PC market fell 5% compared to the same period last year, according to Gartner Dataquest. For the six months ending Aug. 2, 2002, Dell's worldwide sales grew 6.2% to US$16.5 billion, with profits rising 160% to almost $960 million.

CEO, Dell Computer Corp.

BACKGROUND: Michael Dell dropped out of college to start the company 18 years ago with $1,000 and a firm belief in direct sales. Dell's first international subsidiary opened in the United Kingdom in 1987; it now has some 36,000 employees serving customers around the globe. Dell built its only Latin American plant in Eldorado do Sul, Brazil, in 1999.

FOCUS: Offer customers the best value and the highest level of service." Those concepts work in China, in Korea, in Mexico, in Brazil ... everywhere."

FUTURE: As Dell grows, it segments customers based on their needs. "Large customers want face-to-face interaction. They are willing to pay for that. Small businesses and consumers don't want that service, and they won't pay for it."

BIGGEST CHALLENGE: Dell needs to develop leaders so that his organization keeps pace with growth." Our business model is rather unique. We can't just hire somebody from another company."

INSIDER INFORMATION: Dell gets e-mails that ask," Is it true that you read all your e-mail?," He deletes them.

TRADE LEADER OF THE YEAR

RICARDO LAGOS

President of Chile

ACHIEVEMENTS: President Lagos has guided Chile's steady growth since taking power in 2000. During 2002, he forged free trade agreements with the European Union, Costa Rica and El Salvador, as well as an automotive accord with Argentina to cut tariffs to zero by 2006. Lagos will likely sign a trade pact with the United States before the end of the year.

BACKGROUND: In 1988, Lagos turned to the camera during a live TV program, pointed his finger at Gen. Augusto Pinochet and lambasted him for reneging on a promise to step down before a vote that could extend military rule another eight years. "You promise the country eight more years, with torture, assassination and violation of human rights. To me, it seems inadmissible that a Chilean is so ambitious for power as to pretend to hold it for 25 years." Only months later, Chile said 'no' to Pinochet and the transition to democracy began.

FOCUS: "I am what you would call, in the United States, a liberal."

FUTURE: Free trade deals in the works with South Korea and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), plus a US$3 billion health care reform.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE: Lagos has locked horns with the opposition Congress over such issues as health care and water reforms.

INSIDER INFORMATION: At age 16, Lagos chose by default to study law at the Universidad de Chile. "I was no good at math, had no talent for biology to study medicine, nor architecture..."

CEO OF THE YEAR

RICARDO OBREGON TRUJILLO

President, Grupo Empresarial Bavaria

ACHIEVEMENTS: Bavaria has launched an aggressive US$1 billion international expansion strategy. The No. 1 brewery in Colombia and Ecuador bought Cerveceria Nacional, Panama's largest beer maker with 70% market share, and a 24.5% stake in leading Peruvian brewer Backus & Johnston. To help finance the expansion, Bavaria issued $312 million in bonds--the largest domestic corporate bond issue in Colombia's history.

BACKGROUND: Bavaria group, controlled by the Santo Domingo family, named Obregon to his post in mid-2001, but the 54-year-old executive has worked his entire career with the conglomerate. In the mid-1990s, the Bogota native directed the international growth of Sofasa, the auto assembly joint venture of Bavaria, Renault and Toyota, into Ecuador and Venezuela.

FOCUS: "You have to line the company up toward a common objective: the client."

FUTURE: Bavaria is a beverage company, not just a brewer. With help from consultants, the company revitalized its brands, including its first brand launch in more than 20 years.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE: "Mediocre people make for a mediocre company." In a big company, people need a clear idea of responsibilities. They need to be consulted and feel part of the team. Otherwise, "energy gets dissipated."

INSIDER INFORMATION: The Santo Domingo family had been eyeing international markets; Obregon executed the strategy. "I did not bring the ideas--they were in the air. It was easy to persuade people that this was a propitious moment for change."

MOST INNOVATIVE POLICYMAKER

FRANCISCO FLORES PEREZ

President of El Salvador

ACHIEVEMENTS: President Flares has kept El Salvador's economy surging with innovative policies, despite two devastating earthquakes. The country adopted the dollar as its currency in 2001. He streamlined regulations to allow a business to get a tax number in 24 hours and set up shop in seven days. El Salvador has signed free trade agreements with Mexico, Chile, the Dominican Republic and Panama and attracted more than US$500 million in foreign investment during the last two years.

BACKGROUND: Forty-four-year-old Flares, a former philosophy professor, entered politics after the assassination of his father-in-law, the chief of staff in the late 1980s under President Alfredo Cristiani. Shortly after Flores's party, Alianza Nacional, lost its majority in Congress in 1997, he became the youngest president of El Salvador's Congress.

FOCUS: "As a country, we are responsible for our own destiny"

FUTURE: El Salvador is negotiating a trade deal with Canada to be signed this year and expects that U.S.-Central American trade negotiations will reap another agreement by the end of 2003.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE: Flores has lobbied the Bush administration hard for better treatment of Salvadoran immigrants, who send home more than $2 billion a year.