My name is Mariana Paredes. I come from a small community in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. I am a Chemical Engineer. I left home when I was 17 years old to attend college in Mexico City and then I started working in the chemical and cement industries. With five years of work experience, I decided to go abroad to get an MBA. After a long search, I chose Freeman School of Business at Tulane University to continue with this important decision of my life. Tulane University has been the platform for my professional and personal growth. It is here where I found the opportunity to do my internship at PepsiCo Mexico Foods. What was most surprising to me was to know that my internship would be directly with the President of the company, a brilliant and successful man.
On my first day I had a meeting with my new boss, Mr. Pedro Padierna, President of PepsiCo Mexico Foods. He was clear about what he wanted to teach me, which was how he managed and led a company that generates more than 45,000 jobs and US$ 4,000 million in sales annually, in Mexico. PepsiCo Mexico Foods is a huge company that contributes significantly to Mexico´s economy.
The tasks he gave me the first two weeks dealt with me getting to know the company´s Executive Committee which is formed by men and women from different countries and with different professions, characters, and backgrounds. Another part of this task was to know the production, distribution, and sales processes of the company´s products. This opportunity allowed me to understand key points of the company´s structure and strategy.
During my internship Mr. Padierna asked me to do some executive summaries, macro-economic overviews, key data analysis, presentations, and speeches for him. Doing all this work was challenging, not only because of the task itself but also because of whom I was delivering it to.
Mr. Padierna gave me the opportunity to get involved in different projects and meetings I was able to witness how a CEO deals with details to lead and manage a company like PepsiCo. I got the exposure to understand how the decision making process works, why some investments get priority, how important the image of the company is, how to analyze information, and how important it is to focus on the core products and the company´s vision.
I learned a lot from this experience; I can summarize it in two words: Leadership, and Management. All that I learned is related to these two words. What I take as the most valuable learning experience is the way Mr. Padierna analyzes every detail. Furthermore, I am speechless by the admiration and respect that he receives from all members of the company.
My internship of nine weeks at PepsiCo was wonderful and I feel rewarded by what I learned.
I could not be happier with the awesome opportunity that I had, I want to thank the PepsiCo family for supporting me during my stay at PepsiCo. I want to thank especially Mr. Pedro Padierna for taking time to teach me and contributing to my knowledge, and for giving me the opportunity to meet such brilliant people in the company. Last, but not the least, I want to thank Margarita Ahumada, Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions at Freeman for talking to Mr. Padierna personally and helping me to get this incredible and valuable internship.
Please feel free to contact me at mparede@tulane.edu if you would like to learn more about my experience at PepsiCo Mexico Foods.