Meet Toronto Rotman’s MBA Class of 2019

Marcelo Garza García 

University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less:  Seeker of innovation to improve daily life. Epicure who loves the food industry.

Hometown: Monterrey, Mexico

Fun Fact About Yourself: When I’m not at my corporate job, I put on my white button-down shirt and red bow tie and transform into Marcelo the Ice Cream Man! I have been creating mouthwatering ice cream flavors since college.

Undergraduate School and Major: Penn State University, Food Science

Employers and Job Titles since Graduation: 

• Manager of Packaging Innovation and Assistant to the Chief Technology Officer at Sigma Alimentos (youngest manager in the multinational refrigerated food company)
• Trainee in Youth Development Program at Sigma Alimentos

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: A food scientist by education, I oversee all food packaging design innovation for Sigma Alimentos, a global food company. Few realize this, but investment in food processing and packaging technology is expensive and mistakes can damage a brand. I am therefore proud of leading Sigma´s packaging and marketing team in collaboration with equipment and material suppliers to create a package that keeps deli meat fresh throughout multiple uses. The package features an easy-to-open, easy-to-close snap top that gives an audible “click” when the top is secure, reassuring consumers that the meat will be kept fresh and free from contamination. As a result, less food is wasted.

Our team received a Silver Award in the DuPont Awards for the international Packaging Innovation competition. More importantly, monthly sales of the product increased by 57% after we introduced the packaging. To me, that demonstrated that consumers respond to good design.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants?  Don’t give up on the GMAT, and don’t get discouraged. It’s OK to take the exam several times. At the same time, the GMAT score doesn’t define who you are or your intellectual capacity… it’s just a test. Pick an MBA program that fits with yourself (personality, values, and of course future career goals). The exam has little to do with the value that you bring to your school’s community.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? Rotman’s design thinking model will teach me how to integrate creativity and business to reach great outcomes. Courses like Creative Destruction Lab will teach me how to apply economic and analytical tools to evaluate industry appeal, market scope, competitive strategies, and financing opportunities, to make better professional decisions throughout my career. In Rotman, I will find an environment in which I learn to lead change and try out new ideas, risk-free, with my classmates.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Rotman will give me the analytical and emotional abilities that I need to become a human-centered business leader. Success will be the moment that I can mix my currently strong technical skills with strong business skills I have learned at Rotman, and put them both to work for my employer and in my entrepreneurial projects.