Senior Lecturer José Alvarez has a distinct view of the global food system. For his research, Alvarez has visited farms, slaughterhouses, packing plants, and supermarkets to explore issues of concern to managers working around the world and across the supply chain. “We try to get into the weeds of what’s happening and speak to the people who are doing the work to understand the leadership challenges,” he explains.

A former supermarket industry CEO, Alvarez shares his passion for exploring all aspects of the food industry—from farm to port to table—with participants in the Agribusiness Seminar. The Executive Education offering was founded by Ray Goldberg, the George M. Moffett Professor of Agriculture and Business, Emeritus.

“Ray left this amazing legacy that my colleagues and I have continued to move forward,” Alvarez says. “He saw that people in the food industry needed to talk to each other to understand the issues they each face.” As faculty chair of the seminar, David E. Bell, the Baker Foundation Professor and George M. Moffett Professor of Agriculture and Business, Emeritus, carried on Goldberg’s work: “At each seminar we assemble case studies from across the industry and across the globe that help participants understand challenges facing the food industry,” says Bell. “By wrestling with the case issues together, we create new perspectives and a sense of community.”

The seminar will mark its 60th iteration January 12–15, 2020. The faculty team—which includes Bell and Forest Reinhardt, the John D. Black Professor of Business Administration and head of the Business, Government, and the International Economy Unit—often works with HBS’s 15 global research centers and offices to ensure that different countries and sectors of the industry are well represented. Alvarez’s research has frequently taken him to Latin America, where he sees a wide range of dilemmas and opportunities.

“The legacy of the Cold War, governance issues, and the need to maintain stable political regimes and economies represent challenges in the region,” he explains. “Countries like Peru have done a good job over the past 20 years in creating a stable environment for food businesses, but there are situations such as Venezuela, which can’t feed its own people anymore.”

Alvarez spent time in Argentina working on “Molino Cañuelas: Serving Customers from Seed Development to the Kitchen Table,” a case he coauthored with Latin America Research Center staff Fernanda Miguel (MBA 1997) and Mariana Cal. Molino Cañuelas is a vertically integrated food business where management encourages innovation and growth. As the company continues to expand, the case explores whether it should follow the same strategy internationally or develop its retail business through partnerships or alliances.

While in Argentina, Alvarez observed how business leaders have learned to be flexible and creative. “I’m impressed when I talk to people who are keeping their food businesses going, given the turmoil they face dealing with infrastructure issues, tariffs, and getting their products to port.” Because of world events, the country is also seeing great opportunity. Alvarez explains that Argentina and Brazil have become beneficiaries of the trade war between China and the United States. “China needs soybeans for its pork industry. There has been a big disconnect in prices between what people are willing to pay for US soybeans versus Argentinian and Brazilian soybeans because of tariffs, so these will be disproportionately important for Latin America,” he explains.

About 10 percent of those who attend the Agribusiness Seminar each January come from Latin America, such as Sylvia Wachsner (PMD 35, 1978), director of Sociedade Nacional de Agricultura in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “Drawing from the faculty’s industry knowledge, I have learned about consumer behavior and have captured insights that I’m able to apply to our projects with small and medium food producers,” says Wachsner, who also is responsible for building a trusted source of knowledge about sustainable food production at the Organic Production Intelligence Center.

The four-day seminar draws nearly 200 industry leaders to campus from some 40 countries. Many are repeat attendees—Wachsner has participated nearly 20 times. During classroom discussions, presentations, and talks by guest speakers, participants explore topics ranging from climate change and the environmental impact of agribusiness, to the demand for better protein sources and non-GMO sustainable produce, to the need to transport foodstuffs more efficiently. In addition, they discuss trends in the industry, such as lab-grown meat, the increased use of no-till farming, and the move among consumers to a more plant-based diet—a trend that Alvarez says has grown considerably in the last few years.

Agribusiness industry managers attending the seminar also confront pressing global problems, including poor nutrition and obesity, food waste, population growth, and feeding the world’s hungry.

“Tackling these challenges centers on leadership,” observes Alvarez. “The Agribusiness Seminar plays an important role in educating business leaders about the issues that exist and the means to address them, so that they can be good stewards of an industry that is feeding the world.”

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