Armando Tamez

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Armando Tamez Martínez
Armando currently holds the position of President at Nemak with responsibility for the American, European and Asian regions. In this capacity, he oversees the Sales & Marketing, Product Development, Operations, R&D, Purchasing and HR functions.

Nemak, part of Mexico’s Alfa Group, is the global leader and largest manufacturer of high tech aluminum casting components for the automotive industry. With a workforce of more than 18,000 employees, Nemak supplies cylinder heads, engine blocks and other components to 42 worldwide customers from 27 operating facilities strategically located around the globe.

Armando joined Nemak in 1984 as an Industrial Engineer. During his 27 year career at Nemak he has worked in a number of different functions including industrial engineering, operations, quality, sales, marketing, product development and strategic planning. Armando has played a key role in increasing the size and revenue of the company from $20 M USD in 1984 (1 customer) to $3.7 B USD in 2011. During the 90’s he developed a strategy to become technologically independent by forming a strong technical team, developing key talent and taking advantage of the market trend towards iron substitution in automotive components, this effort resulted in an increase in sales reaching $1.2B USD. At that time Nemak depended entirely on sales to Ford, GM and Chrysler. Now, Nemak delivers products to 42 customers in Europe, America and Asia, thanks to a successful growth and customer diversification strategy.

In 1985, Armando moved to the Detroit area as the Manager of Nemak’s International Office and the main contact with the customer base. Upon his return to Mexico in 1990, he assumed the position of Director for Commercial and Strategic Planning, a post he held for the next five years. In concert with Nemak’s rapid growth, Armando’s responsibilities were continually expanded beginning with his next assignments as Executive Vice-President in charge of Commercial and Product Development from 1996 to 2005, Nemak Mexico CEO from 2005 to 2007, North American CEO from 2007 to 2008 and Nemak COO from 2008 to 2010.

Currently, as part of his position as Nemak´s President, he splits his time between Europe and North America.

Armando is a member of the board for several organizations including Nemak, the Industrial & Systems Engineering School at ITESM, the Mexican Institute of Aluminum, NN Capital and a private scholarship foundation.

Armando Tamez holds a bachelor degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey and an MBA degree from the George Washington University. He has taken advanced courses and seminars in Management, Product Development, Marketing and Strategy at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Armando was heavily involved in further achievements at Nemak including the creation of a Product Development System, with support from Harvard University, that has allowed the company to develop and launch up to 100 new products per year simultaneously, making Nemak the benchmark in the industry. He also fostered the growth and reinforcement of the R&D area by creating strong links with the leading Universities, Engine Design Centers and customers. In addition, Armando has supported the creation of internships and professional development programs at Nemak to train Engineering students and recent graduates in preparation for leading roles at Nemak. During the 80’s he worked at ITESM as an assistant professor for the Industrial Engineering School. Armando enjoys outdoor activities and sports such as running, during his time in College he was captain of the soccer varsity team.

Armando truly believes that forming high performance teams enables organizations to achieve superior results. Along his career, he has promoted the development of young and talented personnel that has been key to manage the growth and success of Nemak.

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