Alonso Martinez, G'82, WG'82 Research & Teacher The Wharton School and Columbia Business School New York

Wharton Speaker >> Biography

Alonso Martinez’s current focus is doing research, teaching  and advising clients about business strategies to capture and foster growth in emerging markets. He is directing a project at the Wharton School’s Lauder Institute on “Consumption Patterns in Emerging Markets: Catching Growth Waves and Anticipating Transitions”, which is jointly sponsored by Booz & Company.  He is also an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School on growth strategies in emerging markets and provides strategic advice to leading companies on this topic.

The Wharton Lauder project focuses on understanding to what extent consumption in emerging markets develops in common and thus predictable ways. Over the past three years the Mr. Martinez and the teams of graduate students involved have done research in China, India, Russia, Egypt, Brazil and Mexico, covering both wealthier cosmopolitan and poorer rural markets. The research is producing improved frameworks to guide growth strategies in emerging markets.

Mr. Martinez previously was a Senior Vice President with Booz Allen Hamilton based in New York, where he led the Consumer Products team in the Eastern United States, focusing on growth and strategic transformation for global multinationals. He retired in 2007 after 25 years with the firm. Since joining Booz Allen in 1982 in the Sao Paulo office, Mr. Martinez gained broad experience across the Americas. He lived in Brazil for twelve years being elected as a partner in 1990, opened the firm's offices in Buenos Aires and Bogotá, and has managed the Andean Region and Mexico.  He was promoted to Senior Partner and moved to the United States in the year 2000 with global responsibility for major client relationships.

Mr. Martinez has worked with many of the world's largest multinationals and leading local groups in the consumer products, media, and steel and construction materials industries. His experience includes global growth strategies, market entry strategies, new business development, mergers and acquisitions, sales channel development and optimizing investments in marketing and innovation to fuel growth. He has particular interest and expertise in the above issues as they relate to emerging markets.

Mr. Martinez has served on the Board of Booz Allen Hamilton and of several corporate and advisory boards. He has published multiple articles in Strategy & Business and other business magazines.

 Prior to joining Booz Allen, Mr. Martinez' consulting experience at the Wharton Applied Research Center included the analysis of the impact of advertising, distribution, and pricing strategies on consumer product sales. He also held the position of Assistant General Manager of the Floor Tile Division of Pavco S.A. a leading corporation supplying housing materials for the Andean market.

Mr. Martinez received both a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the National University of Colombia and a B.A. in Business Administration from the Universidad Javeriana, Bogota in 1978. He later received a M.B.A. and a M.S. degree in Operations Research from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1982.

Mr. Martinez is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.