Jaime Chico Pardo earned his MBA in 1974. Trained initially in industrial engineering as an undergraduate, Chico Pardo held various executive positions in some of Mexico's most important and influential companies, including CEO of Euzkadi-General Tire de Mexico, president and CEO of Grupo Condumex, S.A. de C.V., and as a senior executive at Fimbursa, an investment bank.
By 2005, under Chico Pardo's leadership as vice chairman and CEO, TELMEX (Telefonos de Mexico), the country's largest private sector company, experienced tremendous growth and expansion. Chico Pardo oversaw TELMEX's transition into a deregulated long-distance market and emphasized that “going outside Mexico was a necessity” to staying competitive.
TELMEX acquired a series of new assets in 2005, many sold at bargain prices by U.S. players exiting the region or in bankruptcy. Integrating these new holdings and adding value for TELMEX was a challenge, which Chico Pardo addressed by pursuing a local strategy in each nation while leveraging the pan-regional network. To stay at the top, Chico Pardo sought to reinvent TELMEX from a local telephone monopoly into a global high-tech multimedia company.