Babson Trustee Honored on the 2023 Meaningful Business 100

Babson alumnus and trustee Ramón Mendiola ’86, P’20 ’21 ’23 has been recognized on the 2023 Meaningful Business 100, which celebrates leaders combining profit and purpose to help achieve the U.N. Global Goals.

Mendiola was honored for his leadership as CEO of the Florida Ice and Farm Company (FIFCO), based in Costa Rica, where he has championed corporate social responsibility. In its description of Mendiola, Meaningful Business 100 noted that he “also globally sought-after as a keynote speaker, sharing how sustainability is not only a key component but also a driving force behind the growth of FIFCO.”

This year’s MB100 leaders include micro-entrepreneurs, growth-stage founders and CEOs, impact investors, and entrepreneurial leaders from 39 countries, all working to tackle the world’s most pressing issues.

“One of the greatest gifts that my time at Babson as a Social Innovation candidate has taught me is that frameworks and matrixes don’t change the world but people do,” Martha Buckley MBA’23 said. “Ramón is one of those people who is changing the world. He is a North Star of true conscious leadership.”

Earlier this year, Mendiola was a recipient of Babson’s Global Changemaker Award by the Institute for Social Innovation.

“Ramón is an entrepreneurial leader whose practice always gravitates to what is right, what is responsible, and what is relevant to all his stakeholders,” said Cheryl Kiser, executive director at the Institute for Social Innovation. “The United Nations says that it takes 10 years to lift somebody out of poverty conditions. Ramón did it in three. He once told me that if we wait for governments to address issues like poverty, it will never happen. Ramón said, ‘It has to start with us. Every single organization. One at a time. And we will make a big difference.’”

Posted in Babson Briefs

Tagged Social Innovation, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Alumni

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