Vazquez-Lira, Maria Elena

"Strategic marketing is the tool that allows companies to identify growth possibilities, and also, to design value propositions for the market." Marketing strategy and retail are María Elena Vázquez Lira's areas of interest since both combine concepts that require significant conceptual thinking as well as an ability for analysis and critical thinking to be able to come up with solutions that build value. With a doctorate in Business Administration focused in marketing and retail, and education in biochemical engineering, she believes that retail is one of the industries that contributes the most to the gross domestic product and where many interesting things are currently happening thanks to the digital transformation and the behavioral shifts in the consumer. Vázquez Lira enjoys designing consultancy projects that allow her to help companies become more competitive. Throughout her career, she has had the opportunity to work with companies such as Ford de México, Smurfit Cartón y Papel de México, Vitro, Zoológico Guadalajara, Pinturas Berel, Cruz Roja, Soriana, Farmacias Guadalajara, Bodesa and Arteli, among others. Since 1985 she has been part of Tecnológico de Monterrey; she was in charge of the development of the Retail Center. Her research work has been published in the Journal of Business Research, the Journal of Shopping Center Research and the Managing Service Quality international journal. To keep herself up to date in an ever-changing industry, as well as teaching college students to discover the wonderful world of marketing and retail, are her main challenges.