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Headnote

Latin American execs join the MBA bandwagon. BY MARY A. DEMPSEY - MIAMI ROBERTO MORAN - MONTERREY

CUADORAN BUSINESSMAN ROberto Doumet Eljuri joins a growing number of midcareer executives in Latin America headed back into classrooms for an MBA. While executive MBA programs have been around since the early 1940s (the University of Chicago unveiled the first), they have picked up steam in recent years as competition rose across the region.

Latin American execs chasing these degrees are edging toward the top of their game. Their companies can't grant them sabbaticals-nor do these senior managers even want that-but they are hot to understand how business has changed thanks to globalization, electronic commerce, takeovers and international partnerships.

"These executives are bringing themselves up to date in many areas. They're making their resumes better," says Sam Podolsky, president of the Mexico operations for executive recruitment company Spencer Stuart. "Another important thing is that they're networking with other executives."

Doumet Eljuri, vice president of Grupo Eljuri, is counting on learning just as much from his more experienced classmates as his professors in his 20-month executive program at Michigan, which will cost US$95,000. "We're in a world of international alliances. Look at my classmates, people from General Motors, from Sun Microsystems:' says the Ecuadoran, who plans to bring Grupo Eljuri's problems to trouble-shooting discussions required of the MBA students.

David Ardis, managing director of Michigan's executive MBA degree, which debuts with its first classes in August, also cites the networking opportunities. "People who have been involved in mergers and acquisitions and know some of the potential pitfalls, people who have been involved in labor disputes, in turnaround situations-that's where the informal learning opportunities are invaluable," he says.

The job must go on. Just like Doumet Eljuri, Santiago Perez wanted to gain an edge with an MBA, but he couldn't stop his life to go to school full-time. Perez manages a chemical company in Medellin, Colombia, travels frequently for work in country as well as to Ecuador and Venezuela, plus he has a wife and five kids. His solution was to enroll in a virtual master's program offered by Mexico's Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey.

He attends class two hours a week at a Tec classroom in Medellin. He...