Mario Ménez – a competitive strategist

Mario Ménez was born in Mexico in 1968. His interest for design and architecture started at an early age when he visited the beautiful homes of his wealthy friends and was impressed by the interior design and the furniture. He also remembers his first visit to Rufino Tamayo Museum in Mexico City.

– My father took me there and I immediately fell in love with the architecture, says Mario Ménez.

So he decided to study architecture and design at the Faculty of Architecture and Design at Autonomous University of State of Mexico. In 1996 he obtained a Licentiate Degree in Industrial Design. He also studied architecture one year and worked in the field before leaving for Sweden and Umeå where he got a Master Degree in Advance Product Design from the Institute of Design in 2002.

– I like Sweden a lot and Umeå University has the best design education in Scandinavia so for me it was an easy choice, says Mario Ménez.

He also has taken many courses in USA, Spain, England, Mexico and Sweden in different subjects.

Prefers Design Management

After winning a design competition in Mexico Mario was offered a job in Spain where he worked for Spain’s largest design firm; Diara Design, that belongs to "Mondragon Corporacion Cooperativa MCC" At Diara, he worked in different design projects like appliances, ovens, microwaves, white goods, heaters and industrial laundry machines.

In Mexico Mario Ménez also worked for Martin Sprocket and Gear Inc where he was the Chief Engineer and as an Industrial designer for Plastiglas de Mexico.

In Sweden, he has worked as a Design Manager for M:Design at Markslöjd AB. He did the Strategic, Design Management and Marketing positioning; created the Brand design concept for the new brand M:Design and he also designed the products with 3 collection from 2003, 2004 and 2005. Furthermore he did the packaging concept, stands and displays, art direction catalogues, etc.

– Today I work a lot with design management and strategy as well as other areas, he says.

Likes to compete in business

His early interest in design led him to set up his first company organizing national design congress and exhibitions in Mexico when he was 25 years old.

– I like to organise people, which is something I’ve been good at since I was a child.

For a while he had 75 people with him in the company. In 1993 he became the President of the XII ENEDI (XII National Encounter of Students of Industrial Design). He also was a permanent board member and vice president of C.E.D.I AC.

Mario Ménez has participated in many competitions both in Mexico and in Sweden, something he enjoy. For example in 1994 he won the license for the XII ENEDI (which use to be the most well known and largest design event in Mexico and one of the most recognize design events in Latin America.) In 1996 he won the Recognition for The Best Industrial Work; and also the Best Thesis from the Period 95 - 96 in Industrial Design Awarded by Autonomous University of State of Mexico. In Sweden he won the Markslöjd Light Prize Design Competition in 2001 with his unique design of the reading light Carmen.

– That was very surprising to me, because I had never made a lamp before and this time I was competing for my own sake, not to win, he says.

The powerful idea

His professional capacity and strong strategic thinking is well known. Always looking for new challenges, creating and transforming the environment for the well of the human being, Mario Ménez is an idealist with functional and realistic visions. He believes in the power of an idea.

– A good idea is a very powerful thing, he says.

Mario has been inspired by two persons that are not only architects but also designers, entrepreneurs and politicians; Alejandro Lazo Margain. and Pedro Ramírez Vázquez.

– Alejandro, who unfortunately died some years ago, always encouraged me and believed in me, I miss him a lot, he says.

Mario Ménez lighting products are popular and sold in many different countries like for example Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, Australia, Japan etc. Only in the last two years Mario Ménez has had more than 35 products in lighting successfully selling in more than 20 countries.

– I think my products work so well in many countries because they have a strong concept idea and strategy behind them, says Mario Ménez.