Tesla has officially hired Teresa Gutiérrez Smith as the company’s new Country Manager for Mexico. The hiring comes at a pivotal time for Tesla in Mexico, with the construction of a major Gigafactory in Nuevo León, on the horizon.
Teresa Gutiérrez, a seasoned professional with over two decades of experience in multinational corporations such as Nestlé, Mattel, Procter & Gamble, and Rappi México, announced her new position with an update to her profile on LinkedIn. (via Wired)
Gutiérrez is a Chemical Engineer from the Universidad Iberoamericana and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and Management from the Pan American Institute of Senior Business Management (IPADE), having previously worked as Country Manager and Regional General Manager for Rappi.
The hiring of Gutiérrez Smith is notable with Tesla’s impending and significant expansion in Mexico. Giga Mexico, which represents an initial investment of at least $5 billion, potentially rising to over $10 billion, is expected to be a cornerstone in the company’s growth strategy in Latin America.
Located on a site more than 1,600-hectares in size in the municipality of Santa Catarina, the Gigafactory is expected to create up to 7,000 direct jobs and produce one million cars per year, including Tesla’s next generation EV, the Model Y and Cybertruck. The factory is also expected to produce 4680 battery cells.
However, since the announcement of Giga Mexico last year, progress on the plant has been slow, with no sign of construction starting yet. However that should hopefully change soon. Late last year the company received all the necessary permits to begin construction, also securing an incentive package worth 2.63 billion pesos (approximately US$153 million/C$205 million) from the Mexican state of Nuevo León.
