Recruiting in Latin America and market entry after the Mercosur deal

A morning like this lives from the people who shape it. My sincere thanks go to UniCredit / HypoVereinsbank and the Munich and Upper Bavaria Chamber of Commerce for the invitation — and to:

After more than 25 years of negotiation, the agreement is real. Together with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, the EU is creating a modern framework for political dialogue, cooperation and trade. Measured by population, this is the largest free trade area in the world, with more than 700 million people.

For Bavaria, the Chamber of Commerce figures are clear:

The trade part already applies: all Mercosur states have ratified the interim agreement, and it has been provisionally applied since 1 May 2026. The process is not finished, though. The European Parliament will only vote once the European Court of Justice has reviewed the agreement, and the comprehensive partnership agreement still has to be ratified by all national parliaments.

Mexico is moving too. On 22 May 2026 the EU and Mexico signed their modernised Global Agreement, replacing the one from 2000. The trade part is to enter into force provisionally as soon as the European Parliament approves it. Bavarian statistics show how urgent this is: Mexico ranks 20th among export markets, yet exports fell by 4.4 % in 2025.

What companies should do now:

With more than 213 million inhabitants, Brazil is the heavyweight of the region. In 2025 Germany exported goods worth around USD 14.8 billion there, mainly machinery, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and vehicles.

I know this country from my own experience: I lived there and later led recruiting for BMW during the build-up of the plant in Brazil. Decisions are often made through personal networks. Flexibility and improvisation — the famous jeitinho brasileiro — are a real strength once you understand them. And speaking Portuguese opens doors that stay closed in English.

For all the enthusiasm about tariffs and export volumes, one topic was missing that morning: culture and people.

An agreement opens the door, but people have to walk through it. Many German companies fail in Latin America not because of the product or the financing. They lack cultural understanding.

My connection to Latin America began during my studies: as part of the CALA programme at FH Münster I completed my entire main studies — two years — at a university in Costa Rica and graduated with a double degree in Germany and Costa Rica.

I started working while still studying: by day at Bayer in Costa Rica, by night at university. There I was responsible, together with Matthias Kremer, then CEO of Bayer for Central America and the Caribbean, for a large HR project across the region. I also spent three months in El Salvador covering a maternity leave — a great experience. In total I lived and worked five years in Central America, and before that I had already lived in Brazil, Portugal and England.

At BMW I first took over recruiting for the plant build-up in Brazil and then, with my team, recruiting for the plant build-up in Mexico.

What I learned: without intercultural competence, every Latin America strategy stays theory.

With the new agreements, demand rises for specialists and executives who understand both worlds: they combine professional excellence with language skills and a feel for Latin American business culture.

This is exactly where People · Places · Performance comes in. My focus is Italy, Portugal and Latin America — and the agreements with Mercosur and Mexico play right into it. I support companies in five languages:

Many of these bridge builders come from programmes like my own: the German-Latin American business administration programme (CALA) at FH Münster. You study business administration as usual — plus everything needed to understand Latin America: the politics, history, economy and society of the region, as well as the languages.

In my day, CALA was still a Diplom programme. Costa Rica was one of the partner universities, and I completed my entire main studies — two years — there, graduating with a double degree.

Today CALA is part of the Bachelor in International Business & Management with a Latin America focus:

The Business Breakfast was strong in content, and it was great to meet the people there — the conversations on the sidelines were at least as valuable as the presentations.

I am particularly pleased that the Chamber of Commerce is so actively involved. For me everything is coming together right now: the agreements, the interest of the Bavarian economy and programmes like CALA that train exactly the right people. After so many years of negotiation, it finally makes sense. Whether the agreements have reached their goal remains to be seen — ratification is not complete. But I am very much looking forward to the projects that will come out of it.

Next time I would love to see culture and people on the agenda alongside numbers, ratings and financing. In the end, success in Latin America is not decided by the agreement alone, but by the people who bring it to life.