Gabriel Guerra-Castellanos

Gabriel Guerra-Castellanos is managing partner of the Mexico City office of Ray & Berndtson. His industry focus includes business and professional services, technology and government sectors. He is also founder and Chairman of Guerra Castellanos y Asociados, a strategic communications consulting firm. Born in Mexico City in 1961, Gabriel studied Political Science at the Free University in West Berlin, Germany. Spanish is his native language. He is fluent in English and German and has basic knowledge of French and Russian. He has had a comprehensive career, spanning both the public and private sectors and is also an avid analyst of political and international affairs. Gabriel was Cultural Attaché at the Mexican Embassy in the former USSR (1988-1990); Press Counselor at the Mexican Embassy in the Federal Republic of Germany (1990-1992); and Foreign Media Director at the Office of the President of Mexico (1992-1995). Gabriel moved to the private sector to Edelman PR, the world's sixth largest public relations firm, where he was President for Mexico's subsidiary and CEO for Latin America. In 1998 he was appointed Consul General of Mexico in Toronto, Canada, a position he held for two years before heading back to Mexico, to become Managing Partner of Ray & Berndtson and set up Guerra Castellanos y Asociados. Gabriel is an established political analyst and Op-ed writer, having published numerous articles in national and international media. He writes a bimonthly column on international affairs for the influential daily Reforma, is a commentator in MVS' "Informativo" (broadcast by radio and pay-TV), as well as in Televisa's "El Noticiero" (nightly rating newscast). He is frequently quoted by international news media, including CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post, among others. He has given numerous lectures and conferences on international affairs, mass-media and on the Mexican political and economic situation in various academic and business venues in Mexico, Canada and the USA, including the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the Mexican Business Council on International Affairs (CEMAI), the Mexican Autonomous Technology Institute (ITAM), the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the University of Toronto, York University, and the University of Texas (Austin). In 1988, he coauthored the book "Mexico Towards the 21st Century: Vision of a Generation", published by the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM). Gabriel Guerra-Castellanos is member of the Business Advisory Council of "Arcana" magazine, NFL Mexico, and of Procura; he is a trusteeship member of the John Langdon Down Foundation, member of the North American Committee (COMCE) and a founding member of the Mexican Council of International Affairs (COMEXI). Read Gabriel's latest article "Mexico: An Evolving Business Landscape " in a recent edition of Leadership Perspectives, a Ray & Berndtson publication.