Interview Summary
Guillermo Murchison describes his entrance into his family's shipping and port operation business in Argentina, Muchison, Estibajes y Cargas S.A., and its evolution under his leadership from a small enterprise to a diversified conglomerate. Murchison reveals how he introduced container standardization in the region, and addresses the tactics employed by his group to respond to strict government policies and the internationalization of Argentina's ports and shipping industry. The interview addresses the volatile Argentine market, including the 1981-1982 crash in which the company’s work volume declined by 59%, and suggests tactics for survival, including strategic diversification.
My strategy … targeted, in the first place, diversification within the port and, then, seeking related activities outside the port. We capitalized enormously through numerous devaluations…. We developed the necessary technology.
Additional Resources
Thomas Massin, “Dinámicas portuarias del litoral metropolitano del Paraná desde 1990,”
Revista Transporte y Territorio 12 (2015)
Antonio Estache and José Carbajo, “Competing Private Ports: Lessons from Argentina,” World Bank, 1996
Interview Citation Format
"Interview with Guillermo Murchison, interviewed by Andrea Lluch, Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 29, 2008, Creating Emerging Markets Project, Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School, http://www.hbs.edu/creating-emerging-markets/."
