Mexico Institute Honors Juan Francisco Beckmann Vidal and Alfredo Quiñones Hinojosa

The Mexico Institute is honored to present the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship to Juan Francisco Beckmann Vidal and the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service to Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, M.D. Since 1998, the Wilson Center has recognized exemplary individuals with the Woodrow Wilson Awards. At ceremonies held in cities across the United States and abroad, the Wilson Center honors leaders who through discussion, generous philanthropy, and selfless service have made the world a better place for all. 

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2018 Woodrow Wilson Awards Sponsors
 

Juan Francisco Beckmann Vidal 

Juan Francisco Beckmann (born February 9, 1940) is an established entrepreneurial icon and one of Mexico’s most recognized businessmen. He has been a prominent champion of Tequila, Jalisco, and his strategic vision has boosted the global tequila industry, positioning Jose Cuervo as the world's largest tequila maker.

Mr. Beckmann Vidal joined the family business, Tequila Cuervo, in 1964, and shortly after, in 1972, he became President of the company. Two years into his position, Mr. Beckmann Vidal became a driving force behind the designation of origin category for tequila. In addition to his business efforts, Beckmann Vidal established the Jose Cuervo Foundation in 1988, as part of his commitment to the town of Tequila, Jalisco with the mission of preserving the region’s customs and traditions, providing support to community programs, and creating leadership programs amongst the region’s youth. 

In 2004, his son, Juan Domingo Beckmann Legorreta, was appointed CEO of Tequila Cuervo and Mr. Beckmann Vidal became President of the Administrative Council of the company. During his tenure as President, Mr. Beckmann Vidal achieved several milestones, including the recognition of the Agave Landscape as a UNESCO’s World Heritage site. (2006). He was the main supporter of the project Mundo del Tequila (2009), and the creation of Jose Cuervo Express as a tourist attraction (2012). Moreover, he contributed to Mundo Cuervo’s Knowledge Management System certifications and led the Initial Public Offering (IPO) for Jose Cuervo in the Mexican Stock Exchange, in 2017.

His drive for turning the tequila industry into a national competitiveness factor has made him a recipient of important honors, such as the Medal of Industrial Merit, awarded by the Council of Industrial Chambers of Jalisco (CCIJ), which he received in 2010 from then-president Felipe Calderón. Among other recognitions are the following: Businessman of the Year, by the Employers Confederation of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX) in 2006, the 2014 Touristic Merit Award by the Governor of the state of Jalisco, Aristotle Sandoval, and the EXATEC Merit Award in 2015, awarded by his alma mater, the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM). 

Beckmann Vidal has had a long career in the private sector, and he is a member of the Board of Directors of numerous companies, including Banamex, Peñoles, Aeroméxico and Banco Ve por Más. He is also an active member of several business organizations such as The Business Coordinating Council, the Mexican Business Council and the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness. In 2017, he was ranked 29th in the Ranking of the 100 Most Important Businessmen in Mexico by Expansión.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM). He also pursued postgraduate studies at Stanford University.

Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, M.D. 

Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, M.D., is a consultant and serves as chair of the Department of Neurologic Surgery at Mayo Clinic in Florida. Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa joined the staff of Mayo Clinic in August 2016 and is recognized with the distinction of a named professorship, the William J. and Charles H. Mayo Professorship.

Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa earned his B.A. in psychology at the University of California–Berkeley and his M.D. at Harvard Medical School, where he graduated cum laude. He completed an internship in general surgery, postdoctoral fellowship in developmental and stem cell biology, and residency in neurosurgery at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa’s clinical interests are surgical treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors with emphasis in motor and speech mapping during surgery, as well as treatment of patients with pituitary tumors and skull base tumors using minimally invasive approaches. He leads NIH-funded research to cure brain cancer. His research focuses on brain tumors and stem cell migration, healthcare disparities for minorities and clinical outcomes for neurosurgical patients.  Currently, he has 11 submitted patents and started a new company named Sidera Medicine, LLC. Furthermore, he is frequently invited to give presentations on his research to both national and international audiences, and he has authored numerous journal articles, book chapters, abstracts and other written publications. He is an editorial board member and reviewer for several prominent publications. Most notably, Dr. Quiñones is the Editor-in-Chief for one of the most well-respected and widely read operative neurosurgical textbooks in the world –Schmidek and Sweet’s Operative Neurosurgical Techniques (6th edition). As well, he is one of the authors for–Controversies in Neuro-Oncology, which was awarded first prize by the British Medical Association.

In recognition of his work, Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa has received many awards and honors, including being named as one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in 2008, the 2014 Gary Lichtenstein Humanitarian Award and Neurosurgeon of the Year, and by the 2015 Forbes Magazine as one of Mexico’s most brilliant minds in the world. He has received honorary degrees from Southern Vermont College, Lackawanna College, Dominican University, University of Notre Dame and Loyola University In addition, he has published an autobiography, “Becoming Dr. Q,” about his journey from migrant farm worker to neurosurgeon and recently Disney with Plan B Entertainment productions announced that his inspirational life story is going to be featured in a movie.

Besides his clinical and research activities, Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa is active in education and provides mentorship to many postdoctoral fellows. Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa is co-founder and serves as president of Mission: BRAIN, Bridging Resources and Advancing International Neurosurgery, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit foundation. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Voices Against Brain Cancer, and he is co-chair of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Tumor Section International Committee. Moreover, he serves on many study sections of the National Institutes of Health, including being chair of meeting sessions.