Cecilia Durán Mena
Joined Meer in December 2014
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Cecilia Durán Mena

It is amazing how people think that numbers and letters are separate universes. I do not believe that is true. I think they are complementary worlds that, mixed together, can spark wonderful ideas. Business and art, advisory and creative thinking bring innovation.

Among many other things, I like to count: put one digit after the other. For many years, my favorite tools were the numbers. With them, I built beautiful castles that collapsed over time. I decided to broaden my horizons and explore with other utensils. Now I also use letters. I love the objectivity of numbers and the beauty of words. Surrounded by letters and numbers, I'm happy. That's how creativity sparks up. The castles become both beautiful and solid. I also like to talk. Use words to make arrangements and negotiate. For years, I have chosen them carefully to close the best transactions and achieve the greatest benefits. I have had great satisfaction in that field. Talking about my stories and experiences, I've managed to touch lives. Being in front of an audience fills me with joy and satisfaction.

I love to listen, so I have studied all my life:

  • I am a graduate of the public accounting degree of the Universidad Iberoamericana, Ciudad de México;

  • I studied the Post-Grade of international economic studies at the College of Toledo, awarded by the Fundación Ortega y Gasset;

  • I graduated with honors from the Master of administration at ITAM;

  • I studied a Post-Grade of Negotiation at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.;

  • I belong to the ninth generation of Celso's literary creation workshop Santajuliana;

  • I have a PhD in Literary Creation from the CASA Study Center Lamm;

  • I have been chosen twice by Expansión magazine as an influential businesswoman;

  • I have been awarded with story, short story, and essay awards in the United States, Spain, Peru, and Argentina.

I collaborate as a columnist in several magazines and business newspapers in Mexico and Latin America. I have published several books. My first was Hermana querida in Mexico, then Última mirada, which was issued in Spain. I have an anthology of short stories and essays called: Desde el umbral. I won the first prize: ‘Premio de Novela Juvenil Cepa 2017’ in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, with a novel called Boleto a Tokio, and Flor de arañuela, which is published in Ecuador.

I dedicate myself to giving training and advice on top management issues. For years and years, I have been coaching executives from all kinds of industries in the private sector, for governmental directors, diplomats. It is rewarding to help people discover and state the root problems that need to be addressed, to distinguish facts from opinions, to evaluate consequences, and to understand the difference between real obstacles and symptoms.

I'm a lecturer, and I like to share my experience. I find it very rewarding to be in front of an audience to partage my points of view and to share my perspectives with people. I enjoy being surrounded by people who listen and answer. The best moments are when a debate is sparked and ideas come and go from one mind to the other. Probably, that is the main reason why I have to be academic. I have been giving classes for undergraduate and master's degree students at Universidad Anáhuac, Universidad Panamericana, Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana, and Universidad Iberoamericana.

I am Editor-in-General and founder of the magazine Pretextos Literarios Por Escrito: the digital version, the printed, and the radiophonic one. This is a project that brings the opportunity to authors to see their texts published. We edit narrative, poetry, photographs, and illustration. I cohost the radio programme El Candil de la Casa, on management issues.

I enjoy accommodating letters to narrate stories. I'm very pleased to order numbers. I always honor my words and fulfill my promises. I'm in love with the truth. I thank God for each and every one of my gifts. I found that I like to count, and I can do it using numbers and letters. I like to write and leave a Footprint. Wielding the pen has meant me to take the handlebars of life.

Articles by Cecilia Durán Mena

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