After visiting timeless Cambridge, Massachusetts, I found myself in Miami teaching on a course for a consumer products company. IESE has been running part of our Senior Executive Program in Miami for a number of years but I do not teach on the program and have not had a chance to visit the city in a very long time and unlike Cambridge, its has changed completely!
The course was located in a downtown hotel which, like everything else was new, shiny and expensive. There is a new stadium for the Basketball team, The Heat, an opera house, children’s museum, cruise ship terminal, and more. David Beckham wants to build a Football stadium for Major League Soccer!
My classmate from IESE in 1987, Tor Sovik, was in town as he is part of a telecoms start up (his fifth!) which is based in a loft in South Beach and he stays in one of the art deco hotels just below the strip. Driving over the causeway you see yachts and homes which, even more than the rows of luxury apartment blocks, gives one a sense of Miami’s new power and wealth.
Miami Geopolitics
Miami has of course evolved into becoming the Financial Capital of Latin America and is perhaps, on its way, to becoming the de-facto political capital as well.
The company we were working with had recently joined the trend to locate their Latin American headquarters in Miami. In terms of cost, it seems that top quality office space was actually cheaper in Miami than in other regional capitals and that point to point air travel is faster and cheaper from Miami.
In terms of Talent Management, the regional HR Vice president told me it was much easier to attract international talent to Miami and some of the issues connected to cities in the region such as schools, housing, and personal security become much more manageable. According to a study published by the University of Miami in 2009, there were over 30 multinationals with their Latin American offices in Miami and my guess is that there at least three times that many today!
Miami’s 70% hispanic population is home to people from across Latin American including countries such as Venezuela and it has become the natural home for political opposition and exiles of all types following and expanding on the model established by Cuban exiles a generation ago. Perhaps one day soon regional institutions such as the Organization of American States will also move to Miami Washington.
Miami’s Environment
Having thought of Miami as a tropical place, I was also unprepared for the bitter cold you find in every hotel, restaurant and public place as the entire city seems to be air conditioned. Electricity costs averages about $ 0.12/Kwh which is lower than the average cost in the U.S. and is mainly provided by Florida Power & Light, part of NextEra Energy, a leader in low carbon power generation with a national portfolio in wind, natural gas and nuclear power.
Miami gets much of its power from Next Era’s Turkey Point Nuclear plant on Key Biscayne about 24 Miles (40km) away form the city.
Of course the big problem facing Miami in the future is climate change and the possibility of increased hurricane activity and sea water levels as the City is considered one of the most vulnerable in the United States!