Article originally hosted and shared with permission by The Christian Economic Forum, a global network of leaders who join together to collaborate and introduce strategic ideas for the spread of God’s economic principles and the goodness of Jesus Christ. This article was from a collection of White Papers compiled for attendees of the CEF’s 2019 Global Event.

— by Xavier Morales, Priscila Morales and Ruth Morales

But those who hope in the Lord, will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

Introduction

Our company started in 1988 in Monterrey, Mexico, with only $500 USD—there was no partnership and no borrowed money (“the borrower is slave to the lender,” Proverbs 22:7). This has brought us financial freedom. Hard work in God’s name, diligence, honesty, and a deep knowledge of “Who’s who” in the Mexican food industry has meant the world for our success as a company. FXM started with only one person, Xavier Morales. Currently we have 40 bilingual professionals who are highly trained in the food technology areas. We have a committed board of advisors on which the company relies for the right decision making and risk evaluations.

For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers. (Proverbs 11:14)

Our most significant founding principle is that this company was formed to honor God. He is the real owner and provider of all it has become. Since 1988 we have been distinguished for providing food ingredients of the highest quality, produced by leading world-class companies, which we represent exclusively in the Mexican market. We also offer comprehensive solutions such as logistics and technical professional advice in the development and innovation of products. We have extensive knowledge of the market trends for the food industry in Mexico and Latin America. At FXM we are always committed to meeting the highest expectations of our customers.

Mission and Vision

We honor God with our work. Our mission is to contribute to the success of our customers by offering high value-added ingredients that meet their needs. We do this by providing innovative, flexible, competitive, quality, and cost-effective solutions. Our vision is to be an organization capable of creating differentiators for the food industry to offer competitive advantages with valuable consumer brands.

Values

We live in a fallen world. The origin of corruption is man’s sinful nature—centered in himself and away from God´s righteousness. In our country we face and overcome corruption on a daily basis. Our company does not discriminate on religious grounds. Even so, we give extra effort to assuring that all personnel share our same convictions and core values. We seek to cultivate a new culture of justice in our personal environment and work activities. This is based in God, centered in the truth of the cross, and directed by the new identity we can have in Him as the source of our justice and integrity. It involves developing a culture that speaks the truth, acts with integrity, and looks for the benefit of others rather than for personal gain.

This way of living, allowing Him to rule our lives and our work, has given us the freedom to successfully say NO to corruption in the midst of an extremely corrupted country. We can do this because we know and trust that God is the Owner of our company; He is the One who sustains us and provides the opportunities to grow. We do our work with a great commitment to long-term relationships that are based on respect, trust, and integrity. Our goal is to solve problems creatively and to be flexible to the needs of our customers. Our work is done with passion and with all our strength.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

Our staff is the most important asset of FXM. It is imperative for us to give attention to our staff’s overall development in order to enhance the performance of our company. We believe that multidisciplinary teams find the best solutions to problems.

FXM Resume

Since 2009 we have had a subsidiary, FXM International LLC, to facilitate NAFTA transactions and to meet financial and logistical challenges with greater efficiency. We have a highly skilled sales force that has extensive experience in the food industry. Our corporate offices are in Monterrey, but we have a sales network throughout the country. Our current customer portfolio consists of more than 200 leader companies, such as PepsiCo, Nestlé, Mondelez, among many others. We represent more than 20 excellent international companies in Mexico including Kraft Heinz, Cosucra, So Pure, Olam Cocoa, Cargill, and others.

Character First

To emphasize and enhance our core values at FXM, we have implemented a personal development program called Character First. The main goal of this program is to create character qualities and to build community among our employees and partners. We focus on conflict resolution, moral motivation, and the integration of values in work activities.

We meet every Monday morning for a devotional time. We study a character quality that is based on biblical principles and consider how to apply the quality in our work and daily lives. We end the meeting with a prayer time in which we ask God to bless us and guide our endeavors. At FXM we believe that if we work to develop biblical qualities in people, they will form relationships based on ethical integrity and morality. The result will be improvement in customer service, increased productivity, and transferring good values to the community.

Open Hand

Everything we have comes from God:

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

With this concept in mind FXM has lived to share and release every given resource to the employees and others who come in contact with us. This includes things such as paying full tuition for our team for master’s degree programs, technical and commercial training, and other courses. These educational opportunities translate into great loyalty among our personnel and a very low turnover rate.

FXM Legacy LLC

“What do you want your legacy to be? A legacy is created only when a person puts his organization into the position to do great things without him.” (John Maxwell)

FXM Legacy was founded in June 2015 to provide a financial heritage and stability that can impact our business, our family, and the community for generations to come. Through FXM Legacy we have been able to bless other ministries including APEN (Children Evangelism Fellowship), Mission Aviation Fellowship, Second Baptist Church, Villanueva Ministries, and World Venture, among others.

Hard Decisions

For the last two years a global corporation has been constantly seeking to persuade us to sell the whole company. This has confirmed in our hearts the initial decision to start this company to honor God and keep expanding the Kingdom’s vision through it. We have decided NOT to sell the company, for money is not our reward, rather the testimony of Jesus Christ is. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.

For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace. (Hebrews 13:9)

Passing the Baton

And as it is appointed unto men once to die . . . . (Hebrews 9:27)

Aware that our lives have a cycle, and after praying and looking for God´s direction, He has appointed us to delegate the company to the next generation.

“No matter how well you lead or how good your successor is, if you don´t make sure you pass the baton you will not leave the legacy you desire. A leader´s lasting value is measured by succession.” (John Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership)

At age 69, Xavier Morales faced the hard, but needed decision to delegate the general management of the company to Gilberto Olvera, who is the new CEO of FXM Ingredients. Mr. Olvera has a broad experience in the food retail and industrial market, but most important is his proven character as a believer in Christ for more than 23 years. Through his leadership, he has created effective teams that work with the same focus and direction—bringing a renewal to the company, keeping the vision, mission, and values alive, and moving towards new trends the food market demands.

As a family owned company, the baton is passing to the next generation. The Morales family is composed of three daughters: Miriam, Ana Priscila, and Ruth. Miriam started working in the logistics and supply management areas in the early years of the company; she is now part of the board. Since 2000 Ruth has worked in the financial and credit department, and handles the resources for the FXM International Subsidiary. She is also part of the board. Ana Priscila started in 2002 as research and innovation manager. She handles the marketing department and is also part of the board.

In 2016 Xavier Morales appointed Ruth to be his successor as president of the company when he is no longer with us. Since 2016 the company has applied the biblical principle of Proverbs 15:22, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” as it established the Company Consultant Board.

Through the board the decisions have been made harmoniously, with expertise in taxes and finances given by Daniel Domínguez (international ex-president BDO), in commercial and marketing with Gabriel Hidalgo (marketing professor of IPADE Business School), in legal aspects with Jorge Martínez (lawyer and attorney DMT), and in entrepreneur, innovation, economic, and political aspects with Hugo Garza (entrepreneurship and innovation director at ITESM University). All of these leaders are experts in their respective areas.

Conclusion

God is faithful to His Word.

Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings. (Proverbs 22:29)

In February 2019 we had the privileged of presenting our company to H.R.H. Princess Astrid of Belgium at the Economic Mission to Mexico. To God all the glory and honor for all He has done to make our company possible. We have grown because His merciful hand has been with us. In a world full of challenges and risks because of uncertain economic and political scenarios, our trust is in Him and not in men.

For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! (Romans 11:36)

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[Special thanks to drmakete lab on Unsplash for the cover photo.]