I would like to introduce you to one of the individuals who have contributed in a significant way to fundamental changes in how philanthropic entities interact with economic problems. This man is Dr. Teodoro Ernesto Lavin Sodi and is recognized as one of the world’s leaders in the field of economics. Dr. Sodi a multi-disciplinary economist from Mexican descent, possessing multiple degrees and an attraction to foreign languages, is probably one of the most interesting people that I have had the pleasure of writing about.

If it involves economy

Dr Lavin Sodi a laurate multi awarded recognized economists is mainly devoting his time to the integration of charitable entities with the economic sector, his work focuses on the analysis of the international economy and its implications on a variety of financial and non-financial entities, most importantly Sodi is considered by most in the economic arena as an expert in financial and economic policy development, his financial analysis company is a considered at the fore front of financial development and his experience is mainly in the fields of:

• Management
• Financial Technical Analysis
• Financial Sustainability
• Scenario forecasting
• Investing Banking
• Futures and Derivatives
• Foreign Exchange Markets
• Technical and Financial Restructuring
• Venture Capital
• Scientific Research
• Supply Chain as well as Retail

Leading key Financial Institutions

Currently Dr. Lavin Sodi acts as an advisor and a board member of four major banks and has senior positions in boards of other various financial Institutions. His career is as unbelievable and controversial as the entities he manages, despite having mainly focused his life on Economics other areas specially the Philanthropical work are disrupting the way Charities are being managed.

Most of his work is related on specific subjects related to the integration of scientific players into the Financial System, many different companies in which he has acted as director, consultant or main advisor are either NGOs or scientific institutions, those have been revolutionized from a market participation perspective, throughout the years he has slowly become an authority on financial development for the scientific community.

All entities in which he has participated have benefited from the merging of economics with their main activities allowing capital insertion and a greater market access. From all the research fields in which he has had significant participation, one of the most captivating is the astronomical research sector which has been benefiting by Dr. Sodi’s activities.

On this article I want to explore a rare but unrelated industry on which he participates, a forgotten industry filled with tradition that may (or may not) be naturally associated with bankers and the financial industry, we are talking of course of the Cigar and Tobacco Industry.

Cigar industry

One of the oldest sectors in which he works and by far the most fascinating is the cigar industry, Dr. Sodi has been in the tobacco and cigar manufacturing industry since 1998, he is an avid cigar smoker and has been teaching about the cigar industry since the early 2000s. Currently he is recognized as one of the most charismatic speakers on this subject in the world as he has developed a process of tobacco ageing and maturation like no other manufacturer has done anywhere in else, some of his cigars are ranked as the best in the world.

Brand name cigars

One of the earliest businesses Dr. Lavin started the Lavin Cigar Company at the end of the last century had the goal of outdoing the current Cuban competitors with higher quality products developed in Mexico. He personally brought special Cuban seeds and researched the chrematistics and unique conditions of growth of his Cuban counterparts; his cigar factory Grupo Tabacalero Lavin Cigar Company now produces more than 200 private and public brands including the internationally acclaimed:

• San Teodoro Cigars
• Julio Cesar
• Sello de Oro
• Glorias de Espana
• Latino’s cigars

This cigar group currently has two production facilities; one in the South of Mexico City in the Tlahuac Sector which is located at 2,200 Meters above sea level and the other in the San Andres Valley in Mexico’s Veracruz State and is believed to be the very best Mexican tobacco produced in the country. Currently is the only Mexican brand in the world that is being effected by piracy and product cloning which gives most people a fairly good idea of the level of excellence and prestige these cigars have in the world, the production is so limited that the market finds ways around the limitation and currently only the highest Cuban Cigars and the San Teodoro Cigar are the only brands being cloned internationally.

Research and development

The quality of these cigars is not just coincidence – rather it is the result of years of research and development that was applied to various techniques of aging, various blends and multiple tobacco recipes carefully crafted as well as personally tested by the owners

The reason why Cuban cigars was so creamy was carefully studied, replicated and surpassed in the San Andres Valley in Mexico, a multitude of techniques including humidity control systems were used to create unique soul and artificial Weather design characteristics for these cigars, the flavor of their brands is unparallel with any other.

Research aging techniques

This has been the first cigar maker that researched aging techniques in cigars in a high altitude environment which is now a key step in their manufacturing process, the techniques used produce complex and very unique notes without the natural occurring earthiness characteristic of tobaccos in Mexico, the process done by the Cigar Company reduces and minimizes some of the harmful naturally occurring chemicals in cigars.

The theory behind the reduction of some naturally occurring chemicals is the result of ageing, some of the components have a half-life that is much lower than its ageing process so the theory is that all these components decay or are in habilitated, therefore it is said that aged cigars are much more mild and less harsh.  Any reduction of health impact is currently not known but it may be the reason why smoking countries like Cuba have such a low cancer rate, same is the case in Dominican Republic, this still is just a theory and allot of data is to be researched.

Based on information that is currently available on the tobacco manufacturing industry from last year, Lavin Cigar Co. was the third tobacco manufacturer in Mexico by volume and has been recognized as the highest quality cigar line of the unique raw materials such as the “Maduro” wrappers (Capas) that are exported to other major cigar makers in Central America as well as the Caribbean.

Strict supervision

The flagship of the Cigar company the “San Teodoro Cigars” is quite unique in the world, its five year aging in Spanish Cedar and the strict supervision of maturation as well as all the environmental factors of the entire production process that traditionally with cigars are left to nature make this one the best Mexican Cigar produced in Mexico.

In most cases the aging process is supervised directly by a state-of- the-art monitoring system that was designed by Dr Lavin Sodi himself which when developed was considered ground-breaking for the cigar industry. This monitoring of the whole crop and aging process starts from the initial germination, through ripening, harvesting, maturing, rolling, within each phase monitored under the strictest electronic supervision, time spent aging in drawers of the finest woods is also computerized leading to a new world standard for quality and production of cigars.

Innovation in growth cycles

Disrupting of the cigar market has been an adage for this company that introduced the world to aging in a controlled high-altitude environment, crystal tubes for humidity preservation and the use of small drawers of Red Cedar, also cedar lining for each individual cigar in its crystal tube make the product a delight to smoke. This company continues to be at the forefront of innovation and having changed the way the industry now practices cigar production and ageing. Some of their signature flavor profiles are the result of Tobaccos from varied blends that are harvested in centers of cultivation where all the variables of the cycle of growth were controlled electronically; the result is a unique blend of products that are at the fore front of the tobacco industry.

In the case of some of their Premium brands, this unique maturation and aging process of often more than 5 years allows the development of complex and unique flavors, Cigars are often aged in Roasted Mexican Coffee Grains in red cedar and other fine woods, giving these cigars a unique taste and flavor that is recognized worldwide to the Cigar connoisseur.

Mexican Cigar Industry

Lavin Cigar Co. has dedicated its lifespan to position itself as the best producer of quality tobacco products that Mexico has to offer, it also has successfully produced changes within the Mexican Cigar Industry and created as a result a by-product of a new tobacco culture embraced by many Cigar Smokers as well as new cigar lovers. Under the personal supervision of “the Doctor” as Lavin Sodi is referred by his employees, a quite unique cult-type following philosophy in its consumers  has ensured, these all believe that this tobacco is the very best in the world and has no comparison with any others.

Interest of this company

The interest of Lavin Cigar Co. is different from many manufactures and may not be pursing only financial gain, their primary interest was not to have a highly commercial product but rather to have the best product that is able to be produced no matter how strenuous, complicated or limited the production process is, production is so limited that less than 1% of the cigar leaves grown on the crop are used for this product, the financial success of these Premium cigars shows how a strict maturing process can totally change the flavor and taste of a good cigar. But this company also wanted to show that outstanding tobacco can be made in Mexico. This is the first time Lavin Sodi combined his knowledge of economy with an industry and made this a success for the Mexico tobacco industry.

But this is only the first of many other times that Dr. Sodi has used his knowledge in multiple industries with an interest to produce a successful product that proudly represents the Mexican Cigar Industry. We should definitively see more to come on this charismatic singular individual.

This article and its contents may have been assembled with the use of publicly available information on www.teodorolavin.com and www.lavinycarranza.com