By Sofía Gómez Puente
I arrive at Bertha’s workplace, the office of Tequila Casa Dragones in NYC. As the interview begins, I suddenly feel a bit lost, even as I try to retain a calm and unruffled demeanor. Of course, Bertha’s reputation makes the prospect of interviewing her a little intimidating, especially in the face of her passion and her knowledge. But the truth is that even before I began the interview, I knew exactly what I wanted to write.
Bertha Gonzalez Nieves, the “First Lady of Tequila”, is Mexico’s first female Maestra Tequilera, a title only a few men in the country held, until now. She’s also CEO and Co-Founder of Tequila Casa Dragones, alongside Bob Pittman, founder of MTV and Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia. Sure, I could have gone for an article on the “Latino woman who is making waves in a world traditionally dominated by men,” but that wasn’t the essence I wanted to capture here. I wanted to get personal.
When you meet people like Bertha, don’t you want to know what drives them? I remember the first time I met her: she was exquisitely simple, elegant; the way she spoke was with sweet severity and a sharp and incisive voice. She had a fever of enthusiasm that invited you to talk, to have a conversation, and when we did, her manner seemed bright with interest and interrogation. Bertha inspired me not only by her graceful sense of readiness and vigor, but because she’s a visionary with persuasive eloquence and an inexplicable personal and professional energy that can’t help but being contagious.
Although NBC News said the term “first lady” is “misleading because it implies there’s a first man,” and they are partially right, Bertha has made it clear she is the boss. When I asked her what it feels like to be in a male-dominated industry, she answered:
“To be honest I never really thought about it like that. When I first started, I didn’t see many women around, but I was so passionate about what I was doing that it wasn’t something I thought about. I didn’t want the concept of the ‘male-dominated industry’ to define me. Of course, I am very proud to be a woman, but for me it’s more about being a professional in the industry.”
Bertha got involved in the tequila industry out of passion. She was selected by the Japanese government to represent Mexico for a program in her early 20s and got invited to Tequila, Jalisco, as part of her training. She had to learn about Mexican industries, one of them being tequila. After two days, she was captivated by tequila and its industry, finally consolidating her passion for business. She worked for ten years in the Mexican company Grupo Cuervo, producers of the world-famous Jose Cuervo tequila, where she had the chance “to be inspired and to learn the industry from within.”
After investing in start-up companies, she co-founded Tequila Casa Dragones. Using the most sustainable processes available in the industry, and with careful and detailed attention into each product, the distinctive nature of this Tequila, floral and citrus notes balanced with sweet and spice notes, came as result of blending white tequila with a 5-year-old tequila, aged in new American white oak barrels.
The brand focuses on the “the business of taste”, quality before quantity, which earned it the Grand Prix Stratégies du Luxe, an award for product and packaging design in luxury brands —the first time tequila and a Mexican brand won such award.
When asked about the competitive world of business, she sees, more than competition, creative people striving together to create a market, rather than just individuals trying to stand out with their own products: “It’s about the consumer falling in love with tequila, so consumers want to try products from all of us in the business. Yes, there is a lot of competition, but you just have to be true to yourself and your brand, while bringing a very clear and different offering that complements tequila and the experience the consumer has with it.”
Bertha’s been named one of the 50 most powerful women in Mexico by Forbes magazine. She seems to be shooting for some kind of perfection, on her own terms, not anyone else’s… Something I can definitely relate to. She believes she was always an entrepreneur by nature, and that “is not a lifestyle that you choose, it’s more of a way of living. It requires a big amount of passion and determination.”
I am not in the least surprised, as she did tell me that she likes to work with “talented, incredible minds. Build and execute your mission with people that believe in what you are trying to accomplish. The company only comes to life with people. You inspire them, but they inspire you too.”
If Bertha could have a sip of tequila with anyone from history, dead or alive, who would it be? She lingered a few leisurely seconds and said, “I would love to have a glass of tequila with Frida Kahlo and Chavela Vargas.”
It was truly great catch up with her, both on and off the record, from her expressing her thoughts on Mexico’s growth and development, as well as education and migration, to learning more about this exquisite tequila.
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This luxury brand of tequila co-hosted the event for the We Are All Human Foundation in NYC, alongside Enrique Olvera, ATLA, Edelman, and Claudia Romo Edelman, a foundation I am proud to be committed to, where we look to bring leaders and experts from all walks of life to identify, scale, and promote innovative approaches to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity for all.
Photos: @casadragones and @berthagonzalezn
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