Guatemala Summit Explores Trust, Leadership and Corporate Reputation
La Cumbre de Líderes en Reputación Corporativa explored trust, leadership and responsible technology while recognizing Guatemala’s most reputable companies.
La Cumbre de Líderes en Reputación Corporativa brought together business leaders and experts in Guatemala to examine how corporate decisions, leadership, responsible technology and consistent actions shape the trust organizations generate among their stakeholders.
Organized by Revista Summa and Summa Connections, the event took place on September 23 and included the presentation of the 2026 Awards for Companies with the Best Corporate Reputation in Guatemala.
Corporate reputation goes beyond communication
The summit focused on the changing role of corporate reputation and the importance of demonstrating that organizations fulfill their commitments and operate responsibly.
Rather than relying solely on what companies communicate, reputation is increasingly shaped by their decisions and the experiences they create for their different stakeholders. The discussions addressed responsible commerce, the importance of evidence to support corporate commitments, and the influence of leadership, people and artificial intelligence on business trust.
Turning corporate commitments into action
Ayleen Rodríguez, External Affairs Manager at Tabacalera Centroamericana, S.A., an affiliate of Philip Morris International (PMI) for Guatemala and Honduras, focused her presentation on the importance of translating corporate commitments into concrete actions.
Her intervention highlighted the shared responsibility of companies, retailers, families, authorities and society in preventing minors from accessing tobacco and nicotine products.
“Trust is built when commitment becomes action,” Rodríguez said.
She pointed to the Menores Libres de Vape initiative as an example of this approach, extending prevention policies throughout the commercial chain and involving additional stakeholders.
Evidence becomes central to reputation management
The discussion also examined the role of evidence in supporting the claims organizations make about their performance and commitments.
Carlos Esquivel, CEO of Makbi, emphasized that companies need to demonstrate their actions through evidence. He identified governance, workers, community, the environment and customers as five areas that should be audited and supported with documentary evidence.
“A brand’s reputation does not end with its own operation; it ends with the last decision of whom it buys from,” Esquivel highlighted.
He also stressed that reputation management extends to suppliers and value chains, where business decisions can either strengthen or undermine trust.
Human judgment and artificial intelligence
The relationship between people, leadership, technology and corporate reputation was another focus of the summit.
Rodolfo Ramírez, Faculty member at ADEN and Global Health & Wellbeing Digital Operations Lead at Unilever, addressed the impact of artificial intelligence on work and decision-making processes.
“It is not only what a company communicates, it is what people experience.”
Ramírez also emphasized that organizations must take responsibility for the use of emerging technologies. According to his remarks, the adoption of AI requires reliability, data protection, transparency and oversight.
He further highlighted the importance of human judgment as an essential element in preserving trust as organizations incorporate new technologies into their operations.
Revista Summa recognizes Guatemala’s most reputable companies
The event concluded with the presentation of the 2026 awards for the Companies with the Best Corporate Reputation in Guatemala, based on the ranking prepared by Revista Summa in its latest edition.
The 25 recognized companies and organizations were:
- Progreso
- Castillo Hermanos
- CMI (Corporación Multi Inversiones)
- Banco Industrial
- Bam
- Grupo Salinas
- Magdalena
- Grupo Pantaleon
- Bantrab
- Grupo Financiero G&T Continental
- Grupo AG
- Centro Médico
- Neonet
- EPM Guatemala
- Universidad Galileo
- Walmart
- Universidad Rafael Landívar
- cbc
- BAC
- Licores de Guatemala
- Hospital El Pilar
- GranBay-Papelera Internacional
- Grupo Cayalá
- Hospital Herrera Llerandi
- Corporación Camino Real
The summit was sponsored by Fundación Bi, Berlitz, Cámara de Comercio de Guatemala, PMI through its responsible commerce program, Makbi, Universidad Galileo and ADEN.
Through its different discussions, the event examined how actions, consistency, evidence, leadership and responsible technology contribute to the trust organizations build with their stakeholders.
