Humility Anchors Strategy in Global Manufacturing and Builds Trust Across Cultures

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Building a manufacturing career across three countries and 12,000 km from home takes more than strategy. It takes humility, curiosity, and the willingness to learn the culture before leading it. Carlos Eyzaguirre, Plant Manager at the Mondelēz Granollers plant in Spain, has lived this over 13 years, leading the team behind Príncipe, MarieLU, and Yayitas. In this interview, he shares why humility outperforms strategy in manufacturing excellence, how the ‘Grow Every Day’ philosophy shapes his leadership, and what it looks like to lead with people first across borders and cultures.

Your career has taken you from Peru to Argentina and all the way to Spain- always within Mondelēz, always growing. Tell us about that journey: what has each chapter taught you about leadership and about yourself?

What I've learned is that this journey is, first and foremost, a family affair. Because when you move from one country to another, it has to be very well discussed and planned with your family, since the challenge is shared by everyone. Now that we've covered that, let's talk about leadership.

The biggest lesson I've learned is that every place you arrive in has its own culture, and you have to arrive with humility, learn, and adapt to it. Every place is different, every culture is different, and the leaders who are flexible enough to adapt are the ones who earn the trust of their people.

You've been with Mondelēz for over 13 years, living and working in three countries. What has kept you here, growing and taking on new challenges? How would you describe the Mondelēz culture and what does 'Grow Every Day' mean to you in practice, beyond the slogan?

What keeps me at Mondelēz is that there's always something new to learn, build, and deliver. I've never felt like I've peaked because the next opportunity always shows up. When younger colleagues ask about mobility, I tell them my home is 12,000 km from where I work, and I got here by saying yes to every opportunity that pushed me forward. Stepping into something new, adapting my thinking, and improving how I work is how I make MDLZ grow, and that's exactly what keeps me here.

The culture at Mondelēz is teamwork towards a common goal. Things don't always go as planned, but every team shows up, gives their all, and finds a way forward. That energy is the same in every country and every region where I've worked at Mondelēz, and that makes me very proud.

Today you lead our Granollers plant, where we make some of Spain's most beloved biscuits: Príncipe, MarieLU, Yayitas. How does a typical day look like in your role as Plant Director, and what is it that makes this plant and its team truly special?

I arrive at 8:15, and the first thing I do is put on my work uniform. Yes, the directors here wear uniforms too. Then I head to the Gemba, walking the plant with one purpose: to learn and to teach. This is the moment when I feel the plant through every sense - the people, the sounds, the temperatures, the lights. And smelling freshly baked cookies and chocolate first thing in the morning? Indescribable. After the Gemba, the DMS (Daily Management System) meetings begin.

These tactical, focused meetings set the day's priorities and align on results. The plant runs 24 hours a day, and each morning we pick up the momentum from the night before. Once the day is set, we move into strategic meetings to plan the plant's growth.

Teamwork here is everything. Each person has a clear role, and the success of the day depends on all of us being in sync.

You have built your entire career in manufacturing and had the opportunity to grow, lead teams and move across the world within Mondelēz. What would you say to someone considering a career in manufacturing at Mondelēz - whether they're just starting out or looking for their next challenge?

I would tell them it's the best decision of their life.

Manufacturing is a field of extremes: you either love it or hate it, and the only way to know is by living it. Every day is a mix of strategy and tactics, big picture thinking and hands-on problem solving at the same time, and that's exactly why it has my heart. Learning different processes, different technologies, those were the givens. But working with people every day, touching their lives, watching them grow, walking with them through the good days and the hard ones, that's what makes it personal.

Thirty years in factories, across multiple industries, and the common factor never changes: people. People who love, laugh, and cry. People who show up every day to give their best. And as a leader, I show up for them just the same. That's what leadership means to me.

Manufacturing Excellence is a big focus for Mondelēz. What does it mean to you as a Plant Director, why is it so important for #TeamMDLZ, and how are you making sure every colleague in Granollers feels part of this journey?

Mondelēz has a very solid strategy for this: Integrated Lean Six Sigma (IL6S). It runs on two numbers, i.e., Zero and One Hundred.

1. Zero, meaning zero waste. Anything that doesn't add value to our products is a loss, and we treat it that way.
2. One Hundred, meaning 100% involvement of the organization, all focused on the same goal.

What I love about this methodology is that it builds ownership. It teaches us to own our processes, our machines, our plant areas. When you own something, you care about the results. And when everyone cares, that's when Manufacturing Excellence stops being a program and starts being how we work.

And to close - after a full day at the plant surrounded by thousands of freshly made biscuits… what is your favorite Mondelēz product? And what is the thing that makes you smile most about your team in Granollers every day?

My favorite Mondelēz product since I arrived in Spain is the Maxichoc. The combination of double chocolate and a crunchy cookie is a true delight.

And what makes me smile about my team is simple: no matter how tough the day has been, and we've had plenty of those, we leave knowing we gave it everything. We support each other, we look out for each other, and we keep moving forward. Good vibes here are not optional, they're how we work. We love working on this plant and we know how to handle whatever comes our way.