October 2012 | By Colin Cottell

Expanding its operations in Madrid is the key to making a profit from day one in some Central and South American markets, according to the chief executive of global executive recruiter Antal International.

Tony Goodwin told Recruiter that the company was taking advantage of the common language between Spain and Mexico, to make placements in Mexico from the company’s Madrid office. However, he added, “we will transplant that business to Mexico [in Q1 2013] so we are making money from day one”. According to the CIA World Factbook, in 2005, 99% of Mexicans spoke Spanish.

Goodwin said the company had plans to roll out the same business model to service other markets where Spanish is spoken, including Argentina, Peru and Chile. It would “probably be 2014” before these staff moved from Madrid to South America, as they needed to get six months to a year’s experience first, Goodwin added.