Carlos Gonzalez, CEO of CEMEX Egypt and UAE: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Carlos Gonzalez (LinkedIn), CEO of CEMEX Egypt and UAE. Edited excerpts from our conversation:

My name is Carlos Gonzalez and I'm currently the CEO of CEMEX in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. I’m from Mexico so I was born and raised in a third world country. As a young kid, I dreamed of exploring the world and I’ve been lucky enough to work in seven different countries in different roles ranging from consultant to engineer to managerial positions.

I’m in charge of the company’s business in the UAE and in Egypt. CEMEX is a construction materials company, so we have around eight or nine different businesses, between ready mix aggregates, all aspects of construction, materials and services. Our revenue between the two countries is around EGP 400 mn a year and we employ around 5k people.

I’ve been living in Egypt for the past five years. There are many things that I find beautiful about the country. Believe it or not, I really appreciate the weather here and how we get to experience all four seasons. Egyptian culture and family values are very similar to Mexican culture, which makes me feel at home. Egypt and Mexico are also the only two countries in the world that have pyramids, so that’s something else they have in common.

In my opinion, a CEO has three main roles. They set the strategic intent, monitor performance and allocate resources necessary to reach optimal performance. Continuing to innovate is imperative. We’re doing that by finding new ways of decarbonizing our operations and becoming more profitable in the process. I’m also focused on becoming a better manager and making sure that our teams are growing along with the company.

I usually wake up at 7am and I try to exercise first thing in the morning around three to four times a week. I usually run and do a little bit of cardio and some strength training here and there. I then have a cup of tea and read the news which helps me prepare for my day. I read Enterprise, the Financial Times, the Guardian and a Mexican newspaper called El Norte to keep up with the news back home.

Twitter is the only social media platform I use. I don't think it's as distracting as other platforms that can be too time consuming and addictive. I find it to be informative and I enjoy reading different points of view. I usually head to the office at 9am and begin answering emails and phone calls on my way.

I try to keep the amount of time I spend in meetings in a day to a minimum. I find communicating through WhatsApps and walk-ins more efficient than scheduling formal meetings for everything. I try to look at things from the top and just dive into things that require my attention rather than scheduling meetings for every single topic.

There are two main challenges that the cement industry is facing in Egypt today. The most pressing issue was the oversupply issue. It was really killing the industry and the only way we could’ve gotten through that was through government intervention. I’m very thankful that the government stepped in to make sure that the industry is generating a certain level of profitability and hopefully the industry can get back on its feet.

But on a much bigger scale, decarbonization is the major issue we should be tackling — and not just in the cement industry. As recently as a few years ago, climate change seemed like it was a far-off problem, especially to the western world and we’re all now beginning to face the consequences of putting off addressing the issue.

CEMEX reduced 30% of its emissions in a matter of three years by decreasing its use of fossil fuels and by using a combination of different technologies. The technology was there, we just had to utilize it and invest in it. We have plans to further reduce our emissions in the years ahead.

People constantly ask why a cement company has a football team. CEMEX’s football team has been around since the company was government-owned. There were a couple of years when we didn't have a team but we kept our football academy going. We ended up with really good players, but no team. Some players went on to play for other teams but four years ago we joined the fourth division. We then started to put some money into the team as a marketing investment because it would get the company’s name out there and the team eventually made it to the second division, where we are now. The football story shows the youth that if you work hard you can really succeed, which is consistent with how we operate as a company.

The best piece of advice I received was from my mother. As a kid when things weren’t going my way I’d look for excuses to justify it, but my mom would tell me that I know better and shouldn’t fool myself — that’s always resonated with me. Early on in my career, I was experiencing a lot of setbacks and one of my managers told me when the going gets tough the tough get going and that’s also something that I keep in mind. Good times will come and tough times will come. You just have to be consistent and keep doing it.

A colleague of mine recommended that I watch the movie The Message, which gave me more very interesting background on the beginnings of Islam. It’s also nice that a Mexican actor (Anthony Quinn) stars in the movie. I also recently watched Top Gun: Maverick and really enjoyed that — it’s impressive what Tom Cruise can pull off at 60.