People in H&S: Luis Nieto .. Mexico;

              PEOPLE IN H&S
Through the tinted glass of his office in
the modern Banco Internacional S.A.
building, Luis Nieto, partner in charge of
the Deloitte, Plender, Haskins & Sells
office in Mexico, can look down on the
bustle of traffic and humanity of Mexico
City's two main avenues, Reforma and
Insurgentes.
'Right down there," he says, pointing to a
busy intersection, "I once sold polishing
cloths to people in cars stopped at the
traffic light. My grandfather had given me
a piece of faded red flannel from his store,
which I had cut up and washed, then
sprinkled with the light oil my mother
used for her sewing machine. I sold the
pieces for 50 centavos to earn some
money while I was going to school."
Today, as he relaxes in his many-tiered,
modern home built on a steep hillside in
the suburb of Tecamachalco, Luis Nieto
can look back and savor the events and
twists of fortune that have influenced
his private and professional life.
His father was a doctor who, upon
receiving his degree at San Luis Potosi
University, had been assigned to practice
in the town of San Luis de la Paz, an
agricultural community some 200 miles
northwest of Mexico City. Although the
family moved to Mexico City when Luis
was six, he has returned to his birthplace
often and still regards it as "the most
beautiful town in the world."
In addition to being a doctor, Luis' father
was an amateur bullfighter, an avocation
he gave up as a condition to the
acceptance of his marriage proposal.
He was also a state champion tennis
player. Under this influence, Luis began
playing tennis when he was "about three"
and while in his early teens he twice
advanced to the semi-finals of the Federal
District tennis championship, only to lose
both times.
Another diversion that influenced Luis'
life was the Boy Scouts, for it was during
trips into the country that he and his
friends learned to smoke pipes, using dry
corn leaves for tobacco. Now his pipe is
an ever-present part of his day.
Upon completion of secondary school,
Luis had decided that he had had enough
of studying. It was time to go to work and
make some money. Luis' grandfather was
a successful businessman who owned
"a store that sold everything, and a
couple of ranches."
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Luis Nieto...Mexico
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PACO CASINO
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