Sears (Mexico) to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands where he supervised the business expansion of the islands. From 1955 to 1993, Sears opened stores throughout Mexico. On April 2, 1997, Sears, now owned by Sears Holdings, formed a strategic alliance with Grupo Carso, owned by Mexican businessman Carlos Slim Helú, through which Sears agreed to sell 85% of its share of Sears Mexico to Grupo Carso, until 1997. As of 2007, Grupo Carso owned a 100% share of the company. Even though Sears unveiled a new lowercase logo in the United States in 2010, Sears Mexico still retains the pre-2004 logo (in
The Founder Institute Founder Institute was to launch 1,000 companies per year. Graduates were given access to a "shared liquidity pool," where all participants in the program share equity in the companies formed. The first class graduated in October 2009 in Silicon Valley and was composed of 66 entrepreneurs and 54 companies. By the middle of 2010, The Founder Institute had chapters in ten cities throughout the world, including New York City, San Diego, Berlin, and Singapore. In May 2010, the chapters in New York and D.C. graduated a total of 25 new startups. By the end of 2011, it had more than