Foment awards Joan Castells for his work at FIATC and Juan Echevarría for his career

The president of FIATC Seguros, Joan Castells i Trius, has been chosen by Foment del Treball as Entrepreneur of the Year. The employers' association has also decided to recognize the former president of Mutua Universal Juan Echevarría Puig, with its Medal of Honor for Business Trajectory.

At the delivery of the XVI Premis i Medalles d'Honor Foment, the entity has also distinguished Transports Generals d'Olesa in the Sustainable Development category. It has done so for its promotion of sustainable mobility, especially through its Bus4me tool. In Equality, it has awarded Randstad, for its gender-neutral selection and talent attraction processes.

In the Innovation category, it has distinguished Esbo Logistics for its implementation of a pioneering robotic system in the sector at a European level. For its part, Moventia has been recognized in the field of Internationalization for the growth prospects of its collective mobility division Moventis.

The employers' association has named Vallformosa, which has been producing wines and sparkling wines for more than 150 years, as SME of the Year. In addition, it has awarded two ex aequo prizes in the field of Social Responsibility: for Coca-Cola, and for the NGO K9 Creixell. The entity has a canine rescue and salvage unit for collapsed structures and phenomena such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

The distinctions of the employers' association, also named Guardons Carles Ferrer Salat, aim to recognize the commitment, excellence, and future of Catalan professionals and companies that have stood out throughout the year.

The entrepreneur of the year

Castells has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by Foment for his work at the head of insurance entities, and for having turned FIATC into one of the largest companies in the sector at a national level.

The awards were presented at an event at the TNC with the president of the Generalitat, the Minister of Industry, the president of the Parliament and the mayor of Barcelona

The president of FIATC joined the company in 1980.Castells is a member of the Unespa Board of Directors and the Consell Consultiu de l'Assegurança Privada of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In addition, he was vice-president of Foment del Treball, and also of Futbol Club Barcelona between 2000 and 2002, among other positions he has held throughout his career.

"Search for excellence"

Juan Echevarría has been recognized for his "unceasing search for excellence and good corporate governance," in companies such as Fecsa, Nissan, Motor Ibérica, Ebro-Kubota, and Cable i Televisió de Catalunya. He has been especially distinguished for his work at the helm of Mutua Universal, of which he was president from 2004 to 2022. During his presidency, he modernized the company while promoting historical values of mutualism, according to the employers' association.

Echevarría, who is Honorary President of Mutua Universal since this year, has accumulated recognitions ranging from the Clau de la Ciutat de Barcelona and the Creu de Sant Jordi of the Generalitat to the Order of the Sacred Treasure, awarded by the Emperor of Japan.

The awards were presented at a ceremony at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (TNC). Along with agents from the Catalan economic and sociopolitical sphere, the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès; the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Héctor Gómez; the president of the Parliament, Anna Erra, and the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, attended.

Consensus and stability

The president of Foment, Josep Sánchez Llibre, took advantage of his speech to demand basic and essential consensuses from governments and political parties, with the aim of having the "necessary stability that allows the return of companies to Catalonia, which is where they should be." He listed the consensuses he considers essential to move towards this stability, which include that economic policy guarantees economic growth; facilitates investments; allows the creation of stable jobs; ensures legal and economic stability; reinforces social cohesion, and creates a competitive and business friendly fiscal ecosystem.

Sánchez Llibre advocates for an economic policy that promotes economic growth and legal certainty and that facilitates the creation of stable jobs and investment

Precisely in the fiscal sphere, the president of the employers' association has asked the future Government to move towards a more competitive fiscal policy, and has defended that an administrative reform should take place to gain agility.He has been particularly critical on fiscal matters:"Often, companies are only looked at for their ability to pay taxes, always seeking new arguments to implement new rates." In this area, Sánchez Llibre believes that taxation should be designed to incentivize actions that promote productivity or business growth."As in other things in life, everything has a limit and I sincerely believe that we are already exceeding it", has warned.

Given the negotiation on the investiture of the President of the Government and agreements between the PSOE and Sumar on the reduction of the working day, he has demanded "respect for negotiations between social agents, who must be able to maintain social dialogue within the established framework."