Google is ubiquitous, but until now it did not have any physical headquarters in Barcelona. The American technology giant has just opened an office in the city with an initial team of 40 workers, although this figure is expected to grow rapidly, although the company prefers not to make estimates on the number of jobs it plans to create in the coming years.
Currently, in Spain, Google has a main office in Madrid, with about 300 employees, and also has an international cybersecurity excellence center located in Malaga where about forty engineers work. The Barcelona office will not be a software development hub, but will have a totally commercial character and will be oriented to provide support and be closer to the company's clients.
For this initial phase of implementation in Barcelona, Google has chosen a Spaces group coworking located in the heart of the city, in Plaça Universitat, at the confluence of Gran Via and Aribau. According to the director of Google in Spain and Portugal, Fuencisla Clemares, "this is a first step", so the company could consider later renting its own larger corporate offices in Barcelona. "We are going to grow in Barcelona, for sure, but we will go step by step", says the executive, who admits that there are many Google professionals who may be interested in moving to work in Barcelona, a city where she also resided for two years and of which she keeps a great memory.
"Barcelona and Catalonia have consolidated themselves as one of the largest technological talent hubs in Europe. We are extraordinarily happy to be able to open this office in Barcelona, as it is a key city for the technological and entrepreneurial ecosystem and a gateway to Europe", Clemares stressed this Wednesday. The executive explained that Google is global, but that it likes to "act locally" and "actively contribute to the development and digital transformation of society to make it more competitive and prepared to adapt to changes". "Technology is a source of wealth and well-being. We are convinced that Google is a robust ally for the business fabric of Catalonia", Clemares pointed out.
According to Google, "Catalonia's strategic position," its capacity to attract technology companies and investments, and the consolidation of its entrepreneurial ecosystem and talent hub have been key in the decision to open the office. "According to a study included in the CTECNO Barometer 2021, in 2020, a total of 16,711 companies were created in the technology sector, which makes Catalonia one of the largest epicenters of technology and innovation in the country," states the American multinational. "Being in Barcelona will also allow us to better understand the business fabric and its workforce in order to strengthen the Catalan digital economy," adds the group.
The Barcelona center will employ experts in digital marketing, business consultants, and professionals from the Google Cloud services division, one of the company's main growth engines. "The number of digital native companies interested in our Cloud technology is increasing," the group points out. At the head of the Barcelona office, the multinational has placed Danilo Colnaghi, an Italian executive who has been with the group for almost ten years and was previously based in Brussels. "Opening this office is a great personal and professional goal," he emphasizes.
Presence of key clients
According to Google, in Catalonia, the company has several reference clients that justify the opening of this new headquarters, such as Mango, TradeInn, Promofarma, Vueling, eDreams or Tous and other "success stories" like Wallapop or Softnonic. According to Clemares, "now we will be able to be much closer to these partners to help them grow and continue to provide them with Google's tools and technologies to optimize their businesses."
The event featured the participation of Mango's CEO, Toni Ruiz, who highlighted that the fashion retail group is an intensive user of Google's technology and its artificial intelligence tools, as they have allowed it to "stay ahead." "We were pioneers in online sales in 2000 and now we are in the Metaverse. Mango wants to be a spearhead and it's great news that Google is betting on Barcelona," the executive emphasized. The family group already obtains 42% of its revenue from the online channel, where it invoices one billion euros a year in the 80 countries where the service is available. "Google helps us a lot to understand what is happening in the market and its presence in Barcelona will allow us to continue being pioneers," Ruiz concluded.
Toni Ruiz (Mango): "It's great news that Google is betting on Barcelona"For his part, the CEO and founder of TradeInn, David Martín, explained that without Google it would have been impossible to position their sports equipment products in any country in the world and to reach the current sales volume, with more than 25,000 online orders per day. According to the executive, technology and AI tools allow them to automate vital processes for their business, such as "automatically changing up to 20 million prices a day."TradeInn migrated its platform to Google Cloud in 2017and today works with more than one hundred servers located on several continents. The Catalan companyneared 400 million in revenue in 2021and, according to Martín, its challenge "is to reach 1,000 million."
Bet on the tourism sector
Another key to Google's Barcelona bet lies in the tourism sector. "Tourism, one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic and which accounts for 12% of GDP in the city of Barcelona alone, is also one of the areas Google wants to contribute to. To do this, being close to the Catalan tourism industry and helping to accelerate its digital transition is a priority", they point out. According to the Destination Insights tool, Barcelona was the ninth most searched location worldwide as a tourist destination in April.
The Catalan capital has also been chosen to be one of the beneficiaries (with one million euros) of a sustainability fund created by Google to finance projects that accelerate the fight against climate change and help cities reduce their emissions and be more resilient to the effects of climate change. These funds can be requested by local non-profit organizations.
According to Google, in addition to generating more business, this opening will accelerate actions aimed at citizens to train them in digital skills through Google Professional Certificates. "This learning offers new career opportunities to people without previous experience, but also addresses the job demands of companies looking for these profiles," explains the company.
From looms to digital talent
The presentation ceremony was held this Wednesday in style in an old textile factory, Espai Serrahima, next to the Montjuïc fairgrounds, and was attended by the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès; the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez; the counselors Roger Torrent and Jordi Puigneró; and the deputy mayors of Barcelona Jaume Collboni and Laia Bonet, among other authorities. "Before, in this space where we are, there were looms, because the industrialization of Catalonia was done through the textile sector; today we are committed to talent and to a green and digital reindustrialization," stressed President Aragonès after highlighting "Catalonia's strategic position as the technological capital of southern Europe."
For his part, Jaume Collboni called Google's decision to establish itself in Barcelona a "wise decision." "Today is a great day, because the city's dream of being a European leader and a world reference in technology comes true. We are the fifth hub in the technology industry and in terms of attracting talent, and we are prepared to climb the ranking," emphasized the first deputy mayor. According to Collboni, to continue laying out "the red carpet" for all companies, "very soon one million new square meters will be put on the market in the 22@ technology district, the same amount as when it was born in 2000."
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