Maite Barrera, new president of Barcelona Global

"Barcelona is at a definitive moment and we must be ambitious and think that the city can achieve whatever it wants," defends the new president of Barcelona Global, Maite Barrera, elected this Monday by the entity's General Assembly for a two-year term. The founder of the financial sector consultancy Bluecap faces the new stage surrounded by the17 members ---of whom eleven are joining for the first time---of an executive committee "young, because half of them are under 50 years old; brave, diverse, transversal and multifaceted, which gathers all the prisms that the city has," according to Barrera. Four vice-presidents will be the right hand of the entrepreneur and businesswoman; a responsibility that has fallen toJosep Lluís Sanfeliu, managing partner and founder of Asabys Partners;Òscar Pierre, co-founder and CEO of Glovo;Oriol Pinya, president of SpainCap and co-founder of Abac Capital; andDaniel Puig, manager of Jorcani and member of the governing bodies of the Puig Group. Maite Barrera highlightsthe role of "leadership in their respective areas of action" of the teamthat will accompany him and thatare "people committed to Barcelona",as the rest of the members of the executive commission. Entrepreneurs, businessmen, researchers, financiers, athletes, philanthropists, scientists and academics who "love the city, who want it to be a leading capital in the world, and with whom we will take risks" to make Barcelona a world leader in sustainable growth and impact talent, he assured. "If Barcelona has something different, it is that it has a civil society that unites us, that makes us think big and that promotes public-private collaboration." Among the components with a more public trajectory is the footballerGerard Piqué, founder and president of Kosmos, who "perhaps has been the one who has had the most echo, and who is with us because he is a very committed person, aSilicon Valley Boythat has taken the Barcelona brand very far, with creative capacity in the world of entertainment." But young entrepreneurs also stand out---"we have three companies that have become unicorns"asEnric Asunción, CEO of Wallbox Chargers;Javier Pérez-Tenessa, founding partner of 4Founders Capital and Edreams Odigeo;Jaume Oliu, founder and CEO of Raset Ventures; but also representatives who have successfully integrated traditional sectors into the new economy, such asEloi Planes, executive president of Fluidra, andSergi Ferrer-Salat, economist, businessman, philanthropist, and social and environmental activist, orCarmina Ganyet, Corporate General Director of Colonial. She is alsoFrancesca Lia, advisor to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for the new European Bauhaus;Juan Antonio Alcaraz, general business director of CaixaBank;Teresa García-Milà,Director General of the Barcelona School of Economics;Ana Godó, editor of La Vanguardia Dossier at Grupo Godó;Sergi Loughney, director of Institutional Relations of the La Caixa Banking Foundation; andJosep Tabernero, director of Vall d'Hebrón Institute of Oncology. Among the "long-term" objectives, continue working to generate the necessary conditions and environment to attract and retain the best professionals and make Barcelona one of the best cities in the world for talent. "But not talent for talent's sake, but professionals whose work has a positive, sustainable, and inclusive impact, promoting the impact economy, generating wealth, and providing solutions to the environmental and social challenges of our city."

Barrera will focus her mandate on making Barcelona a benchmark in talent and the impact economy

Barrera sees it as a priority to work on improving taxation and attracting more investments and infrastructure to the Catalan capital, with the expansion of the airport as a goal. "The public-private agreement that made it possible to bring the America's Cup to Barcelona demonstrates that much can be achieved and many deficiencies compensated," she assured. Barrera is also a member of the executive committee of the Globant group, a technology unicorn listed in New York, which Bluecap joined. She has a degree in Business Administration from ESADE and an MBA from the same school and Anderson School of Business (UCLA). She is currently a member of the board of trustees of the Esade Foundation and is also a trustee of the Princess of Girona Foundation and a member of the board of directors of the Cercle d'Economia. Relief of Aurora CatàThe new president of Barcelona Global considers that her option is representative of the"DNA of change that the entity has" with about 1,100 members, as demonstrated by the work carried out by her predecessor Aurora Catà. In this regard, Catà highlighted the creation of Barcelona & Partners, the public-private agency for attracting large investments, which has managed to makeBarcelona to host the America's Cup sailing 2024and has announced thathas attracted the establishment of four large international companies consolidated in strategic sectors for Barcelona, for its landing in the city. It is aboutVeriff ---global identity verification provider that at the end of 2021 confirmed it was opening a technology hub in the city---, HelloFresh ---German group of fresh ready-to-cook meal kits---, ZF ---a German-American automotive parts manufacturer--- and GLG ---a financial and global information services company based in New York City---, which will generate 600 jobs. "We have contacted about a hundred international companies that can contribute a lot in strategic sectors so that they choose Barcelona to face the European market," Catà explained and specified that they have advanced negotiations with a dozen more of these corporations.

Add The New Barcelona Post as your preferred Google source for free

Stay informed with the latest news.

Activate now