Ramon Agenjo assumes the presidency of Barcelona Global with a will for continuity

Barcelona Global has made effective the change of leadership at the head of the association. Its general assembly has chosen Ramon Agenjo as the new president of the entity, replacing Maite Barrera, after the two-year term established by the statutes. The director and secretary of Damm's board of directors and president of the Cacaolat group has assumed the position with the will to continue the work promoted by Barrera: "I will take care of what she started and could not finish; my roadmap will be one of continuity with respect to hers."

Agenjo, great-grandson of Damm's founder and proposed by Barrera herself for the position, has opted to go further and to put on the table of Barcelona Global city assets such as sport, culture, and gastronomy, which contribute to attracting visitors and can represent a gateway for new talent to the Catalan capital.

Agenjo's appointment puts an end to Barrera's mandate, who now becomes honorary president of the entity. The fact that mandates are for two years by statute implies that whoever holds the position reaps the fruits of their predecessor and lays the groundwork for the next, according to Barrera: "It's a relay race, which allows it not to be a presidentialist association, but rather for the weight to be on the member and on the team at the helm," with Mercè Conesa as general director of the entity, which has more than 1,220 members and a budget of 2.4 million this year.

The general assembly has also approved the composition of the new executive committee proposed by Agenjo, which will have 20 members. Among them are Mike Blackman (ISE), Carmina Ganyet (Colonial), Jaume Oliu (Harvest Capital Management) and Daniel Puig (Puig y FCN) as vice-presidents. Of the 20 members, 16 were already part of the governing body, and four are joining for the first time: María Alsina (Caixabank), Ainhoa Moll (Prensa Ibérica), Lluis Torner (ICFO) and Ana Vallés (Sorigué).

A barcelonensis autenticus

The new president of the entity, who defines himself as a "barcelonensis autenticus" who enjoys all the city's neighborhoods, will also continue Barrera's work in creating chapters within the association, which group professionals from common sectors or interests. One of the first to be promoted was life science, a sector that represents 9% of Catalonia's GDP and has a "very complete" ecosystem in Barcelona and its surroundings, according to Barrera.

"However, many of its main players did not know each other. Now, more than 120 are part of the chapter and are working on the challenges Barcelona faces to position itself as the great city of life science in Europe." After this first chapter within the entity, one dedicated to the climate tech field was also created, partly motivated by the drought, and another for young people, which includes the members of the annual 2040 program.

Talent as a leitmotiv

Barrera has reviewed her mandate, insisting on the importance of generating and attracting talent and at the same time retaining that of the city, following the leitmotiv of the entity since its foundation 13 years ago. "We want Barcelona to be the best city in the world for impact talent and for it to want to do its bit to advance towards a better society," she added.

During Barrera's mandate, Barcelona Global has been involved in debates such as the conversion of Barcelona Airport into an intercontinental hub, for which it proposed extending the third runway by 350 meters. It also launched a plan to build 25,000 flats to facilitate access to housing, an issue that also concerns foreign professionals residing in Barcelona. In this regard, and asked about the City Council's announcement that it will eliminate tourist flats in the city by 2029, Barrera stressed that Barcelona Global will analyze the matter to assess it, and has advocated for the entity to organize another edition of its meeting to discuss tourism during the new mandate.

Barrera has pointed to taxation as another issue to continue working on: "Taxes must be paid, but Barcelona must be a competitive city and must be able to compete with the rest of the European cities that are attracting talent," she added, and recalled that Barcelona Global contributed to the promotion of the Startups Law approved in 2022 in Congress. In addition, the entity has presented during this mandate a proposal for improving mobility in the areas around Barcelona, and is working to create a digital twin of the metropolitan area. These initiatives are in addition to the promotion of the investment attraction agency Barcelona&Partners, which has facilitated the arrival of 18 companies to the city and has promoted the clean room for chip prototyping by Innofab.

In this sense, Barrera has opted to continue promoting this sector to consolidate the city as the future European capital of the digital and technological field. After highlighting the importance of training in a Barcelona that "wants to be the city of talent," Barrera has vindicated the role of the entity in attracting events such as the America's Cup and the start of the Tour de France in 2026. "Barcelona shines again and is where we have always wanted it to be. Even after a pandemic, Barcelona is back on fire".