The future presidency of the Cercle d'Economia, between big business and SMEs

Within the foreseen deadline, the pre-candidates for the presidency of the Cercle d'Economia, Jaume Guardiola and Rosa Cañadas, have specified who will accompany them in their race to lead the entity for the next four years.

The composition of their candidacies is quite divergent. On one hand, the former CEO of Banco Sabadell, Jaume Guardiola, does not hide the continuity component of his proposal and has incorporated sixteen members of the current board, in a clear commitment to large companies.

On the other hand, the president of the Tanja Foundation, Rosa Cañadas, defends the need for "change" and has sought new profiles among the entity's grassroots ---only two of her components have been part of previous boards--- and has appealed to SMEs and entrepreneurs.

Thus, there will be a choice between "enlarging and updating the legacy of the Cercle," according to Jaume Guardiola, and "the plurality and transversality" that Rosa Cañadas defends. The decision will be made by the 1,200 members of the Catalan economic lobby next July 12, in one of the most open elections in its history, because they are the first in which there will be more than one candidate.

Cañadas, a list of 16 people

This Friday, candidate Cañadas was the first to make her list public. It will be made up of nine men and six women and has five members under 40 years old, because she wants to be a "representative" candidacy of what society is and that its different members guarantee "independence, transversality, and empathy."

The list is completed by the vice-president of Cabify, Marta Plana; the co-founder of Glovo, Sacha Michaud; the founder and CEO of Reby, Josep Gómez; the general director of the Institute of Financial Studies (IEF), Josep Soler; the founding partner of Open House Games, Joan Francesc Bañó; the vice-president and director of the Baix Llobregat employers' association Aeball/Upmball, Maria Rosa Fiol; the founder and CEO of Deale, Gerard García; the president of the Japan Business Circle, Jorge Lasheras; the director and corporate director of Grupo Hotusa, Marina López; the doctor in Economics from the University of Barcelona (UB), Rosa Nonell; the owner and CEO of Onsecur, Ramon Palou; the special advisor to the non-profit organization Teach For All, Xavier Prats; the president of AEDAF (Spanish Association of Tax Advisors), Stella Raventós-Calvo; the lawyer and partner at Garrigues and KPMG, Silvia Soribas; and the director of the Department of Global Analysis and Development at ISGlobal, Rafael Vilasanjuan.

The pre-candidate recalled that, if elected president, she does not rule out incorporating names of members from the current board: "It is positive and enriching to be able to incorporate members from the other board," she opined.

Asked about the first measure she will promote if elected president, she assured that she wants to change the entity's statutes for new elections. Cañadas also wants the Cercle d'Economia to "regain its voice" and "open up" to Europe.

Guardiola, with 21 out of 22 possible positions

The former CEO of Banco Sabadell has highlighted the high level of the list members and the high representativeness of the new economy, with profiles of investors in health, biotechnology, entrepreneurs, experts in digital transformation, research, infrastructure and transport, geostrategic policies or startups. The former banker has also not ruled out making some changes if elected, as he considers that boards of directors are "dynamic and the one that starts is not the same as the one that finishes."

However, he has presented a very closed candidacy, with very defined positions, and configured by 21 of the 22 members allowed by the entity. Of the total, 11 are men and 10 are women, and it features as its only novelties the incorporation of Clara Campàs, researcher and director of the venture capital firm Asabys on health; Rita Almela, managing partner at 101 Startups, 101 Venturas and co-founder of Wolorent; Pol Morillas, director of CIDOB; and Daniel Aicart, head of Strategic Planning and Research at B:SM.

From the outset, he also specified that, in his mandate if chosen, he will have two vice-presidents ---something that also happens for the first time---. These are the CEO of Penguin Random House, Núria Cabutí, and the director of Barcelona School of Economics, Teresa Garcia Milà.

Otherwise, the current board members are: the notary Camí Quiroga; the corporate general director of Colonial, Carmina Ganyet; the director of Spanish Economy at CaixaBank Research, Oriol Aspachs; the president of Grupo Puig, Marc Puig; the lawyer and partner at Cuatrecasas, Miguel Trías Sagnier; the president of Havas Media Group, Alfonso Rodés; the president and CEO of Celsa Group, Francesc Rubiralta; the philologist and writer, Jordi Amat; the strategic consultant, writer and political analyst, José Maria Lassalle; the president of Red Points, Laura Urquizu; the CEO of Bluecap, Maite Barrera; the director of the Institut Català del Sòl, Mercedes Conesa; the professor of Economics at IESE, Núria Mas; and also professor at IESE, Xavier Vives.

Guardiola explained that one of the first actions of his board of directors will be the defense of Barcelona's assets and its projection in the world, as stated in his program. "We must be proud after a time of collective depression. It is time to move forward," he said.