The Spain-United States Chamber of Commerce has awarded the executive president of the Damm food and beverage group and president of the energy company DISA, Demetrio Carceller, as 'Business Leader of the Year'. The institution has recognized him for being "a transformational leader who, through investment in talent, technology and innovation, and international expansion, has driven transformation within the companies he leads and has turned them into leading companies in their respective sectors."
In this sense, in the period in which Demetrio Carceller has been executive president of Damm, the company has multiplied the number of employees by five and currently both companies have more than 10,000 workers, with a global presence. The board of directors of the Spain-United States Chamber has also valued the extraordinary international development of the brewing company in the last ten years, currently reaching more than 30% of the group's activity.
Alan Solomont, chairman of the chamber's board of directors and former United States ambassador to Spain, highlighted "Demetrio Carceller's commitment to the circular economy and the environment that make him an example to follow in the field of corporate social responsibility and that, among other things, has led him to align Damm's strategy and operations with the objectives of the 2030 agenda." The former ambassador also recognized "his important work at the Damm Foundation and his great contribution to society through the promotion of cultural, sports and social initiatives, and help to the most vulnerable."
The award ceremony took place during the annual gala held by the Spain-United States Chamber of Commerce in New York, an institution founded in that same city in 1959 to foster economic relations between both countries. More than 200 representatives from politics, business and finance from both countries attended the event. Among those present were Caridad Batalla, Consul General of Spain in New York; Andrew Kimball, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and Kristen Kaufman, the deputy commissioner for international affairs of New York City.
Shared values
The United States is not an unfamiliar country for Demetrio Carceller. The businessman completed his university studies at Duke University, an experience that, as he himself points out, "marked him as a person" and allowed him to acquire knowledge and values that have been fundamental in his career.
"I know that, although we sometimes see things differently, the United States and Spain share, both historically and socially, a common humanity. We share a perspective in which tradition, roots, homeland matter, and in which all of this is compatible with the desire to transform and innovate," he defended, "both are creative, open, and extroverted cultures, and often spontaneous. We are lucky, as this shared vivacity is more necessary now than ever."