ESADEgeo President Javier Solana caps off ESADE's business leaders' conference at M?n Sant Benet
More than 100 businesspeople, scholars and experts met to debate the immediate challenges of economic crisis and the keys to transforming and adapting businesses to new times
Yesterday at the monastery of Sant Benet de Bages,ESADEgeo President Javier Solana delivered the closing address, entitled "A World in Transformation", to cap off the Reflection and Debate Session. Organised by theESADE Chair in LeadershipS and Democratic Governance in collaboration with the CatalunyaCaixa Foundation, this event featured the participation of more than 100 businesspeople as well as prominent Catalan politicians and scholars.
Year after year, the Reflection and Debate Session has offered a programme that delves into questions related to leadership in our society. ESADE's Chair in LeadershipS and Democratic Governance intends for this gathering to serve as a forum for dialogue between the various actors involved in the challenge of governing our country.
"It is unlikely that everything will go back to the way it was before." This was one of the main conclusions drawn during the Reflection and Debate Session at Sant Benet de Bages. Warning that there is no room for error in today's economy, Catalan business leaders called for a firm commitment to innovation and internationalisation.
In addition to Eugenia Bieto, Director General of ESADE, and Manel Rosell, President of the CatalunyaCaixa Foundation, the event featured the participation of prominent businesspeople such as Salvador Alemany (Abertis), Manel Adell (Desigual), Antoni Abad (CECOT), Jordi Bag? (Serhs), Xavier Brossa (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Xavier Cambra (FemCAT), Luis Cantarell (Nestl?), Josep M. Rovira (Endesa), Carmen Mur (Manpower), Xavier Pujol (Ficosa), Artur Carulla (Agrolimen) and Xavier Torra (Simon).
Jordi Pujol, former President of the Catalan Government, delivered a welcome address that warned of a crisis in Spanish institutions. For recovery to be possible, Mr. Pujol declared, we must admit our past mistakes ? both technical and ethical.
Commitment to innovation and internationalisation
The business leaders in attendance called on companies to make a firm commitment to innovation and internationalisation. Exportation, they argued, will play an important role in the journey back to economic growth.
Mr. Cantarell, of Nestl?, expressed disappointment at the fact that "Europe is more concerned about redistributing the pie than about creating it in the first place" and issued a warning: "If we don't want to lose ground, we must grow." Mr. Cantarell called for a focus on a series of key aspects: greater decentralisation, the role of companies in the world, more active participation in society, efficiency, and the search for emerging markets.
Xavier Pujol, of Ficosa, offered some criticism: "We should have done much more at the critical moments, and now is the time to act." Ms. Mur, of Manpower, made a similar point: "Now is the time to value things that we didn't value when we had them had 10 years ago."
Julio Rodr?guez, of Schneider, noted: "We have been near-sighted and failed to see what was happening. Now is the time to correct our course and admit our mistakes. To do this, we have to be humbler."
Adopting a somewhat more optimistic tone, the participants stressed the importance of working in areas essential to the country's growth, such as innovating and increasing overseas presence, particularly in Asian markets.
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