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Sí al Futur has already presented all the members of its Board of Directors

08 January 2021
Sí al Futur has already presented all the members of its Board of Directors

During the presentation of the financial project, all the members of the Board of Directors proposed by Víctor Font to govern the Institution in the next term were announced. The directors who join the already announced Ramon Cugat, Toni Nadal, Joana Barbany, Maria Teresa Andreu, Annamari Basora, Carolina Fabregat and Maria José Balañá are:

Xavier Carbonell (Barcelona, 1970) – member 97,552. An executive director with a great deal of experience in the medical devices industry, specialising in change management, marketing, biotechnology and health, he will bring financial and business knowledge to the Board of Directors.

Find out more about Xavier Carbonell:

1. Name:
Dr Xavier Carbonell Castellón

2. Date and place of birth:
Barcelona, 4 February 1970

3. Education:
Doctor and businessperson (CEO of Palex Group since 2007)

4. Professional field and noteworthy experience:

Bachelor’s of Medicine (1994) with a postgraduate course in sport science.
Junior doctor at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital, Barcelona, from 1995 to 1998,
followed by private practice at Teknon Medical Centre with Dr Baselga until
2000.

EMBA at ESADE Business School, 2003-2004.

Medical and Marketing Director at Novartis Oncology 2000-2004.

Director Amgen Oncology Spain, 2004-2007. Member of the executive
committee and Head of International Marketing (US).

CEO of the Palex Group from September 2007 to the present (13 years). €300
million in revenue, in charge of 550 people. www.palexmedical.com

Board Member, Palex Group

Board Member, Cytocore Inc. (NASDAQ), 2011-2017

Board Member, ABEX Excelencia Robótica, since 2016

Board Member, Dermalumix, 2017-2018

CEO, Inmobiliaria Club de Golf Costa Brava, 2016-2020

Member of the executive committee of FENIN (Spanish Federation of Health
Technology Companies), since 2017

Member of the Industry Committee and the Innovation Committee of the
Spanish Chamber of Commerce

5. My link to Barça:
I first went to the match 45 years ago (it runs in the family). I can remember
going to the 17:00 kick-off since I was little. We often used to go skiing in
Andorra; on the Sunday, rather than skiing, we would come back, so that we
could get to the ground in time. I’ve often been to away games and we never miss a home game, however insignificant it might seem. Among a great deal of other travel to watch the team, I’ve been to four out of five Champions League finals. I’ve been going with my kids for a fair few years now (two lads of 22 and 20, and a lass of 16). Family plans are often made with an eye on when Barça are playing and against whom.

6. What type of Culé are you?
I would say that, as I get older, I increasingly can’t bear to watch. I used to be much more optimistic. I like to get there early and I always go with my kids, brother, and nephews and nieces (stairway 110). We’re the sort who like to watch the warm-up, soak up the atmosphere and watch the team come out. We rarely arrive late and even more scarcely leave before the match is over. Someone in the family always keeps an ear on the radio, RAC1 in particular. Barça matches don’t begin and end in the ground: they start quite a while beforehand and end at home, with the post-match analysis.

7. Our slogan means “Yes to the Future”. What do you think is the thing
Barça need to improve most urgently in your field?

On the institutional level, we need to really increase our presence in strategic sectors, in which we are not very present, and increase our visibility. That said, we need to be able to communicate what our (already defined) values are in all areas of society. Barça needs to get back to its roots: youth football, the Masia, Academy teams and culture. I think I can contribute a lot in purely business terms too. On top of that, Dr Cugat and I should be able to create a wider-ranging medical plan than the current one.

8. Do you have a couple of suggestions for those rare times when we are
thinking of something other than Barça?

I have always loved sport in general, though age is unforgiving. I love taking part and watching it, in particular tennis, golf and skiing. I played football until the age of 40, but it is already 10 years since I gave it up, as the risk of injury increases exponentially with age. I love good food and enjoying some nice wine with friends. I’m more into series and good films than reading. I love enjoying both the sea and the mountains. That is where I truly get away from it all.

Iñaki Ecenarro Iturrioz (Errenteria, 1973) – Member 85,968. An entrepreneur and investor in technology companies who founded the standard-setting tech start-up Trovit, he will offer the Board knowledge of the worlds of finance, business and new technologies.

Find out more about Iñaki Ecenarro:

1. Name:
Iñaki Ecenarro

2. Date and place of birth:
Errenteria (Gipuzkoa, Basque Country), 47 years old

3. Education:
Bachelor’s in Business Studies and MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT).

4. Professional field and noteworthy experience:
Entrepreneur and investor in technology companies. Founder of Trovit, which has set the standard for tech start-ups. I will bring knowledge of the worlds of finance, business and technology to the Board of Directors.

5. My link to Barça:
I’m Basque, but I started supporting Barça when I came to live in Barcelona
aged seven… and then Basque teams – Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao –
won the league for each of my first four years here! Being a young Culé in the ’80s meant suffering.
On 20 May 2012, I went to a conference on the outskirts of London organised by Google; we were all given rooms in different hotels. As I was going into the hotel, I saw lots of football memorabilia and, to my surprise, there was a little Barça museum in one corner. I then discovered that, exactly 20 years before, the Dream Team had stayed in that hotel before winning the European Cup!

6. What type of Culé are you?
When I was young, I often couldn’t bear to watch the games and I used to get really annoyed when Barça lost. Now I keep pretty calm – I guess that comes with age and character.

7. Our slogan means “Yes to the Future”. What do you think is the thing
Barça need to improve most urgently in your field?

Although I think what happens on the field is what excites us Culés most, I also think those on-the-pitch wins are the result of hard work in financial and institutional terms, as well as in sporting ones. There’s no way an institution like Barça should be suffering financially in the way it is doing at the moment. We need to find a sustainable economic model that enables Barça to be a global leader in the world of sport.

8. Do you have a couple of suggestions for those rare times when we are
thinking of something other than Barça?
I really like watching any sport,
even things other than Barça: international football, the NFL, the NBA, tennis, golf – the list goes on. I also do a lot of sport: riding my bike in the Collserola mountain range over Barcelona, running, playing golf, doing yoga, skiing, etc. One of my favourite books of 2020 was The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger, which tells the story of his eventful 15 years as CEO of Disney. As for movies, I can’t get enough of watching the Marvel superhero films in recent years – I’m a
big fan.

Oscar Pierre Miquel (Barcelona, 1992) – member 58,434. An aerospace
engineer, and the founder and CEO of Glovo, he will bring financial and
business knowledge to the Board.

Find out more about Oscar Pierre:

1. Name:
Oscar Pierre

2. Date and place of birth:
28 years old, Barcelona

3. Education:
Aeronautical engineering at BarcelonaTech (UPC)

4. Professional field and noteworthy experience:
I founded Glovo in 2016; since then, I have been CEO of the company. Before
that, I was a student at BarcelonaTech.

5. My link to Barça:
I have been a Barça member since I was very young. In 2006, I went to the
Champions League final in Paris wearing a Barça shirt with “Henry 14” on the back. We were playing Henry’s Arsenal and I used to dream of him coming to Barça. At half time, with us 1-0 down, I cried as I remembered my father’s words: “Careful! Going to a final and losing is really tough!”. It was an epic final. I was on TV in the shirt. I was 14 – it was incredible! We ended up signing Henry in 2007.
Football is the religion of the 21st century. Human beings need a dose of
irrational fanaticism and football/sport is the best way of getting it.

6. What type of Culé are you?
I’m optimistic and, in the ground, keep my ear glued to RAC1 radio’s match
commentary: Joan Maria Pou, Roger Saperas, Aleix Parisé, etc. I also think that football analysis always underestimates the role luck plays in matches.

7. Our slogan means “Yes to the Future”. What do you think is the thing
Barça need to improve most urgently in your field?

The Barça brand is one of the top 10 on the world, up there with Coca Cola and Apple. It is a unique vehicle for having a winning social impact at the global level. To maximise that opportunity, Barça needs the best talent in its backroom staff and in the boardroom. We have to do away with the current President-focused model and move towards a more decentralised, horizontal model that enables Barça to attract the best back-office talent. At Glovo, I have learned that the most important thing is attracting and retaining talent. The talent in the Barça back office needs to be at the level of the talent at companies like Coca Cola and Apple. Just as many young sportspeople aspire to play for Barça one day, I would like young university students to aspire to come to work for Barça.
On top of that, Barça are a source of inspiration for boys and girls the world
over and the management must be faultless in terms of values and ethics: no mistakes, utmost transparency, with the ends never justifying the means. I’m delighted that Toni Nadal is part of the team; I’m a fan of his principles of hard work, humility and resilience.

8. Do you have a couple of suggestions for those rare times when we are
thinking of something other than Barça?

I love my bike and riding it over mountain passes. A ride I like close to
Barcelona is up Mount Tibidabo from Molins de Rei. Further afield, I like to ride to Mare de Déu del Mont (in the southern Pyrenees) from my grandparents’ house in Figueres. My favourite place in the world is Sant Salvador, looking down on the monastery of Sant Pere de Roda (in the mountains inland from the Costa Brava).
I don’t read as much as I would like. I usually read to learn. The books I’ve
learned the most from are Factfulness, Lean in, Sapiens and No Rules Rules.

Manel Sarasa i Serra (Girona, 1971) – member 81,480. An industrial
engineer and serial entrepreneur, and the cofounder and CEO of Wine is
Social, he will offer the Board knowledge of the strategy, finance and digital
worlds.

Joaquim Uriach Torelló (Barcelona, 1966) – member 9,430. Chair of the
Uriach pharmaceutical conglomerate will bring financial and institutional
knowledge to the Board.

Find out more about Joaquim Uriach:

1. Name:
Joaquim Uriach Torelló

2. Date and place of birth:
54 years old (1966), Barcelona

3. Education:
Bachelor’s in Law from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Bellaterra, just north of Barcelona) and MBA from ESADE Business School (Barcelona)

4. Professional field and noteworthy experience:
I initially worked as a lawyer specialising in financial crime and then joined the family company (Laboratoris Uriach) as a lawyer, working my way up to my current position of Chair of the Board of Directors. I have significant experience in corporate governance (I am involved in various boards, associations and foundations) and in the family company.

5. My link to Barça:

  • My family has always supported Barça, going back generations. My father and grandfather were big Culés and were actually both on the Club’s Board, at different times. My three sons are big fans too. Barça has that: it is a family Club, something that is not true for many others.
  • My grandfather said in his will that he didn’t want any flowers at his funeral. When he died, we respected his wish. However, a wreath in the shape of the Barça crest arrived, sent by President Núñez; the whole family agreed that this one should go into his grave, and it was the only one.
  • An Uriach played for the Barça first team, back-up to the legendary 1920s
    goalkeeper Ferenc Plattkó. He – alongside the equally legendary midfielder of the same era Josep Samitier – had the privilege of carrying the coffin of FC Barcelona founder Joan Gamper on the day of his burial.
  • I have a very low membership number (9,430) and the first clear memory I have is being in the stadium for Johan Cruyff’s début against Granada in 1973, when I was seven. I’m not short of anecdotes about games, home and away! From the loss of the 1976-77 league title after Cruyff was sent off for swearing at the referee, to that notorious game at Stamford Bridge in 2009 – which I went to with my children – and not forgetting my saddest memory as a Culé: watching us lose the 1986 European Cup final to Steaua Bucharest in Seville.
  • I’ve also had the privilege of touching Messi’s thigh – hard as a rock.

6. What type of Culé are you?

I can’t deny that I sit in the posh seats, but I am, nevertheless, one of the few
people in my part of the stadium who gets behind the team and sings. As a
Culé, what marks me out is unwavering support: I’ve always supported Barça and, above all, I have always gone to the ground, whether things were going well or badly – every game, whoever is playing. I am an unusual Culé because I give Real Madrid a lot of respect and
recognition. I have also been to the Palau Blaugrana quite a bit, to watch basketball (a sport I play and not too badly), roller hockey and handball.

7. Our slogan means “Yes to the Future”. What do you think is the thing
Barça need to improve most urgently in your field?

Professionalism. As a Club, Barça is professional on the pitch, but there is
much work to do in the back office. Just as you might say about a family
company, we must be capable of professionalising decision-making and
management practices. While it is true that we are a big company, with heart, a cause and a purpose, we need – as our candidacy motto says – good
governance. That is the big challenge and ambition from the sector I represent.

8. Do you have a couple of suggestions for those rare times when we are
thinking of something other than Barça?

I recommend exploring Barcelona, especially what used to be the villages
making up the plain around the city, now its suburbs. I love discovering little corners of Sant Andreu del Palomar, which is where my family is from, Horta, Sants and Les Corts, and finding out about their history. I walk a lot around there; the wealth of history and culture that they conceal is incredible. I am an opera lover. Unlike in a football match, victory on stage is always guaranteed. Opera too arouses passions. Just as in football, feeling is everything. If I had to choose an opera for Barça’s current situation, I would pick Carmen or Otelo, in which passionate, fanatical love – with lots of outpourings of emotion and not much judgement – dooms you. What our beloved Barça needs now is lots of rigour, lots of calm and lots of good sense.

Luis de Val Mínguez (Barcelona, 1979) – member 41,480. Founder and CEO
of YouPlanet, and an expert in the production and distribution of audiovisual and entertainment content, he will bring knowledge of the audiovisual, entertainment and social media fields to the Board.

Find out more about Luis de Val:


1. Name:

Luis de Val

2. Date and place of birth:
Barcelona, 9 February 1979

3. Education:
Major in International Management from Franklin University Switzerland
(Lugano) and Minor in International Communications with an emphasis in
Independent Production from UCLA (Los Angeles, US). Master’s in
Management of Audiovisual Companies from Carlos III University (Madrid).

4. Professional field and noteworthy experience:
I did work experience at Antena 3 TV, in the Outside Productions Acquisition Department. I worked at Manga Films, as Head of the Spanish Cinema Division until 2005. In 2004, I produced my first film: Javier Cárdenas’ FBI, which was a big hit. In 2005, I founded Media Films, through which I produced my second feature film: Yo soy La Juani (My Name Is Juani). As a producer, I have been involved in 21 films and four series, including El Truco del Manco (The One-Handed Trick), Rage, Héroes (Forever Young) and Vosotros sois mi película. In 2012, my father – Luis de Val – and I founded the film distributor Inopia Films. In 2015, I founded YouPlanet, the leading specialist provider of audiovisual content for young Spanish-speaking audiences. On top of that, I am a member of the Board of AUTOCONTROL, Spain’s independent advertising self-regulatory organisation.

5. My link to Barça:
I’ve been a Barça fan since I became able to think for myself. I have always
built my schedule around Barça’s games, going so far as to leave the shoot for Icíar Bollaín’s Katmandú, un espejo en el cielo in Nepal to be in the ground for 2011’s historic four games against Real Madrid in 18 days. Media Films was part of the Barça Foundation for several years.

6. What type of Culé are you?
I’m the type of person who puts Barça games in their diary before anything else. I try not to miss home games, or trips to the Santiago Bernabéu – that has been a happy hunting ground for Culés in recent years!

7. Our slogan means “Yes to the Future”. What do you think is the thing
Barça need to improve most urgently in your field?

In relation to Barça TV, we should negotiate a more attractive content offer and expand our B2C with recurring revenue from SVoD subscriptions focused on the market of Barça fans all over the world. At Barça Studios, we should generate internationally attractive content for the main streaming players. How is it that Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have been involved in a project with the draw of All or Nothing, when we have produced Match Day, a show with almost no global profile?! On social media, we can grow much more, attracting more fans to the Club and increasing engagement. There are major streaming opportunities (using platforms such as Twitch and Facebook Live) in which Barça has no presence. With all that, we will exponentially increase monetisation of the content that Barça can generate.

8. Do you have a couple of suggestions for those rare times when we are
thinking of something other than Barça?
I would recommend two books:
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari and Reinventing Organizations by Frederic
Laloux. As a film buff, I could recommend endless movies. If I had to choose a few, they would be Magnolia, The Wolf of Wall Street, Back to the Future and La La Land. In terms of series, I’d recommend The Boys, Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones. The best landscape in the world is any Caribbean beach. As for a song, that would be Mr Brightside by The Killers.

José Manuel Villanueva Villalba (Barcelona, 1976) – member 36,622. The
cofounder of Privalia and 011h, he will offer the Board knowledge of the
financial and digital fields.

Find out more about José Manuel Villanueva:

1. Name:
José Manuel Villanueva

2. Date and place of birth:
44 years old, Barcelona

3. Education:
ESADE Business School

4. Professional field and noteworthy experience:
Cofounder of Privalia and currently cofounder and co-CEO of 011h

5. My link to Barça:
It began when I decided to become a member aged less than 10 years old. I remember the Dream Team and Romario’s wizardry, the epic second-half comeback against Atlético in 1997, the tough post-Cruyff years, and the magic of Ronaldinho playing with Messi as if they were yesterday. My life has been lived through Barça. Of course, I am also always struck by the impact Barça has on everyone, particularly children. That power is a privilege and one we should exercise responsibly. We at Barça must help build a better world through education for children.

6. What type of Culé are you?
I get behind the team, I’m optimistic and I always take a sandwich to the ground for half time 😉

7. Our slogan means “Yes to the Future”. What do you think is the thing
Barça need to improve most urgently in your field?

It is just as important for us to have talented and energetic executives and professionals. If Barça is to be the biggest Club in the world in financial terms too, they need to be top-notch.
They also need to enable us to keep getting the best possible teams on the
pitch and having the social impact that an institution like ours should have.

8. Do you have a couple of suggestions for those rare times when we are
thinking of something other than Barça?

Go running: healthy body, healthy mind. Have fun with family and friends.

The Board will also receive consultancy services on financial and innovation matters from Carlota Pi (Barcelona, 1976), an
engineer and entrepreneur, and founder and director of energy supplier Holaluz, which started the process of being listed on the BME Growth stock exchange in 2019. While she has been in charge, Holaluz has signed agreements with producers of clean energy generated from hydroelectric, solar, biogas and geothermal plants, and has obtained green energy certificates from the Spanish National Energy Commission (CNE).