Universitat de Barcelona

Ricard Fornesa

A graduate in Law and State lawyer on sabatical leave, Formesa is currently the president of VidaCaixa Grup, advisor for Abertis Infraestructures, sponsor and first vice-president of the La Caixa Foundation, while also holding  the honorary presidencies of La Caixa, Caixabank and Agbar. His manner of speaking is fast and well-structured: he does not stop, nor hesitate, he does not need to pause to make his words precise.

Fornesa describes himself as "almost an apostle" of the model of La Caixa, of which he was president in the past. He explains with pride and conviction the extraordinary recovery he achieved as executive president of the Societat General d’Aigües de Barcelona (Agbar). That recovery was possible through the combination of a strategy of alliances and one of "petty savings." He believes in stability without compromising incentives to improvement; he considers good management to be much more efficient than budget cuts, and he does not embrace any project just because it seems feasible.