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Antoni Giró, UPC rector: Spearheading the project

Puma lands in Barcelona

Gas Natural Fenosa, from gas lighting to electricity

www.bcn.cat/barcelonabusiness

Top city for businessThe 2010 European Cities Monitor release shows Barcelona remains one of the top cities for business. Only topped by the political and economic capitals of the EU, the city brand is strong because of the drive, creativity and professionality of both its locals and foreign inhabitants.

January 2011. N. 1 Barcelona Business Magazine

Good news

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Until recently, Good News came in newsletter format; with the change to paper support, it became a magazine and therefore a new and expanded publication, both physically and in terms of content.

We are pleased to present Barcelona’s new business magazine, a revamp of the existing Barcelona Good News but with fresh and enhanced relevance. this relevance, however, does not just come out of nowhere but instead is the consequence of the period Barcelona is going through. indeed, the new format brings with it expanded communication to encompass a dimension of the city, the economic one, which in the midst of the worst global crisis in seventy years has been able to maintain its position at the international forefront. it is therefore only fair to provide a more detailed and accurate portrayal of Barcelona’s economy.Barcelona’s strength as a centre for economic activity and innovation can be seen in the data produced by consultants whose job it is to identify the best places for doing business in europe and around the world. As the cover story in this first issue of the new Good News points out, Barcelona’s position in these rankings is based not only on the city’s personality and well-known creative skills, but also on its figures and the confidence it generates among executives across the continent. this competitive Barcelona with its european and worldwide relevance is largely the outcome of development policies over the course of its history that now take the shape of

enhanced transport, welfare and knowledge economy infrastructures. they attract investment from home and abroad and drive an economy based on added value as the only way to ensure the prosperity of Barcelona over forthcoming decades. Nonetheless, alongside the favourable conditions created by its institutions, the city’s prosperity is above all the result of the excellent work done by its people and those who have built their projects in Barcelona over recent decades. it is also down to those who have more recently sited their business initiatives in Barcelona to take advantage of the city’s positive dynamics that are recognized in the international rankings. Good News intends to cover both cases. Finally, it should be noted that Good News is in english not only because english is the international language of business today, but also because with this publication, Barcelona is further extending its strategic commitment to being open to foreign talent, talent that is a rewarding opportunity for the entire city in its human, cultural, language and, obviously, also economic aspects.

Jordi Hereu i BoherMayor of Barcelona

new stage, new views

BCN HIGHLIGHTS 3 /// STANDING OUT 4 Barcelona, top city for business /// BARCELONA WORLD 9 /// SPOTLIGHT ON 10 Antoni Giró, UPc rector /// WIDE ANGLE 13 Gas Natural Fenosa /// DO IT IN BARCELONA 14 /// NETWORKING 15 /// TOP SECRET 16 /// ZOOM IN 17 cFLabs /// DEPARTURES AND ARRIVALS 18 Puma / Almirall /// PENSAT A BARCELONA 20 /// WHAT’S COOKING Bet 22 ///AGENDA 24

EditorBarcelona city council - economic Promotion Area Llacuna 162, 08018 Barcelona (spain) t. (+34) 932 563 915www.bcn.cat/barcelonabusiness Design and Production:BPMo edigrup - www.bpmoedigrup.com. creative director: Paula Mastrángelo /// editorial coordinator: carmen Alcalde /// Art director: Marta solà /// Photo editing: carlota Prats, BPMo photo /// Language coordinator: raúl Pelegrín /// Print by enlaze3 Print ManagementCofunded by

COVER:the cover shows the Rtve buildings (left), interface Building (centre) and indra (right) in 22@Barcelona, the innovation district. the picture was taken by Lluís Bernat, BPMO photo.the font used for the masthead is called “Poster” and has been specially designed for this issue by iñigo Jerez, from typo-Ø-tones. this chunky didot-like typeface with thick strokes, thin arms and serifs owes its origin to the revivals of 19th century Bodoni modifications.

the other fonts used in Good News Barcelona are akkurat and itC Barcelona, the latter designed by edward Benguiat for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

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The project, led by Barcelona City Council, the Insti-tute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE) and the Spanish Association for the Electric Vehicle, won the vote against candidatures put forward by other cities such as Geneva and Paris.In 2013, Barcelona will host the most important international meeting in the specialist sector that is electric technology and mo-bility. The event is organised by the World Electric Vehicle Associa-tion (WEVA), which will stage the EVS25 symposium in Shenzhen (China), whilst EVS26 will take place in Los Angeles (California, USA) in mid-2012. Finally, when the event returns to Europe, Barce-lona has been chosen to host the 27th edition of this exhibition.Not only professionals, but also users and ordinary citizens will also find much of interest at the show, as it includes a section where manufacturers can exhibit and test drive their vehicles.

More info: http://www.avele.org

http://www.evs25.org

EVS27 2013, devoted to the electric vehicle

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Barcelona will have to pass through three filters if the city’s Olympic hopes are to finally prosper. The first is the selection of the candidature by the Spanish Olympic Committee, which will meet for this purpose in 2013. At the meeting, the Catalan capital’s rival will be Jaca, presenting its seventh bid to host the Winter Olympics. The second obstacle will be the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in 2014, whilst the final decision will be taken in October 2015. As Jordi Hereu, the mayor of Barcelona, ex-plained at a press conference in January this year, the city’s proposal revolves around two Olympic villages. These are: Barcelona itself, which will host the opening and closing ceremo-nies, the medal ceremonies and indoor sports (ice hockey, skating and curling) competitions; and the Pyrenees, where all the other events will take place.Barcelona-Pyrenees will also have to fight off competition from bids put forward by the likes of New Zealand, Romania and Canada.

More info: http://w1.bcn.cat/candidatura2022

The city presents its candidature to host the 2022 Winter Olympiad

‘CITy Of SCIEnCE AnD InnOVATIOn’Barcelona is among the 30 Spanish cities

receiving the distinction of ‘City of Science

and Innovation’ by the Ministry of Science and

Technology for the first time. The title, which

will be given in early 2011, recognizes the

efforts of the city in research and development

and will benefit research programs.

For three years the recognised cities will

make up ‘Impulso Red’, a network of cities of

science and innovation. Barcelona is the only

large city (over 10,000 inhabitants) that has

received recognition from the Ministry for its

commitment to research.

More info: http://www.mityc.es

nEw flIGhTS AnnOunCED frOM BArCElOnA TO SAO PAulO AnD MIAMIIberia has announced that the company will be

flying to Sao Paulo and Miami from Barcelona

El Prat International Airport. The new thrice-

weekly direct flights, with no stopovers, will

begin next summer season, in March 2011.

These new transatlantic destinations go a long

way to meeting the long-held ambition cherished

by both the Government of Catalonia and

Barcelona City Council: to consolidate El Prat as

the Spain’s second-most important airport.

More info: http://www.iberia.com

MSC COnTInuES ITS COMMITMEnT wITh uSThe Swiss company MSC Cruises chose

Barcelona to present its new developments

for the 2010-2011 season. Company director

Emiliano González stated that MSC “continues

its commitment to the Port of Barcelona, one

of our key destinations”. Four MSC flagships,

including two of the most modern craft in

the company fleet, will pick up passengers in

Barcelona next season. Moreover, MSC Cruises

also announced that, for the first time, the

company’s ships will also dock at the Port of

Palamós.

More info: http://www.msccruceros.es

nEw PrOPErTy SEArCh EnGInE fOr BuSInESS SPACESThe new search engine will connect supply

and demand in this sector by enabling the

members of official associations to advertise

their offers. The application will help users to

find commercial premises, offices, business

centres and industrial units throughout the

city of Barcelona, whether they are seeking to

purchase or only to rent.

More info: http://www.barcelonactiva.cat/espaisdenegoci/es

The Barcelona Process: union for the Mediterranean (upM) is an international organisation set up to promote cooperation and the development of international relations. Its members include all 43 Mediterranean countries. The new headquarters of the UpM, which was established in 2008 in Paris and Marseilles, will be in Barcelona. The Catalan capital was selected as to host the Secretariat for the “Bar-celona Process: Union for the Mediterranean” organisation at the Euro-Med Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. This Secretariat will play a key role in the institutional architecture, identifying, monitoring and promoting projects and recruiting members.

More info: http://www.ufmsecretariat.org/en

Headquarters of the Secretariat for the “Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean”

The Telecommunications Market Commission (CMT) becomes first state agency to establish its headquarters in Barcelona

The new CMT offices are more symbolic, provide more space and better security than its provisional headquarters in the Mapfre Tower. The Spanish Government, led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, approved the transfer of the CMT from Madrid to Barcelona in December 2004. The Commission’s new offices have 600 full-time employees and occupy two buildings with a total area of over 12,000 square metres. The first houses the CMT directorates and the offices of the Presidential Department, the Council and the Secretariat. Installed with solar panels and connected to the city’s urban heating and cooling systems, this bioclimatic building is highly efficient in terms of energy. The second building houses an auditorium seating 330 and an interna-tional meeting room. Moreover, a crèche on the same floor helps CMT staff to reconcile work and family life.

More info: http://www.cmt.es

The CMT opens new headquarters

“Do it in Barcelona” wins Eurocities Awards 2010The Deputy Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi William Carnes, picked up the Eurocities Awards 2010 Innovation Award on behalf of the city for the “Do it in Barcelona” programme run by the City Council. Eurocities is a network of major Eu-ropean cities which each year gives awards to the activities and programmes carried out by its more than 140 member cities. The innova-tion category recognizes activity planning and implementation by local authorities. “Do it in Barcelona” is an initiative addressed at highly qualified people aged between 24 and 25 who are looking to work in the city. More info: http://www.doitinbcn.com

Topcityforbusiness

A few weeks ago, oriol Barrachina, manager of the consulting firm cush-man & Wakefield in Barcelona, said that the catalan capital continues to enjoy a very good image on the europe-an stage as an ideal city for business, but also pointed out that this idea is not widespread at all among the city’s inhabitants.Nevertheless, the fact remains that Barcelona is at the top of the rankings that evaluate cities as being suitable for economic life. Moreover, the results of this ranking don’t just come from cold statistics, but is also a result of the opinions expressed directly by business-owners and professionals from across the continent.

Europe talks about Barcelonathis is precisely the case of the european cities Monitor (ecM). on the world stage, the movement of capital and talented people is accelerating at an increasingly faster pace, and therefore requires valid references; among them, ecM is one of the most often consulted. the index is the result of the work commissioned by consulting firm cushman & Wake-field to tNs BrMB, and was created via interviews with 500 senior managers at leading companies from the old con-tinent. in its successive years, the four factors considered most important for these guidelines when deciding in which city to set up business have been: ease of

access to markets and customers; pres-ence of skilled labour; quality of telecom-munications and presence of transport routes toward other cities and abroad.With its study for 2010, the ecM has reached its twenty-first year, and if we wish to make an appropriate evaluation of Barcelona’s fifth position, we need to stress that the index has been topped by London, Paris and Frankfurt since its creation. of course this shouldn’t surprise anyone: the first two are the capitals of two of the richest and stron-gest countries in the european Union and the international scene, and the third is not only the financial capital of the Union itself (the ecB is located there) but also of a Germany whose economic

After the release of the 2010 European Cities Monitor (ECM), Barcelona can feel proud of mantaining its position amongst the best cities for business in Europe. Topped only by the political and economic capitals of the EU, the city remains strong thanks to the creativeness and the professionalism of its local and foreign inhabitants. By Toni Güell

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ChrisTopher ColumBus sTaTue in BarCelona, his hands is

poinTinG To The ameriCas. © Roberto A Sanchez by Istockphoto

THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC CRISIS, AN OPPORTUNITyNew ways make it easier to establish your business in Barcelona

32% of office rental contracts in the city centre. 112 contracts signed in the eixample district. 24% fall in the price of office rental. 52,254 square metres of office space rented in the last six months. european city with the sixth-best relation between quality and price for offices. €333 per square metre. Barcelona is one of the 15 cities with cheapest office rentals. it is cheaper than in london, paris, Frankfurt and Brussels and 33% cheaper than the average for the world’s major cities. Barcelona has responded to the economic crisis with the largest investment in its history: €1.028 billion in 2009 and €836 million in 2010

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power is demonstrated by having five of its cities among the top fifteen of the ecM (Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, düssel-dorf and Hamburg). Furthermore, the city that takes the fourth position (occupied by Barcelona in 2009) is Brussels, which, similarly to Washington, d.c. in the United states, enjoys the unbeatable advantage of being the headquarters of the main bodies of the eU, as well as the political home of NAto. this implies a great centre of attraction for lobbies as well as all types of companies and businesses.on this basis, and also taking account of the power and resources of other capitals and major cities of european countries, Barcelona’s fifth position in the ecM 2010 edition has even greater value. in fact, Barcelona only fell by one hundredth (0.01) of its final score from 2009, and has come in fourth or fifth since 2005. All this can only be indicative of a dynamism inscribed in the dNA of the city, and by extension, its inhabitants.

Sensations… and dataBarcelona is the second-best city at business promotion in 2010, while in 2009 it was the first. communication makes sense, because giving the city a positive image abroad really attracts wealth. But Barcelona’s creative person-ality is not merely a question of dis-course and its entrepreneurial character is not a legendary quality; both are

reflected in facts that can be translated into figures. the Barcelona of universal exhibitions, the Barcelona of the 1992 olympic Games and Barcelona as a capital of design (among other things) for the 21st century are interlinked by a common thread that is shown when you look at the data closely. For example, the fact that 7.5% of the inhabitants set up their business in Barcelona means that the city has a greater rate of entrepre-neurship by population than Germany, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the oecd average.

The ratings come from cold statistics as well as from the opinions expressed directly by business-owners and professionals from across the continent

in 2009 Barcelona attracted a total of 153 investment projects from abroad. this magnetic effect of the region is combined with the role that the city has played historically. therefore, by combining the efforts of different cen-tres, catalonia took sixth place among the european regions that attract most foreign investment in 2008, after the regions of London, Paris, düsseldorf, Madrid and dublin. in addition, the city is making continu-ous efforts to set up infrastructure that keep it connected with international

economic and entrepreneurial life, and here it is necessary to highlight the ar-rival of the high-speed train (AVe) and the opening of terminal t-1 at Barce-lona-el Prat Airport, as both projects improve competitiveness and elevate Barcelona, the metropolitan area and catalonia as a whole to the first level on the international scale. this comes in addition to other city assets that have been functioning at an excellent level for longer, such as the port. in 2009, the Port of Barcelona was the leader in the Mediterranean and the fourth in the world in terms of cruise ship traffic. in July 2010, around 1.1 million tourists passed through its facilities, meaning an increase of 11.2% on the previous year. Looking beyond infrastructure, it seems appropriate to refer to data (most of which were provided by observatorio Barcelona’s 2008 report) such as the business penetration of new technolo-gies. Here, the percentage of companies with broadband and that sell and buy over the internet are evaluated. cata-lan firms obtain scores that fall in line or are above the european average. Barcelona has the third-largest per-centage of people employed in creative sectors (12%) and it occupies a com-mendable number 21 in the world in terms of scientific production. in 2007, catalonia was the european region with the fifth-largest population working in

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science and technology (11%, which corresponds to almost 600,000 people).

Quality of lifeFor the thirteenth consecutive year, european executives surveyed in 2009 for the ecM chose Barcelona as the best european city in terms of quality of life for workers, above Geneva, Munich, oslo and Madrid. But this concept is not always subject to proper understand-ing; as the aforementioned manager of cushman & Wakefield in Barcelona indicates, the concept of quality of life should not be linked with a stereotype of parties and sangria, nor only with the climate. Attracting the best profession-als is because of many features of the city, such as its size and its inhabitants’ many initiatives that fill everyday life in Barcelona, like its wide-ranging cultural and leisure offering and work habits.Quality of life, ease of access thanks to the presence of necessary infrastruc-ture and other variables interact to generate even more data to show Bar-celona leads international rankings. For example, take the fact that in 2010 it is where the world’s second-largest num-ber of meetings are held (after Vienna), according to the international congress and convention Association. Likewise, according to the Union of international Associations, Barcelona held 10.3% more conventions in 2008 than in the previous year.

it is also important to cross-reference the data on quality of life with living expenses and income levels. While Barcelona has a high quality of life, the professionals who establish or con-tinue their careers in Barcelona should know that it has fallen seven important positions and settled at thirty-eighth in the world in terms of living expenses (the first is the most expensive, with Barcelona coming from the thirty-first position). they can also rest assured that while the spanish economic crisis has been particularly pronounced, salaries in Barcelona are average for similar large cities in the world (specifi-cally, number 29 out of a total of 49, and above Milan, Lisbon and rome).

Continuous improvementAs noted above, Barcelona’s excellence in attracting investment and wealth is by no means a matter that can be re-duced to discourse or marketing, nor to favourable climatic conditions. indeed, it hinges on continuous effort led by all the city’s inhabitants, businesses and institutions (in fact, Barcelona is one of the top ten european cities in terms of government-generated business-friendly environments); an effort that moves forward thanks to recognition of opportunities for improvement. For example, exports are one area in which these developments could occur, and it is no coincidence that according to data

from observatorio Barcelona, 43% of catalan companies foresee a growth in exports in the near future. exports from catalunya already represent 26% of overall spanish exports in 2009.

But Barcelona’s creative personality is not merely a question of discourse and its entrepreneurial character is not a legendary quality; both are reflected in facts that can be translated into figures

in its territorial leadership role, the city is also immersed in changes to its economic model. With this aim in mind, it faces challenges in terms of innovation, training and internationalisation, in addition to public-private collaboration. on several occasions, the deputy Mayor and President of 22@Barcelona, Jordi William carnes, has indicated that in the next few years, the city will need to promote quality employment and a new production model that will have to manage the Barcelona brand effectively, boost public-private collaboration and strengthen connectivity.in the same vein, the catalan capital is one of the main stages for promot-ing the Quality employment Pact (Poc), which was signed in Barcelona in 2008 and is expected to create about 7,500

direct jobs in 2011. this dynamic is fully in tune with the needs of not just the city, but of the continent as a whole, and proof of this are the words spoken last 8 April by the european commissioner Androulla Vassiliou in Barcelona, ac-cording to whom one out of every three jobs created in the european Union between 2010 and 2020 will be highly-skilled.However, it is fair to remember that the commitment to high-level train-ing and professionalism is not a recent development in the city. Barcelona’s prestigious educational institutions generate knowledge and skilled labour that are valued highly by international investors when deciding where to set up their business. catalonia’s universi-ties (such as the University of Barcelona (UB), Polytechnic University of cata-lonia (UPc), Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), the University of Lleida (UdL), the University of rovira i Virgili (UrV) and ramon Llull University (UrL)) keep gaining international recognition; this year, most of these universities received the distinction campus of international excellence 2010. Moreover, Barcelona is the only european city with two schools in the european top ten for manage-ment training. esAde and iese, its two business schools, respectively come in eighth and fourth in the Financial Times’ european ranking and beat the schools of London, rotterdam and Milan.

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BARCELONA IN THE RANKINGSSCORECARD ON PROSPERITy 2010 (TORONTO BOARD Of TRADE)3rd city in the overall ranking

1st city in the labour

attractiveness ranking

EUROPEAN CITIES AND REGIONS Of THE fUTURE 2010-2011 (fDI MAGAZINE)5th European city

1st city in the south of Europe

4th city in human resources

4th city in infrastructure

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22@Barcelona, a decade of economic growthWith respect to promoting and attracting local and foreign investment and economic activity in the city, ten years ago Barcelona began a comprehensive project that is now well known and produces tangible results. Aimed at regenerating the economy and infrastructure

of an entire area of the city, and to reposition it to better

compete on the world urban stage, Barcelona equipped the

neighbourhood of Poblenou to meet the needs of the 21st

century. Today, this part of the city dedicates 200 hectares to

the work of five clusters in the knowledge economy (media,

ICTs, medical technologies, design and energy) in which the

city has the potential for international leadership.

While the death throes of the worst economic crisis in

70 years are still showing up in newspaper headlines,

Barcelona’s innovation district has 10 years of economic

growth behind it and since 2000 has created 4,500 companies

and 56,000 workers. Its business volume has reached nearly

€9 billion.

The technology district promotes knowledge-intensive

activities, which have a high added value. To attain its

objectives, 22@Barcelona brings together 10 universities, 12

R&D centres and technology transfer centres, companies,

investors and institutions in a single urban space, and strives

so that all these stakeholders can have close relations that

give rise to what are usually leading international business

initiatives. Ten years after it was created, the work to

promote this project continues in force in programmes

such as “Do it in Barcelona”, which develops the strategy of

making it easier for entrepreneurial, creative and research-

oriented talent to develop its business in Barcelona.

However, we must not forget that the reality of 22@Barcelona

also entails more than substantial improvements in terms of

facilities (sustainability, waste collection, Internet access,

green areas) and housing (socially protected, traditional

housing, lofts in renovated industrial buildings, flats for

temporary rental linked with the companies, hotels), and

that the Industrial Heritage Protection Plan has helped to

conserve 114 architectural elements of interest that place the

history of the district within the sight of all.

22@Barcelona is committed to a compact, diverse and

balanced city model, and in fact the success of this model

has turned it into an international point of reference for

urban regeneration. The knowledge accumulated from the

experience in the Sant Martí district has created prestige and

led to the beginning of its exportation to other parts of the

city of Barcelona such as La Sagrera and Marina, and even to

other countries. This is the case, for example, of Cape Town,

South Africa, which last year signed an agreement to launch

the process to import the 22@Barcelona model.

other figures: 3 out of every 4 companies in the district develop their activities in knowledge-intensive and technology-intensive sectors. In Catalonia as a whole, this percentage is 58%.72.5% of the companies’ workers have university degrees.67% of the companies located in 22@Barcelona think that their company’s situation will improve next year; only 13% believe that the general economic situation will have worsened in a year. Of the 4,000 officially protected housing units planned in the entire field of action, 998 are built and 583 are under construction.

Significant progressAs indicated above, Barcelona’s position in Europe’s science-related economic landscape is experiencing a phase of growth. Catalonia was the European region with the fifth-highest level of employment in science and technology in 2003-2008, and Barce-lona held the sixth position in Europe and the fifteenth worldwide in terms of scientific production in 2009. This year, the number of scientific publications reached 12,211. Logically, one of the main methods for transforming scien-tific potential into economic progress is patent registration. Starting from a positive base (there were 392 tech-nological patents in 2007), this is a path which Barcelona and the Catalan economy continue to follow.

Barcelona’s position in europe’s science-related economic landscape is experiencing a phase of growth

As for the airport, since 2004 El Prat has held the ninth position in the Eu-ropean ranking for passenger volume. Barcelona has given a decisive boost to its international connectivity with the construction of the T-1, and is now considering the need to bring the Cer-canías commuter rail network to the terminal to support future transport in the city. Last year, traffic through El Prat amounted to 27.3 million passen-gers (59% of which were international) and the tourist quota dropped by 9.7% over 2008. While this is a factor to improve, it does reflect Barcelona’s

strength as an attractive destination because even with El Prat’s decrease in tourist traffic, it was more than at the airports of Paris, Zurich and Dublin. There are undoubted signs that these figures will soon reach higher levels. On the one hand, in 2010 El Prat added 4 intercontinental routes to the existing 24. Moreover, the airport of Barcelona was considered the best in Europe by the ACE EUROPE 2010 awards.Speaking of large metropolises, it is clear that the decision to set a busi-ness up can also depend on levels of sustainability, waste treatment and similar variables. In terms of environ-mental pollution, Barcelona does well once again by taking thirteenth place, a one-place improvement with respect to 2009 that offers glimpses of new devel-opments in the years to come, especial-ly given the promotion of non-polluting public transport in Barcelona.In summary, the performance of Bar-celona, as well as that of other cities of southern Europe, remains very positive despite the compromising situation that the world economy has undergone (and, in a certain way, is still undergo-ing) in recent months. To sum up, Barcelona’s performance and that of other cities in Southern Europe remains positive despite the ravages of the credit crisis of 2008 and 2009, which continues today. Barcelo-na, with its strong brand, creativity and innovation, is showing the way forward and pulling others in the region up to. This process is expected to continue over the next years with this city setting the pace.

BARCELONA IS STRONGLy PROMOTING ThE NON-POLLUTING TRANSPORT IN ThE CITy, TRyING TO IMPROvE ITS LEvEL Of SUSTAINABILITy© Carlota Prats by BPMOphoto

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the business property market is highly competitive· Barcelona Metropolitan

region devotes 7 million square metres to high added value economic activities (nanotechnology, medical technologies, energy, aerospace, optics and photonics, among others), with the capacity to generate more than 200,000 new strategic jobs in the three areas of activity that form the Barcelona Economic Triangle, as well as providing the catalyst for other projects revolving around the knowledge economy and which offer excellent business and investment opportunities.

the economy is open and connected to the world•More than 3,400 foreign

companies are located in catalonia, and our country received a total of €1.804 billion in direct foreign investment (dFi) in 2009. that same year, catalan companies made foreign investments totalling around €1.374 billion.

•Barcelona generates one-fifth of all spanish exports.

•in 2009, Barcelona’s was the ninth-busiest european airport in terms of passenger traffic, handling more than 27.3 million passengers.

•the Port of Barcelona was ranked 12th amongst european ports in terms of container traffic in 2009.

•the Barcelona-Madrid bullet train (AVe) carried 2.7 million passengers in its second year of operation.

Barcelona is an international reference for tourism and organising trade fairs and congresses•the city received 6.5 million

visitors in 2009, with 12.8 million bed nights at its wide range of quality hotels. Foreigners accounted for 69% of visitors.

•Barcelona is second in the world ranking of trade fair and congress locations, with a total area of 280,000 square metres of indoor exhibition space and nearly 3 million visitors in 2009.

Barcelona is committed to a model of commerce based on quality, diversity and proximity•With 16,650 companies and

151,724 jobs, commerce is one of the most important sectors of activity within the city’s economic structure.

•Barcelona’s municipal markets, which occupy a total area of over 200,000 square metres, generate €1 billion in economic impact.

Barcelona is the leading European city for quality of life•in 2010, for the thirteenth

consecutive year, Barcelona once more occupied first place in the ranking of european cities in terms of quality of life for employees, according to the European Cities Monitor (cushman & Wakefield).

458,918Barcelona houses the headquarters of 458,918 companies, 14% of all the companies in spain.

6,233 companies were created in Barcelona in 2009, and the city is at the top of the rankings for companies created per 1,000 inhabitants among large urban areas in spain.

6.7%The rate of entrepreneurial activity surpasses that of other countries with success-ful business traditions like Finland and Germany, along with the european (5.8%) and spanish (5.1%) averages.

26%The ratio of business regeneration (which measures the rate of companies closing versus those of new creation) is more favourable in Barcelona province (26%) than in Catalonia (39%), the european union (49%) and spain (62%).

35according to the 2009 Global entrepreneurship monitor on Catalonia, the average Barcelona entrepreneur is an employed male with university studies under 35 years of age.

FActs ANd FiGUres Barcelona is amongst the top ten urban areas in europe. this article highlights some of the main economic facts and figures that helped to define the city in 2009 and 2010.

DESPITE THE CRISIS, BARCELONA IS ENTREPRENEURIAL

the employment market is endowed with both critical mass and qualified human capital •the city provides more than one million jobs, the

metropolitan area nearly 2.5 million. rates of activity and employment in Barcelona (79.2% and 65.6% respectively) are higher than the catalan, spanish and european averages.

•According to the Financial Times 2010 MBA rankings, two Barcelona business schools –iese and esAde– are amongst the leading 10 in europe and the world top 20.

Barcelona leads Spain’s advance towards a knowledge economy •23% of spanish innovative enterprises are based

in catalonia, which also account for 19% of total state spending on innovative activities.

•catalonia’s focus on promoting research in recent years has greatly increased spending on r&d, which reached 1.6% of GdP in 2008, whilst the number of people working in research and development has risen to over 46,500.

•there were 210 technology parks and technology and research centres in the Barcelona area in 2010, as well as 9 science and technology facilities of international standing.

2010This year Catalonia has received the entrepreneurial region award 2010 from the eu Committee of the regions.

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With the perspective you have gained over these four years, how would you evaluate the progress of the UPC over this period?the four years of this first term have been very intense, but very positive. i think we have taken a qualitative leap forward in every sphere. these four years were devoted, among other things, to integrat-ing our programs into the framework of the european Higher education Area (eHeA). From a teaching standpoint, we were able to make a smooth transition to the eHeA, but it wasn’t easy.

One of your defining characteristics is your innovative spirit, as you have shown through your leadership as a teacher and as a researcher working on several projects. As UPC rector, do you think applying this desire to innovate is compatible with everyday management tasks?i would say that more than being an innovator i have taken full advantage of my detailed knowledge of the administra-tion and of management in order to optimise resources and to be able to raise and manage the funds from several different investment plans. it is clear that research is one thing and management is another, and they are very different. But it’s true that having experience with research can help you to be more creative as a manager. However, what really character-ises the job of a manager is work, work and more work! the team i have working with me is a very strong one. And that is critically important, because the rector can’t do every-thing. the key to success also lies with the team you have, as well as with everyone who works at the university every day.

During your career you have also combined work as a teacher with management positions. With the experience you have amassed as rector, what has changed? What remains to be changed?currently, and regarding teaching, the change in teaching methodology that we need to enact is crucial. the eHeA does not consist only of the harmonisation of programs of study, but also of a need to focus learning more on the time

students dedicate to working than on teaching hours. this means that a large portion of our teaching materials must also be changed. i think it is important to take full advantage of the possibilities offered by it applications such as Atenea to create adapted materials and at the same time to encour-age as much as possible dialogue with students. these are not things we are making up as we go along, but rather are part of a clear strategy that the research and teaching teams have been incorporating into their work and developing. this way, while one group carries out a task, another modifies lab practices, another works on changes to the working groups, another on the final research projects, etc., and when all of this is posted on the web publicly, it helps to enrich our teaching and to give shape to the changes we are making and consolidate them. you can’t expect there to be a huge trans-formation overnight.

“It is important to take full advantage of the possibilities offered by IT applications to create adapted materials and at the same time to encourage as much as possible dialogue with students”

The implementation of the changes brought about by the EHEA is coming to an end during your term. What is your assessment of this change in the model at the UPC?What we have done during this term has been to set out the specifics of the eHeA, but it was just last year that we have begun the new degree programmes, as we already had a wide range of Master’s programmes on offer. But it was this year, in october, when the UPc’s programmes were definitively adapted to the framework of the eHeA. that is why we are introducing the new methodologies in each academic term. over the next four years the changes will be monitored and consolidated. to sum up, these past four years have been ones of adaptation, and the coming four years will be of con-solidation. that is the task we have before us now.

“we Have stRengtHeneD tHe teCHnOLOgy tRansfeR CentRe, wHiCH HeLPs Us tO geneRate new ReseaRCH PROJeCts”Antoni Giró, UPC rector since 2006, has been reelected this year to hold the position for another four years, which will be his second and final

term. We spoke to him about the future of the UPC. By Toni ponCe

THE KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH VALUE CHAIN“We are resolved to value research. We have strengthened the Technology Transfer Centre, which helps us to generate new research projects. We have created a patent office to support our staff when applying for patents. We have the innova programme, which provides advice for those wishing to create companies. and we have recently opened the upC’s Technological innovation Centre in order to help channel companies’ requests for research”.

CLEAR ACCOUNTSantoni Giró began his work as rector with a predicted déficit that reached the level of €21 million, and ended up closing that first year with €13.5 million in losses. The following year, the deficit decreased to €3.5 million, and the next to €0.5 million. last year the result would have been a surplus of €2 million had the Catalan government carried out its original financial plan.

THE UPC, OPEN TO THE WORLDFor the 2010-2011 academic year, the upC is offering 60 university master’s programmes, 20 of which are offered in english so as to facilitate the arrival of international students.

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This change must also be accompanied by increased investment and support that should come as a result of the university’s recent designation as a Campus of International Excellence (CIE), but will it be enough to meet the goals that have been set?Unfortunately, our success in getting that recognition coincided with the cuts in investments that the catalan government has been forced to make as a result of the recession. the monies coming in thanks to the cie will be used to make up for this lack of investment and will allow us to be less affected by the spending cuts. even so, the leap forward that we had envisioned as a result of the cam-pus of international excellence project has been somewhat undercut. Part of the funding from the cie will be used to improve and adapt classrooms to the new teaching meth-odologies called for by the eHeA, especially spaces on the campus Nord.this year, in the new contest to further strengthen the campus of international excellence, we have again asked for resources for the project, and so i hope that the project, for which we received recognition along with the University of Barcelona in the university area around diagonal, becomes even more consolidated.

One of the university’s chief assets in the CIE contest was Barcelona Knowledge Campus Project. What can you tell us about it?BKc was the name we gave to the project that the University of Barcelona (UB) and the UPc entered for the campus of international excellence contest. Apart from the funding

issue i mentioned earlier, the most positive aspect of the participation in the cie has been an increase in contact and dialogue with the UB. the cie is more than anything else a geographic campus located around diagonal. it has spurred us into dialogue and agreements on future joint undertakings between the two universities in order to share projects and new services for students, and to improve signage in the area, especially in the outdoor area of the diagonal campus. the area’s outward appearance was not a reflection of the scientific work that was being carried out within the buildings. A campus of the highest scientific productivity should also project an image of excellence to the world.

Continuing education is among the areas you have been emphasising. What is you assessment of its role in the university?continuing education is going to take on a more and more important role. in the eHeA system, the cyclical structure has meant the creation of a growing number of degrees and university Master’s programmes, which means that students will be given an ever more diversified education. However, it will be necessary during professional careers to refresh knowledge continuously. A single educational pro-gram that lasts your whole life no longer exists. in today’s world knowledge becomes obsolete quickly, faster in some fields than in others, and we have to bear this in mind. that’s why our continuing education programmes include a combination of distance learning and classes and time-tables that make it possible to combine studies and work for those who are already in the workplace.

ANTONI GIRÓ ROCAAntoni Giró (Reus, 1949), has been

the rector of the UPC since 2006

and will hold the job for another

four years. He has a degree and a

doctorate in Physics from the UB

and has been a professor at the

Rovira i Virgili University (1971-77),

the University of Barcelona (1978-

82) and the UPC, since 1983, as

the Applied Physics department

head. He was the general manager

of Research, the vice-president of

CIRIT and the general manager

of Universities in the Ministry of

Universities, Research and the

Information Society of the Catalan

government for seven years.

© Lluís Bernat by BPMOphoto

GAS NATURAL fENOSA

FroM GAs LiGHtiNG to eLectricityMore than 150 years’ experience vouch for gas natural fenosa, a company created in 1843 to provide the city of Barcelona with gas-lit streetlamps. today, the gas natural fenosa group is the leading firm on the iberian Peninsula combining both gas and electricity and amongst the top ten european public utilities, with a presence in more than 23 countries and more than 20 million clients around the world.

1841: the beginningsin 1841 the French technician, charles Lebon, and the financier, Pere Gil, won the public tender to provide Barcelona with gas lighting, the first of its kind in spain. construction began on the country’s first gas production plant in the Barceloneta neighbourhood near the port, using coal as the raw material. the following year, the first gas-lit streetlamps were in place.the first activities carried out by the company, sociedad catalana para el Alumbrado por Gas, founded in 1843, included extending the gas net-work throughout the city and progressively adding streetlamps as well as finding private clients who wanted this type of lighting in their own homes. the company also began its national expansion shortly thereafter, opening gas plants in seville and Ferrol.the company joined the Barcelona stock market in 1846, and it is the only company of its type to have remained publicly listed uninterruptedly until this very day. After various changes in name, sociedad catalana para el Alumbrado por Gas is today known as Gas Natural Fenosa. its new headquarters, in-augurated in 2008, are found on the site of the very first gas plant in Barcelona, spain.

Looking towards the futurethe merger between Gas Natural and Unión Fenosa took place in 2009, creating the largest gas and electricity company in spain and in Latin America, while also making it the leader in natural gas com-mercialisation on the iberian Peninsula, the third liquefied natural gas (LNG) operator in the world with a fleet of 13 carriers and the largest distributor of LNG in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.

The company, a leader in the distribution sector, has a share in 3 regasification plants (2 more in project), 2 liquefaction plants and different projects in the gas value chain

Leveraging its various strengths from a position of leadership is a fundamental pillar for the multinational. its business model is based around global energy management that is able to compete efficiently in markets that are submitted to an increasing process of integration, globalisation and high competition. the company, a leader in the distribution sector, has a share in 3 regasification plants (2 more in project), 2 liquefaction plants and different projects in the gas value chain.

1841French technician, Charles lebon, and financier,pere Gil, won the public tender to provide Barcelona with gas lighting, the first of its kind in spain. Business activities began in 1843 with the task of providing the city of Barcelona with gas street lighting

1969Catalana de Gas y electricidad, through its affiliate with exxon, called Gas natural, began the era of natural gas in spain signing supply contracts with libya and algeria, the con-struction of the first spanish methane carrier featuring cryo-genic technology, the launch of the regasification plant in Barcelona and the develop-ment of the lnG market.

1992Gas natural began its pro-cess of international expan-sion in 1992, with its entry into the argentine market. The group’s process of inter-nationalisation was intensi-fied in 1997, when it began activities in Brazil, Colombia and mexico.

HISTORIC MILESTONES

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1907Juan ron and the marquis de urquijo began con-struction on the Bolarque hydraulic power plant in Guadalajara between the Tagus and Guadiela rivers. The plant was inaugurated in 1910 by h.r.h. King alfonso Xiii, with the power generated reaching the city of madrid.

1889The company Compañía madrileña de alumbrado y Calefacción por Gas, consisting of French capital, entered the spanish electricity market with the foundation of the company Compañía General madrileña de electricidad, the leading electrical energy firm in the country’s capital over the following years.

2000-2010in 2000 the company began to sell electricity on the deregulated span-ish market, and in 2002 the company began production at spain’s first combined cycle power plant. after realizing its goal of uniting gas and electricity through its acquisition of unión Fenosa in 2009, this year, 2010, the company has launched its new brand, Gas naTural Fenosa.

A doctor specialising in intensive care and anaesthesiology, Italian Gianluigi Li Bassi is amongst Barcelona’s many inhabitants who came here from other countries around the world. In Gianluigi’s case, the main reasons for settling here were professional, but he is quick to insist that he feels quite at home in a friendly city full of places to discover. He only moved here two years ago, but he has clearly already felt the Barcelona experience in all its in-tensity. Whilst admitting that what brought him here were professional reasons, he names his favourite part of the city without hesitation: el Born, a neigh-bourhood near the sea, packed with small bars and restaurants where you can enjoy some tapas or a meal with friends.Before taking the final decision to move here, he says, he made a preliminary visit to Barcelona in order to see the laboratory, the city and the people, just to make sure. “i fell in love from the first”, he concludes.in fact, el Born is one of the places he proudly shows friends and relatives who come to visit him from his native Milan. that is because, he says, “in italy we often have what we call an apéritif after work, and in Barcelona it is such a pleasure to do this near the sea, a real luxury for someone, like me, someone from a city far from the coast”.Apart from its tourist attractions, Gianluigi is par-ticularly struck by the quality of life in the catalan capital. As he points out, “you can live well on less money than in other european cities such as Milan, Paris or London”. Moreover, he adds, “one thing that people here take for granted is transport, because you can get anywhere in the city in just a short time”. Gianluigi, for example, finds the Bicing bike rental scheme an excellent means of transport for getting to and from work every day.

Daily lifedescribing his job, Gianluigi says that “50% of my daily work is devoted to research, preparing the animals, experimenting on them and analysing the results”. Added to this is another crucial aspect of research work: comparing his results with those from other studies carried out in europe and around the world.the other 50% of his working time is spent, basi-cally, in attempting to obtain the resources needed to continue research programmes at the depart-ment of the Hospital clínic where he is a researcher, as well as increasing his knowledge of his specialist subjects by attending both national and interna-tional conferences.it was precisely one such conference that led him to take up a post as a researcher in Barcelona in the first place. in his own words, “i met doctor Antoni torres from the Hospital clínic in the United states, and that is what paved the way to my ending up do-ing research work here”.

Beyond the laboratoryWhilst he is clearly passionate about his work, Gianluigi has no doubts about how best to enjoy his free time in Barcelona. “When i came here from Milan i brought my dog, a black Labrador, with me, and i take him for walks around the city’s parks and gardens”. He is also a keen swimmer, and is able to enjoy this pastime without having to stray far from the Hospital clínic, whilst when it comes to going out with friends what he likes best is to have a drink and something to eat near the sea front so that he can enjoy the view.

Gianluigi Li Bassi“i feLL in LOve witH BaRCeLOna fROM tHe fiRst”

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GIANLUIGI’S BARCELONAWhen it comes to eating out, Gianluigi

frequents establishments in the El

Born neighbourhood, small bars and

restaurants where he also takes his

friends when they visit him from

Milan. He is also fond of the many

“chiringuitos”, beach bars, where he

often stops for an apéritif and to enjoy

the sea views.

El Parc de les Aigües: in Gianluigi’s

words, this park, with its views over

Barcelona, is “great for taking walks

with my dog”.

He has not yet visited Montjuïc: “Lots

of my friends who have come to see me

have been, but Montjuïc is one part of

the city I have yet to discover”.

Outside Barcelona: Sitges is one of

Gianluigi’s favourite resorts, not only

to go to the beach, but also to discover

good restaurants.

fROM MILAN TO THE WORLDGianluigi Li Bassi was born in Vimodrone, a town near Milan. Having

studied medicine at Milan University, he began to specialise in

intensive care and anaesthesiology, largely in the United States, at

the National Institute of Health in Maryland. It was here that Gianluigi

started to research into mechanical ventilation-associated pneumonia,

as it has been observed that large numbers of patients report the

disease after ventilation treatment.

Since then, his professional career has been focused on researching

into new strategies to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia,

patenting new tracheal tubes and different positions for patients

in order to avoid bacteria entering their lungs. Gianluigi carries out

this research on animals in the hope that his discoveries will later be

applied to human patients. “Barcelona is the only place in the world

where there is animal testing in my specialist area”, he notes.

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s we present three interesting initiatives centred on our city and the economic and business network surrounding it.

MoscoW

iNterNAtioNAL coMMUNity

BiZNetBArceLoNA

8-31 March 2011: Business Bridge to Russia (Moscow).

russia will be especially focused on spain in 2011, with events that include a mini-expo in red square exhibiting spain as an innovative country to live in. As part of the schedule for the exhibition, a delegation from Barcelona chamber of commerce and the city’s economic Promotion and tourism departments will participate in different gatherings and meetings aimed at developing russian business relationships and investment in Barcelona.

More information: www.bcn.cat/barcelonabusiness

In 2011, Barcelona’s international community will have the opportunity to take part in 15 meetings.

Barcelona city council’s economic Promotion Area and Gild in-ternational have signed a collaboration agreement to promote Barcelona’s economy abroad and boost the city’s international business community by holding joint promotional activities. over the next year, Barcelona city council will organise 15 meetings, mainly held at the club and other local venues, on the economy with business breakfasts, seminars, general econom-ic presentations and networking activities.

Gild international is a new kind of business club, bringing together local and international senior management, busi-ness professionals and entrepreneurs under one roof at its Barcelona headquarters. the club has 200 members, as well as companies and institutions like Barcelona city council and Barcelona chamber of commerce, which are working toward the internationalisation of the city.

More information: www.gildinternational.com

Barcelona Activa is promoting biznetbarcelona, a new 2.0 social networking channel aimed at entrepreneurs and designed to create a space for professional exchanges and networking on the Internet.

this open platform is available to all organisations, institu-tions and associations that promote entrepreneurship, busi-ness growth, innovation and internationalisation intended to increase the size of the community and the relations between members.

the tool, like others with similar functions on the internet, will display a schedule of business events and activities. Users will be able to ask questions and get answers on how to start and run a company, as well as forming specialised groups. At pres-ent, more than 1,000 companies have joined the network.

More information: www.biznetbcn.com

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Businesses as we know them are beginning to become obsolete. the yoghurt manufacturer Danone Barcelona on avenida Diagonal, the concept store Cooked in Barcelona at illa Diagonal and the Roca Barcelona gallery at Les Corts show that innovation can give a new twist to the concept of a store.

DISCOVERING HIDDEN PLACES IN THE CITy

stores Are reiNVeNtiNG tHeMseLVes to

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Danone Barcelona

NUtritioN, trAiNiNG, WeLLBeiNG ANd trAditioNin its first year of operations, danone Barcelona, also known as casa danone, served 35,000 people who had been inspired by this combination of the food industry, knowledge and tradition. A multinational company historically linked with Barcelona from the beginning, danone chose our city to set up its first complex open to the general public as a unique place for promoting healthy eating and lifestyle habits. this 300 m2 multipurpose complex has already served 115,000 yoghurts and frozen yoghurts to its guests, but has not limited itself to being a simple yoghurt shop. throughout this time, it has also served as a platform for spreading good habits and telling the history of the company.

Multifunctionalthe complex is divided into four sections: a restaurant with healthy dishes at affordable prices where yoghurt is the most common ingredient; a training room for hosting seminars on nutrition and healthy cooking, which is also used to give presentations about the company; an area dedicated to memories in which you can find pieces that are symbolic of the history of the company, such as delivery vehicles, signage, etc.; and last but not least, a yoghurt shop that welcomes visitors to the complex and where they can enjoy a recently made yoghurt with the topping of their choice.

further information:Avda. Diagonal, 477, BarcelonaTel. (+34) 934 109 091www.danone.es

Cooked in Barcelona

deLicioUs cLotHiNG reAdy to eAtthe Mediterranean, simmering gourmet dishes with the right ingredients, Barcelona, open-air markets like La Boquería… these are cooked in Barcelona’s sources of inspiration for designing its trousers, jackets and accessories and for the concept of its store in the illa diagonal shopping centre. With five years behind it, this company uses creativity to design select products that follow the latest trends. its creators speak of a “high cuisine of fashion”, now that Jordi Armengol and Xavier subirats have given a new image to its clothing based on the family tradition of manufacturing trousers. combining trends with the old way of working, they put out yearly collections that undergo rigorous washing and ironing tests to guarantee freshness and innovation.

Recently cookedin its stores, customers see that the clothes have their own life: textile keyboards in pockets and sleeves for controlling an iPod, old and technological materials, seams and cuts with personality and the ubiquitous denim blue are some signs of its identity. the products’ packaging brings to customers the freshness that began in its laboratories: transparent food containers

placed inside refrigerators help them to see fashion as hot off the grill. everything in its concept stores is consistent with the team of creators’ original idea that the shopping experience should be unique, and that customers can even check the availability of clothing, colours and sizes through radio Frequency identification (rFid) screens and technology. its products can be found in its shop at illa diagonal, in national multi-brand stores and in the near future in san Francisco and Milan as part of the ambitious expansion project that is currently underway.further information:Illa Diagonal: Avda. Diagonal, 557, local 0-7, BarcelonaTel. (+34) 934 951 149www.cookedinbarcelona.com

Roca Barcelona Gallery

VitALLy eXPerieNciNG A BrANdroca Barcelona Gallery is the multinational company’s flagship building in our country. originating in catalonia, the company is the world leader in defining and designing bathrooms, a reason for which it decided to pour its passion for innovation into a building that represents its values. Located on calle Joan Güell, the building was designed in the architectural studio office of Architecture in Barcelona (oAB) by the prestigious family of architects formed by Borja, carlos and Lucía Ferrater. the result is a place that uses some elements with which the company best identifies, such as water, innovation

and sustainability, putting architecture in the service of roca’s settings and products. Based on glass, the structure of this “lightbox” houses 4,200 Leds and plays with transparencies by appearing to be a large showcase from the outside.

Interactivityits 2,400 m2 interior across three floors guarantees an experience for the senses that engages visitors through interactivity, innovation and modern audiovisual, sound and lighting equipment. interactive touch tables, 3d projections, a zone-based detection system and a wide array of touch screens make for an interior open to experimentation. As part of its role as a cultural centre we find areas for exhibitions, for discussions, for spreading the brand’s values and recounting its evolution and milestones, as well as a sampling of roca’s most avant-garde products, a lounge area, bathrooms, an online consultation area and a programme for designing your own bathroom. roca Barcelona Gallery is the first of these “places for experimentation” that the company plans to open in the main cities of the world, while it has already received major awards at the international level.further information:Joan Güell, 211-213, BarcelonaTel. (+34) 933 661 212www.rocabarcelonagallery.com

FroM LeFt to riGHt: 1: cAsA dANoNe

2:cooKed cLotHes reAdy to Go3,4: tHe rocA BArceLoNA GALLery

1 2 3 4 5

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in June this year, CfLabs, the computer forensics laboratories, received the Barcelona entrepreneurial Capital award in the Business Plans Competition category. this accolade rightly recognises the work of a company that is committed to innovation and to cooperating with the university world.

the award gives cFLabs the right to take part in the prestigious 2011 Global entre-preneurship competition, a contest featuring an international selection of the world’s top 25 business plans.Meanwhile, the forensic laboratory continues to provide its electronic testing services to resolve disputes regarding such issues as unfair competition, digital identity theft, deliberate damage to computer systems, unauthorised access to confidential infor-mation, defence of competition, intrusion and malware installation, and assurance of information assets in M&A.cFLabs provides services to businesses, lawyers, auditors, consultants, private inves-tigators and governmental organisations, amongst others, offering its technical and legal standing to resolve conflicts and detect fraud involving digital media.

Added valuethe Barcelona entrepreneurial capital Award went to cFLabs in recognition of the company’s reputation and commitment to such differentiating aspects as the highest degree of specialisation and technical and legal know-how in the use of electronic evidence as a tool in proceedings. According to company sources, cFLabs provides “technological expertise and know-how generated by our position as pioneers in the sector, thanks to the proprietary technology developed by our forensic r&d&i centre. to this end, the company has assembled a multidisciplinary team with enormous ex-perience in the sector, having taken part in many high-profile investigations involving electronic evidence in recent years.Not only that, the company’s management team also has more than a decade’s ex-perience in the sector. indeed, all cFLabs employees are highly qualified, with a lot of previous experience in the computer security business, as well as benefiting from the company’s training policy, which is applied to all workers.

Moreover, cFLabs has adopted permanent innovation as part of the company’s route map, and has become exclusively devoted to operating as a forensic r&d&i centre whose main clients are public bodies and institutions. throughout its trajectory, cFLabs has been able to cooperate actively with organisations of the highest standing.cFLabs also stands out for its social commitment, contributing to the fight against fraud and cybercrime and providing clients with a comprehensive portfolio of services to this end, covering the entire range, from reactive to preventive intervention.

Key cooperationcooperation with universities and industry is an important pillar in the development of any country’s science systems and also provides the basis for the consolidation of booming sec-tors that contribute to economic and social growth to the benefit of the population.

All CfLabs employees are highly qualified, with a lot of previous experience in the computer security business

Aware of this, cFLabs works with the leading national and international universities, providing internships for students completing MA courses or in their final course. in the company’s own words, “we contribute in this way to the practical training of our young special-ists, transmitting our experience and good practice to day-to-day work”.

CfLABS

BArceLoNA, eNtrePreNeUriAL cAPitAL

FroM LeFt to riGHt: MAtíAs BeViLAcQUA,

FredesViNdA iNsA ANd orioL rosés, FoUNders

oF cFLABs

BARCELONA ENTREPRENEURSHIP CAPITAL AWARDSlast June and for the twelfth year in a row, the Barcelona Capital entrepreneurship awards recognised the entrepreneurship and innovation of new businesses in the city and its area of influence for their contribution to economic development and job creation. This time round there were a total of 97 candidates in the following categories:Growth potential Business awardWinner: siTmobile, http://www.sitmobile.com/Catalonia entrepreneur XXi awardWinner: intelligent pharma, http://www.intelligentpharma.commicrocredit new Business awardWinner: restalo.com, http://www.restalo.com/Business plan ContestWinner: CFlabs, http://www.cflabs.es/

A CITy WITH TALENTWhy has CFLabs chosen Barcelona

as its operations centre? “Because

it brings us a lot of reach abroad,

mainly through its focus on Europe”,

explains Director of Operations, Oriol

Rosés. “Plus a great incentive when it

came to locating our headquarters in

Barcelona is the way in which the city

attracts professional talent, as that

gives you an array of more specialised

and diverse professionals than you’d

get elsewhere”.

Examples of this are to be found in

the field of design, new technologies

and the availability of operating

centres in more than 9 languages,

to name but a few. “The city’s

entrepreneurial spirit and its

associated network mean that the

opportunities that come up find

numerous anchor points where they

can get the momentum they need to

thrive”, Rosés concludes.

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Almirall has recently set up a subsidiary in Copenhagen which will serve the five Nordic countries: Denmark, finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The company is a fine example of the entrepreneurial DNA that characterises the Barcelona region, and its history also shows that the entrepreneurship of the city and its metropolitan area is deeply rooted and able to hurdle economic and geographical boundaries.

Founded in 1943 in Barcelona, today Almirall sells its drugs in over 70 countries around the world. one of the reasons for the company’s extensive interna-tional presence is its r&d policy, which means it has proprietary research products that are highly valued in the marketplace. they include almotriptan (anti-migraine), ebastine (antihistamine), aceclofenac (anti-inflammatory) and almagate (gastrointestinal). Almirall’s r&d spending last year came to €121 mil-lion, equivalent to 13.1% of company sales. through-out its history the pharmaceutical firm has obtained patents in technology-leading countries such as the United states, Japan, Netherlands, Germany and the UK.in spain, Almirall is the second laboratory by num-ber of marketed drugs. Not surprisingly, 8 out of the 100 best-selling drugs are made by Almirall, and the strength it has acquired in its domestic market has long enabled it to operate abroad. in addition to its presence in Belgium, which began in 1990, and in Portugal, which dates back to 1993, there are now more and more countries covered by Almirall prod-ucts or subsidiaries. But it is over the last decade that Almirall’s international expansion has grown by leaps and bounds.in 2001 and 2002, the pharmaceutical firm set up subsidiaries in France and italy respectively. in 2003, it founded its German subsidiary. in 2007, Almirall went public and, soon after, acquired Hermal, the european prescription company specialising in dermatology, from reckitt Benckiser, and a portfolio from shire, in a transaction that further cemented its internationalisation and enabled it to open up a subsidiary in Austria in the same year. Almirall ended 2007 with its iPo, but 2008 was also to be important as it opened several european subsidiar-ies in Poland, switzerland, the United Kingdom and ireland.

United States, Canada and Mexicoin 2000 almotriptan was approved by the FdA, the leading U.s. health authority. it was the first time the agency had approved a spanish r&d drug. in 2001 it went on sale in the United states and in 2003 the molecule was approved for marketing in canada, where it would be launched the following year. in 2001 Almirall started operating in Mexico, where it opened a subsidiary which markets several prod-ucts including the popular Almax.

ALMirALL fLyING HIGH

TO KNOW MORE www.almirall.com

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Puma has made Barcelona into its headquarters for Spain. The 3,000 square metres it leases at the World Trade Center in Cornellà is split into office space and a customer showroom. It also has plans for the Madrid office; in total, Puma’s direct presence with its Barcelona centre will mean about 250 jobs and €150 million in turnover.

Puma is already the third biggest sports clothing and footwear group in the world and spain, and its presence in our country is already noteworthy. so why has it leased 3,000 square metres at the World trade center Almeda Park in cornellà ? Be-cause with its arrival in Barcelona, Puma is looking to turn spain into the company’s fifth biggest world market. the arrival of the German multinational in spain is due to strategic reasons. Until december 2009, Puma products could be bought in multi-brand stores or estudio 2000 establishments, the com-pany with the distribution rights to the brand in spain. However, in that month Puma decided not to renew the agreement, and no sooner had they seen the opportunity than executives at the Ger-man multinational decided the company would open in Barcelona.

the firm is also planning to set up outlets in seville, Getafe and Malaga as well as in Barcelona and Madrid. Javier ortega de la cruz, a former Nike and Levi’s executive, is in charge of the subsidiary in the country.

Legendary historyAlthough Puma is very popular with consumers, not everyone knows about its unique history. Puma was founded in 1924 by rudolf dassler, the brother of Adidas founder Adolf “Adi” dassler. Both compa-nies are leaders in the world sports clothing and footwear market. Puma sells its products in over 120 countries and employs some 9,000 people. it is listed on the Frankfurt and Munich stock exchanges and is controlled by the PPr Group, which also manages brands like Fnac and Gucci. its 2009 annual report features consolidated sales coming to €2.5 billion, and a net profit of €128.2 million. one of the things that give the company its reputa-tion is its relationship with football. Puma has expanded its legend by becoming a sponsor of renowned players like Pelé, eusébio, Johan cruyff, enzo Francescoli, diego Armando Maradona, Lothar Mathäus, didier deschamps and Gianluigi Buffon, as well as sprinter Usain Bolt. As Puma says, they define “sportlifestyle” by blend-ing together the influences of sport, lifestyle and fashion, and their products reflect spontaneity and individuality with underlying hints of their classic sport heritage style.

WELCOME BACK PUMA PUMA

TO KNOW MOREwww.puma.com

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this is a sample of products and services that have come to exist as a result of the inspiration and creativity of enterprising individuals in our city. these products and services are designed to provide innovative solutions by means of new formats and processes.

MANGo

Mango is one of the Catalan companies with the greatest international impact and recognition. The brand has a worldwide presence and a logistics management system which enables it to grow constantly.

it opened its first store in Barcelona in 1984. A year later, by which stage it already had another four stores in the city, Mango began to expand, first in spain and then abroad. Besides having the latest in men’s and women’s fashion, it has motivated employees and quality products at very affordable prices.

The most international Catalan firm has the largest design centre in Europe, a laboratory called “El Hangar”

one of the secrets of the firm’s strategy is its “el Hangar” design centre, the largest of its kind in europe. the items that shoppers can see in Mango shop windows are created and made in this laboratory. Another of the company’s strategies is the development of new logistics centres equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Plus the company seeks to nurture new talent and since 2006 has been holding the prestigious international fashion awards Botón-Mango Fashion, with €300,000 in prize-money, to help the most promising newcomers in the sector to make their mark in the competitive world of fashion designers.

www.mango.com

eLLA By BMAtBMAT has created ELLA, a unique innovative new music program that offers the user a range of utilities through a smart system that will provide you with songs in line with your tastes and the activities you are doing.

eLLA’s designers have managed to create the best smart music program of all time. you no longer need to know the artist or the name of a song to get hold of it. With a simple comment like “i want a song like ‘oh darling’”, you can get a new tune in your favourites list thanks to eLLA’s recommendations. Another thing that is now history with this system is creating loads of lists to organise your songs. BMAt’s software sorts them for you following your instructions (travelling with your partner, before going to bed or for a romantic dinner). Another unique eLLA application is “Bodibeat”,

“Bodibeat synchronizes the tune of your favourite songs with your body movement, depending on whether you’re doing a strenuous activity or taking a relaxing walk”

which means the programme can choose the songs best suited for you depending on your heart rate and adapt the tunes to match your body movement. if you are doing sport, eLLA will up the tempo of your favourite song but with the control required so as not to accelerate your heart rate. the programme currently has over 9,000,000 songs.

www.bmat.com/ella

iNoUt LAMP, rAMóN ÚBedA, otto cANALdA, MetALArteThe Inout lamp has been successful because it can be used both indoors and outdoors. It withstands the rain, sun and most weather conditions while retaining the design and size needed for use in living rooms, bedrooms and offices.

you don’t often come across a lamp that can be used both in the garden and in the living room, but inout lamps can be moved between the two as they adapt to outdoor conditions (all materials are waterproof) and also feature the meticulous design required for indoor use thanks to their classic shape. inout is available in different colours and editions, such as the special “Bombay sapphire” in blue.

“Inout is a lamp that can be used both in the garden and inside the home due to its waterproof materials and classic lines”

Another of inout’s advantages is that it cares about the environment and is made from 100% recyclable plastic. inout was created by the versatile designer ramon Úbeda and the young otto canalda, a graduate of the elisava school of design in Barcelona. catalan firm Metalarte makes the lamps and provides the experience of a company that has been specialising in lighting since 1960.

www.metalarte.com

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A city oVerFLoWiNG WitH ideAstyPo-Ø-toNes

Type-Ø-Tones is a small company dedicated to designing, producing and marketing digital typography. The term used in the sector to define this type of business is ‘type foundry’.

in the beginning of the 1990s, Joan Barjau, enric Jardí, Laura Meseguer and José Manuel Urós met and, driven by a common interest in designing alphabets, joined forces to create a body of work that has been marketed internationally since 1992 by Fontshop international.

“If we lived in another city, these fonts would be different. Obviously, research into the essence of our sources would uncover evidence in some tiny byte of information that they were ‘Made in Barcelona’”.

over the last 20 years and until today, type-Ø-tones has not stopped working on new and creative typographic designs and has kept existing typographies updated and functional. the four founders still form the core of type-Ø-tones, but if we talk about the ‘team’, we would have to mention all the people who have contributed designs to their source library. the list is still growing, but here are a few names worth mentioning: salvador ‘tori’ Alimbau, Juan dávila, Adela de Bara, Julia Friese, Miguel Gallardo, íñigo Jerez, Laura Klamburg, estudio Mariscal, Luis Mendo, Flavio Morais, Pepe Puertas, Pera ribalta, Jaume ros, Félix rufín and Peret.

www.type-o-tones.com

MUNicH

Since starting out as a family business in 1939, Munich sports shoes have become high quality footwear that is found in the main stores and on catwalks in countries such as Italy, Portugal, Russia and Japan.

Munich has combined design with technological innovation to achieve a place at the top of the table for the most successful footwear worldwide. in 2000 the company added the latest in style to comfort, which led to many people choosing to wear the brand’s “X” symbol for their daily activities. Munich can reinvent itself to adapt to change and as a result has built new technology into its design plans.

“At the start of the 21st century Munich decided to create sports shoes that in addition to being comfortable also exuded style and elegance for those who choose to wear them for their daily activities”

on the company’s website (www.munichmyway.com), users can create their own footwear according to their taste, choosing the colour, finish and material. once designed, the sports shoe is manufactured and posted to the customer, who will be able to enjoy unique footwear tailored to their needs.

www.munichsports.com

PaRis, new yORk & vanCOUveRWe travel trough the world’s major cities looking for small and large businesses inspired by our city.

Boqueria NYC

Where? Boqueria Flatiron, 53 West 19th streetBoqueria soho, 171 spring streetNew york city What? restaurant with an exclusive selection of luxury and artisan spanish food productsWhy? “ We were inspired by Barcelona’s famed market-fresh food, which helped inform our seasonal ingredient-driven menu that offers a selection of tapas, portions and half portions”

Barcelona Media Design (Vancouver)

Where? 402 West Pender street VancouverWhat? they do Graphic and Web design, Branding, Photography, Video and Motion GraphicsWhy? “the name is a symbol for everything that the city of Barcelona represents: contemporary, vibrant and urban centre that lives and breathes design atits best”

BPFilms: Paris Barcelona FilmsWhere? 25 rue saint sébastien, ParisWhat? Movie production for the cinemaWhy?

“We chose the business name of Paris-Barcelone in 1997 because we belonged to a european community”

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tHe BArceLoNA ecoNoMic triANGLe coNsoLidAtes its iNterNAtioNAL PositioNin 2010, the Barcelona economic triangle was present at three international trade fairs: Mipim, expoReal and Barcelona Meeting Point, and preparations are underway for the next event in Cannes, Mipim 2011 (8-11 March 2011). the initiative, promoted by the government of Catalonia and Barcelona City Council, participated at these events to promote the zones with the best projection in the Barcelona Metropolitan area.

LeFt: deLtA BcNriGHt: syNcotroN ALBA

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GBarcelona economic triangle (Bet) refers to the areas designated for economic activity in the metropolitan area with the most innovative busi-ness opportunities in catalonia and europe. driven by the Government of catalonia and Barcelona city council, its main objectives are to promote value added economic areas in international markets and attract investors to the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. the three areas that make up Barcelona economic triangle are Parc de l’Alba (Vallès area), 22@Barcelona (Besòs area) and delta BcN/BZ Barcelona innova-tion Zone (Llobregat area). together they constitute almost 7 million m2 of land capable of generating more than 200,000 new jobs in strategic sectors. Parc de l’Alba, located in cerdanyola, Vallès, mainly generates interest in sectors related to science and technology, like nanotechnology and biotechnology. the next area, 22@Barcelona, is a technology district for setting up advanced services and knowledge-intensive activities linked with information and communica-tion technologies (icts), the media, medi-cal technology, energy and design. Lastly, delta BcN/BZ Barcelona innovation Zone is mainly directed at emerging sectors such as the aerospace, mobility, optics and photonics sectors.By promoting Barcelona economic tri-angle, the Government of catalonia and

Barcelona city council are strengthening the region’s strategic positioning as a Mediterranean centre of innovation and a knowledge economy.

Participation in the sector’s main trade fairs: Mipim, ExpoReal and BMPin order to attract more international at-tention, Bet participated in the sector’s most important trade fairs in 2010.At exporeal, where investors showed great interest, the Bet stand was rep-resented by an institutional delegation headed by deputy Mayor Jordi William carnes and secretary for spatial Plan-ning oriol Nel·lo, who met with different international investment companies. Apart from Bet’s three major projects, the Munich stand also had space for important organisations like sabadell Parc empresarial, tecnocampus Mataró, Monereo Meyer Marinel·lo and the schmack Group. different organisations representing the Government of catalonia also had a stand at Barcelona Meeting Point, where Bet appeared for the first time. Here, the catalan Minister of the environment and Housing, Francesc Baltasar, and the President of the chamber of commerce, Miquel Valls, accompanied Jordi William carnes.thanks to Mipim in cannes, where most international real estate consult-

ing firms meet, the Bet stand included the participation of companies such as castellví Group, teyco, r5r and Mietes. deputy Mayor Jordi William carnes also attended, participating in the signing of an agreement between 22@Barcelona and Newham London that opens doors to “future joint projects between Barcelona and London”.

Creating new opportunities for investment Bet is a differentiated global offer with values based on quality, opportunity, innovation, technology, talent, energy, flexibility and the Mediterranean spirit.

it provides great opportunities to make progress toward an economy based on knowledge and creativity, which has already shown results with Barcelona’s 15th position among world cities in terms of scientific production. catalonia and Barcelona occupy the first positions in the ranking created by the most presti-gious international consulting firms. the most recent example to support this position is an operation that took place in Barcelona. deka immobilien, a Ger-man real state fund, purchased the caja Madrid de relalia building, making for the largest real estate operation in spain so far in 2010.

BET: QUALITy SPACES Barcelona has three main areas of

activity that form a large triangle:

the Barcelona Economic Triangle.

These three spaces have the following

assets:

•Business fabric in consolidated areas

of production, tertiary or logistics

activity in different sectors.

•Universities of excellence.

•Specialised and global research and

technology transfer centres.

•Singular and state-of-the-art scientific

infrastructure.

•Local and international talent and

entrepreneurial initiative.

•Services for incubation and creation

of businesses.

•Support facilities (promotional,

commercial, educational and health

care).

•Good connections with the airport,

the port, the main international road

and rail networks and the local public

transport network.

•High quality of life, with a pleasant,

sunny climate and a system of high-

value natural parks.

for further information www.BarcelonaEconomicTriangle.cat

NExT STOP: MIPIM 2011 (8-11 MARCH)like every year, the palais des Festivals in Cannes will host the most international real estate trade fair. mipim always attracts the major players in the sector: investors, property consultants, assessors, lawyers, construction companies, development corporations and local and regional authorities. For the second straight year, the Barcelona economic Triangle will have a stand displaying both its ongoing and future projects. BeT is not just looking for synergy in the public sector; it also aims to create joint projects with private organisations and companies. The goal is to share tools and serve as a platform offering the private sector the possibility of participating in trade fairs, and therefore gaining more international exposure at a low cost.

Do you want to participate at Barcelona Economic Triangle’s BARCELONA-CATALONIA stand at Mipim 2011? send an email to:contact@barcelonaeconomictriangle.cat

BZ BArceLoNA iNNoVAtioN ZoNe

January 2011 June 2011

agenda

Anne Boleyn at the Liceu 20 January – 5 March 2011 This famous work by Gaetano Donizetti was performed for the first time at the Liceu in 1947, and is now returning to Barcelona. It is a lyrical tragedy based on Henry VIII’s desire to marry the lady-in-waiting of his wife, Anne Boleyn.www.liceubarcelona.cat

Barcelona World Race 2010/2011 Exit: 31 December 2010 The second year of this regatta will start in front of the spectacular Hotel W in the Port of Barcelona. The route is from Barcelona to Barcelona via the three capes (Buena Esperanza, Leeuwin and Hornos). The arrival of the first boat is scheduled for late March 2011. www.barcelonaworldrace.com

Basketball Final Four 6-8 May 2011 The Euroleague’s final four will be played in Barcelona, which already hosted the final in 1998 and 2003, when Regal fC Barcelona won its first Euroleague championship. Palau Sant Jordi will bring together the thousands of fans that are planned to attend this great event. www.euroleague.net

From Luca Giordano to Goya: Spanish painting from the 18th century Until 13 february 2011 This exhibition will be held at the fundación francisco Godia and will bring together the work of internationally renowned artists such as Luca Giordano and prestigious Spanish painters like francisco de Goya and Vicente López.www.fundacionfgodia.org

Kylie Minogue’s concert12 March 2011 The Palau Sant Jordi of Barcelona will host the concert of one of the most relevant international pop music stars. Kylie will present her last album called Aphrodite.www.kylie.com

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... 26-28 JANUARy 2011

The Brandery The international trade show for contemporary urban fashion of Barcelona, held from 26 to 28 January. In this fourth year it presents new approaches and opportunities for radical change at the fira de Barcelona trade fair facilities.

www.thebrandery.com

14-17 fEBRUARy 2011moBile World ConGress An international communications event, the Mobile World Congress attracts visitors interested in information technology, entertainment, financial services and the mobile phone industry. A unique opportunity for sharing services and business model ideas. www.mobileworldcongress.com

9-11 MARCH 2011GloBal sporTs Forum BarCelonaThe aim of the third Global Sports forum Barcelona is to propose new ideas for the future through a platform of debates and workshops hosted by important figures in the sector, including athletes and government and business representatives. www.globalsportsforum.org

9-13 MARCH 201110Th inTernaTional ConFerenCe on alzheimer’s & parKinson’s diseasesThe conference will focus on the latest discoveries helping to improve the conditions of people suffering from neurodegenerative illnesses. The programme includes speeches by prestigious scientists and doctors, and scientific presentations by young researchers. www.kenes.com/adpd

24-28 MAy 201125Th inTernaTional symposium on CereBral Blood FloW, meTaBolism & FunCTion This congress brings together a group of international investigators who are researching the latest treatments for brain illnesses. This is a good opportunity to exchange discoveries and build relationships among brain experts in the scientific community. www.kenes.com/brain

8-10 JUNE 2011China aT BarCelona summiTESADE and Barcelona Chamber of Commerce will organise a conference on Chinese investment in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean area. The aim is to present attractive investments in the area and especially to promote Barcelona as an investment opportunity for Chinese companies. www.chinaatbarcelonasummit.com

16-18 JUNE 2011sónar 2011A pioneer in its field, this long-standing festival is an annual event that you cannot miss if you want to be at the vanguard of advanced music and multimedia and electronic art. www.sonar.es

JUNE 2011 Biz BarCelona The objective of this event is to position Barcelona as a zone of innovation on both an international and national level. Here entrepreneurs, companies and investors will meet to make agreements and discover attractive areas of investment. www.bizbarcelona.com

22-25 JUNE 201113Th World ConGress on GasTroinTesTinal CanCer This conference has won the admiration of the leading associations related with gastrointestinal cancer. It brings together experts to discuss the latest treatment options for common and less common tumours. www.worldgicancer.com