Jaume Guardiola, former Banco Sabadell CEO, will be appointed new president of the Esade Foundation Board of Trustees on July 12, coinciding as planned with the end of the mandate of the current president, Xavier Torra.

During Xavier Torra’s mandate, Esade consolidated their prestige around the globe and their ability to attract international talent, with 126 nationalities on the Barcelona-Pedralbes, Barcelona-Sant Cugat and Madrid campuses, and alliances and exchange agreements with 198 international educational institutions.

Xavier Torra highlighted the efforts made to increase the scholarships that the institution awards to talented young people and the need for funding, particularly against the backdrop of today’s crisis caused by the pandemic: “It is with great flexibility and adaptability that we have responded to different challenges by providing hybrid courses and deploying a variety of proprietary methodologies. Another of our priorities, in addition to our commitment to talent, is to reduce inequality and guarantee socioeconomic diversity in the classroom by enabling students to access a first-rate education regardless of their financial circumstances.”

Jaume Guardiola’s appointment as president comes at a time when Esade continues to boost their commitment to innovation in education by launching new degrees and adding technological skills to all programmes transversally. Guardiola promised that “Esade will continue to work on offering the best educational experience, underpinned by technology, sustainability, diverse talent, globalisation and links with business. We are, therefore, bringing our teaching methods into line with new business and social challenges, hence the importance of our commitment to ensuring that our students’ learning includes the technological skills and new socio-emotional abilities demanded by the job market and which are essential for making a positive impact on society”.

Until last March, Jaume Guardiola had been the CEO of Banco Sabadell since 2007. Prior to that, he worked in the BBVA group where he was the CEO of BBVA Puerto Rico, BBVA Banco Francés in Argentina and BBVA Bancomer in Mexico, and Director General of Spain and Portugal. He is a trustee of the Esade Foundation, member of the APD board of governors, member of the board of directors of the Cercle d’Economia and member of the Foment Advisory Board.