Ramon Agenjo was the protagonist of the last #DinarExperiènciaAIJEC that took place last Thursday, April 24, and where the concepts of Barcelona and business were the protagonists. In front of around fifty young entrepreneurs, the president of Barcelona Global praised the role of AIJEC as a driving force behind the young business movement and a promoter of collective initiatives that help us move forward as a society.
Associationism was the backbone of his speech, because as he made clear “if you want to get there quickly you have to go alone, but if you want to go far you have to do it together”. In fact, for the director of the Damm Foundation, councilor of Damm and president of Cacaolat, among other positions, associationism is key to the evolution of Catalonia and a connector between AIJEC and the entity that Agenjo currently chairs.
Barcelona Global is a private, independent and non-profit association that was created fifteen years ago to support managers whose main task is to make Barcelona one of the best cities in the world for impact talent and economic activity. As a loyal lover of Barcelona, Agenjo declares himself an unconditional fan of the city, its opportunities and everything it represents. “Barcelona is spectacular and we must know how to enjoy it and show it to the world. Whoever gets bored here is because they want to”, he concluded.
One of Barcelona Global’s tasks is to retain and attract talent and for this reason the entrepreneur is clear that it is necessary to protect entrepreneurs and offer them aid. “Companies that invest in talent are 100% better in all cases”.
DAMM’s success, the protagonist of the talk
Agenjo is the fourth generation of a company with 149 years of history since his great-grandfather emigrated to Barcelona from Alsace fleeing the Franco-Prussian War. When asked what the secret of Damm’s success is, he explains that they are very proud because people like working with them. “The secret of success is none other than working hard, and thinking a lot about the people who work in the company.” The businessman challenged the attendees to listen to the workers, find out what they say, what they think about the company’s affairs. “Sometimes you also need to know how to copy what others do and, above all, adapt to the times and changes.”
During the meeting organized by the AIJEC, Ramon Agenjo shared a lot of anecdotes and advice, both business and life, that have helped him manage a century-old company that has no losses, promote a highly competitive football club where education is the basis, and chair an association that weaves solid threads between the public and private sectors.