Pau Gasol at South Summit Madrid 2023 inauguration: “In sport and in business the bad moments are as important as the good ones, that’s when you really grow”.

Madrid: South Summit, the leading event for the global innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem, opened its eleventh edition today at La Nave in Madrid. Co-organised by IE University, #SouthSummit23 has the institutional support of Spain Up Nation, the Community of Madrid, and the Madrid City Council, as well as Mutua Madrileña, Google for Startups, BBVA Spark, Endesa, Toptal, Wayra – Telefónica Innovation and BStartup from Banco Sabadell.

The opening ceremony this morning was attended by José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Mayor of Madrid; Carme Artigas, Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence; María Benjumea, President and founder of South Summit, and Diego del Alcázar Benjumea, CEO of IE University.

The Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, expressed his gratitude to María Benjumea “for choosing Madrid for the past 11 years to host South Summit, a record-breaking event that is a world benchmark for business opportunities; an event that has established itself as one of this city’s benchmarks, not only for its tangible value in terms of economic impact, but also for its intangible value”.

Carme Artigas, Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence also valued the positive impact of South Summit and its role as a mirror of the latest technologies: “It is the only meeting on the planet that Artificial Intelligence will never be able to replace”.

In her welcoming speech, María Benjumea, president, and founder of South Summit, said that “over the next three days, more than 300 investment funds with a management portfolio of more than $300B, 21 unicorns from all countries and 600 great speakers will gather here”. In addition to highlighting this eleventh edition’s goals, “our motto this year is Today 2030, reflecting our commitment to work today for a better future”.

Diego del Alcázar Benjumea, CEO of IE University, also spoke about Today 2030 and the goals it represents. “The goals for 2030 are not easy to achieve, but we cannot let them slip away. South Summit is an important driver for this, so we want to make the most of it and make sure our future selves look back with pride.”

Ignacio Garralda, president of Mutua Madrileña, was one of the leading figures on the first day of #SouthSummit23, where he spoke about his company’s commitment towards innovation. “Internally, with improvements in our processes (which we optimise through robotisation and AI) and with our intrapreneurship programme. Externally, we participate in start-ups that develop businesses that allow us to offer additional advantages to our policyholders”.

Health and sport, the key figures of day one at #SouthSummit23

After the official opening of South Summit Madrid 2023, its main stage hosted the long-awaited talk between Pau Gasol and Pablo Isla, President of the Board of Trustees of IE University. During the discussion, which focused on the importance of teams within companies, Isla pointed out that “when the right dynamic is created, the team is much more than the sum of the individuals. When there is a good atmosphere, things can be achieved that nobody imagines. The strength of the team is much more than the strength of the individuals that make it up”.

Pau Gasol, who took the opportunity to present Gasol16Ventures, bringing together all his investment projects, also spoke about the need to have a good team when it comes to building a successful company. “From my experience in sports, I can say that no matter how big you are, you need a strong team. The best coaches are the ones who know how to motivate players in different ways to get the best out of them. In business it is the same, leaders need to identify what motivates each employee”.

Gasol also reflected on what failure means in the world of business and sport: “The bad moments are as important as the good ones; if not more, because that’s when you really grow. We are human and we make mistakes, but facing those moments and overcoming them together is what makes a team great”.

Investment and sustainability as catalysts

This Wednesday morning also featured other renowned figures in the investment world, such as the founder of Winston Eco-Strategies, Andrew Winston, one of the world’s leading experts on sustainability and CSR. In his speech, he warned that “the cost of doing nothing is much higher than the cost of doing something” and called on companies to “take a clear and firm position. They need to speak publicly, or at least to their workers, about their position on issues such as climate change, racial and gender issues, democracy…”.

Rafael González Sánchez, Head of EGP & TGx Iberia at Endesa, also spoke about climate change awareness, stating that “the innovation that we generate from companies is crucial to accelerate this process, we must be able to make the energy transition compatible with innovation, while creating value in the local community, beyond energy projects”.

Another of this morning’s keynote speakers was Inês Oliveira, Head of Partnerships at Wayra Spain, whose speech focused on the need for companies and startups to apply innovation. “The key words are international DNA and open innovation. All companies’ actions in this regard should be aimed, with a global ambition, at working with global start-ups”.

#SouthSummit23 lasts until Friday, the meeting point for global connection and the generation of real business opportunities in the global entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem.