The Leading Brands of Spain Forum has granted the ‘Friends of the Spain Brand’ and ‘Friends of the Spanish Brands’ in Mexico, an acknowledgement of Mexican individuals and companies with strong ties to Spain.
The event, organised by the Leading Brands of Spain Forum and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Mexico in collaboration with ICEX and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, took place on January 30th in the Mexican capital, as part of an agenda to explore the Mexican market and promote Spanish brands. Indeed, Mexico is a key country for Spanish companies due to a combination of factors such as its growing economy, a domestic market of more than 120 million people, its trade agreement with the EU which provides a stable legal framework, its strategic location with access to both North and South America, and its cultural closeness to Spain.
The ceremony was chaired by the Spanish ambassador to Mexico, Juan Duarte Cuadrado, and was attended by both the president of the Leading Brands of Spain Forum, Sofía Osborne, and the president of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, Antonio Basagoiti. In their speeches, they highlighted the strong cultural, as well as economic and business, ties between Spain and Mexico, and the importance of continuing to work towards mutual understanding and reinforcing the relationship between the two countries, marked by friendship and by shared economic and trade interests and opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic.
The awardees recognised as Friends of the Spain Brand in Mexico were:
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Francisco Cervantes Díaz, president of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), an organisation representing companies responsible for 80% of the country’s GDP. This Mexican businessman has experience in the plastics industry, stone materials, real estate, and agriculture.
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Alejandro González Zabalegui, executive president of ‘La Comer’, one of Mexico’s main supermarket chains, mainly present in the centre of the country and listed both on the Mexican and New York stock exchanges.
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Laura Díez Barroso, president of ‘Grupo Financiero Santander México’, appointed to the role in 2019. She was previously president of Televisa and co-founded Pro-Mujer-México, supporting women entrepreneurs, as well as the GAP Foundation, promoting workers’ well-being within the company.
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Leonardo Curzio, journalist and political analyst, named one of Mexico’s 300 most influential leaders, has received, among other distinctions, the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honour in France, the Order of Merit in the rank of Cavaliere in Italy, and the Commandership of the Order of Isabella the Catholic in Spain.
Meanwhile, those recognised as Friends of Spanish Brands in Mexico, that is, individuals and companies specifically linked to Spanish firms, were:
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Chef Jesús Pedraza, from the restaurant La Cocina del Bizco, as Friend of Mahou-San Miguel.
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Journalist Gloria Calzada, as Friend of Tendam.
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Designer and interior decorator Olga Hanono, as Friend of Lladró.
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Juan Luis Navarro, managing director of Grupo Novelda, as Friend of Grupo Osborne.
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Jerome Seignon, CEO of BLN Brands, as Friend of the wine group Marqués de Vargas.
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Santiago Pérez, commercial director of Hanseatik, as Friend of Hacienda Guzmán (Acesur).
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Manolo Gascón, CEO of Bodegas Alianza, as Friend of Bodegas Fundador.
Both the Friends of the Spain Brand and the Friends of Spanish Brands received as a token of recognition a Lladró figurine.
This marks the fourteenth edition of the recognition of ‘Friends of the Spain Brand and Spanish Brands’, an initiative of the FMRE supported by ICEX and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce. In the past, accreditation ceremonies for Friends of the Spain Brand have been held in various markets including the USA, France, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, among others. Also in Mexico, where in 2015 the FMRE and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Mexico had already recognised as Friends of the Spain Brand figures such as Valentín Díez Morodo, Lino de Prado and Hugo Sánchez, among others.
