Federico Linares, EY Spain president, tells Esade students: “You are responsible for exerting influence and making a social impact”
The official opening of the 2022-23 year at Esade was chaired by EY Spain president, Federico Linares. During the event, he spoke to students about challenges and the importance of an education based on values and the ability to learn from every experience. “You are responsible for exerting an influence and making a social impact” declared Linares, “Until the last day of your life you can change the world… you must have the courage to learn”. “At EY we believe in ‘humanistic capitalism’, a form of capitalism that puts people at the heart of everything and is based on a new social pact with three cornerstones: business, State and citizens” concluded the president of EY Spain.
Jaume Guardiola, president of the Esade Foundation board of trustees, also took part in the opening ceremony of the new academic year. He emphasised that “the academy is the centre and core that must underpin the success of our establishment, along with its management team.” As regards the 1,800 students starting at Esade this year, he mentioned that two thirds are international students and that most undergraduates are European. He ended by saying that Esade students have distinguishing traits such as the ability to work in teams, to prioritise the general interest of the company over personal interests and to compete co-operatively.
Esade director general, Xavier Mendoza, outlined changes implemented at Esade: a wider range of bachelor’s degrees and masters at the Business School, particularly in the realms of IT and digitalisation, more partners at the Law School and unceasing efforts to adapt Executive Education. He also highlighted the importance of research and the creation of new centres such as the Esade Center for Social Impact. Mendoza underlined the “exponential development of science and scientific progress, and the massive impact of AI and its need for vast amounts of data, supercomputers, statistical science and algorithms to handle the data.” “The impact of AI will mark your future careers,” he told students.
Finally, Josep Antoni Rom, the dean of Universidad Ramon Llull, ended the opening ceremony of the new academic year at Esade by emphasising the uncertainty that lies ahead and yet, as he acknowledged, “the future has always been unpredictable, what matters is how we deal with it, so there are many possible futures.”
