IE Business School and the Fundación Eduardo Barreiros joined forces to run a debate workshop on â??Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century: New Challengesâ?, designed to promote business start-ups as an engine for wealth, social well-being and job creation. 
The event was attended by senior directors of leading firms who debated new challenges facing entrepreneurs in this century.
The inauguration included addresses by Mª Luz Barreiros, President of the Eduardo Barreiros Foundation, Fernando Merry del Val, Counsellor for Economy and Consumption Comunidad de Madrid (Madrid regional authorities) and Diego de Ãlcazar, President of IE Business School. Mr Alcázar centred on the importance of creating new businesses as a source of growth for modern society, IEâ??s commitment to the generation of new business, including the fact that 25% of IE students have set up their own businesses.
Mariluz Barreiros, President of the Eduardo Barreiros Foundation, commented that one of the main objectives of her Foundation was to disseminate the key role that entrepreneurs play, just as her father, Eduardo Barreiros, did. The Counsellor for Eocnomy and consumption at Comunidad de Madrid, Fernando Merry del Val, talked about the main challenges facing Communidad de Madrid, particularly the need for new knowledge for an active economy, describing Comunidad de Madrid as a magnet for entrepreneurial talent.
The round table on â??Entrepreneurial Managementâ? tackled problems facing Spanish firms in the field of internationalisation strategy. Participants included Jesús Salazar, President of the SOS Cuétara Group, MarÃa José Ãlvarez, member of the board of directors of the Eulen Group, and Enric Casi, General Director of Mango. Ignacio de la Vega, Director of the IE Business School Centre for Entrepreneurship, felt one of the key conclusions to be drawn from participantsâ?? comments was the importance of using an internationalisation model as a growth tool in the different companies, along with the fact that maintaining a company is actually more difficult than setting one up.
The workshops continued with an address by Pedro Luis Fernández, CEO of GAM, who talked about the difficulties he encountered during the creation and development of his business. He concluded by stating that a group of ordinary people can do extraordinary things.
Finally, the round table on â??Management and Growth in Family Businesses in the Automotive Sectorâ? covered some of the specific characteristics of family businesses in the automotive sector, together with management models that ensure the continuity of the family firm based on growth, competitiveness and profitability. Participants included Francisco Riberas, CEO of the Gestamp Group; MarÃa Helena AntolÃn, from the board of directors of the AntolÃn Group, and Pedro Erciso Bergé, Vice President of the Bergé Group.
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