The Queen Sofía Spanish Institute is a proud sponsor of the conference and opening event of the 15th edition of Conferencia MBA España held this year at Columbia University.

Conferencia MBA España is a two-day event of lectures and networking events where Spanish leaders in business shared their experiences and perspectives with MBA students from top American universities.

The opening ceremony was held in the stunning Sorolla room of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library, with the presence of esteemed guests and speakers including Guillaume Kientz, Director of the Hispanic Society; Pedro Calvo Sotelo, Consul for Cultural Affairs; and Begonia Santos, Executive Director of the QSSI.

Attendees, both students and speakers alike, enjoyed a Spanish cocktail featuring wine from Cepa21.

Speakers were invited to participate in panel discussions together with other professionals in their sectors, with the aim of exchanging opinions and offering advice that can be useful to young professionals.

Throughout the conference, there were various panels including:

• Economy Panel with Tano Santos,  Robert Heilbrunn Professor of Asset Management and Finance, Columbia Business School and Director, Heilbrunn Center for Graham and Dodd Investing
• Energy Panel with Paulina Beato, President at Barcelona School of Economics; José Antonio Miranda, CEO, Avangrid; and Aurora Catà, Advisor at Repsol and Santander Bank
• Banking and Asset Managment Panel with Marco Antonio Achón, Global Director of Corporate Banking in Santander Bank and Ángel de la Fuente, Managing Director and Head of Equities at Auerbach Grayson
• VC & Start-ups Panel with Luis Basagoiti, Founder of Capchase and Ariadna Font, Co-Founder and CEO of Ailinia AI, Former Senior Director of Engineering at Twitter
• Private Equity Panel with Enrique de Leyva, Founder Member of Magnum Capital and Julio Babechi, Managing Partner, L Catterton Latinamerica
• General Management Panel with Néstor Cano, EVP, Chief Information & Digital Office at T-Mobile; Manuel Sansigre, CFO, Penguin Random House; Beatriz Pardo, General Manager at Starbucks Reserve; Aurora Catà, Advisor at Repsol and Santander Bank.

Keynote conferences also punctuated the two-day event.

The Keynote speakers who participated were:

• Enrique Lores, President and CEO, HP Inc.
• Pedro Pérez-Llorca, Founding Member, Pérez Llorca
• Ariadna Font, Co-Founder and CEO of upcoming start-up and Former Senior Director of Engineering at Twitter.
• Óscar García Maceiras, Consejero Delegado, Inditex

For more information about the conference, reach out to info@queensofiasi.org.