Grifols opens a new era with its first female president
Changes at the helm of Idescat and BSC and other signings of the week
BarcelonaThe Catalan multinational blood products company Grifols is embarking on a new era. The company is considering returning to dividend payments and has seen its share price rise after the shock caused by the attacks from the short-selling fund Gotham City Research. At this week's shareholders' meeting, the current chairman, Thomas Glanzmann, retired after 19 years on the board of directors. For the first time, a woman is assuming this position: Anne-Catherine Berner.
Àlex Costa, new director of Idescat
Àlex Costa, a doctor in economics from the University of Barcelona, will assume the position of director of the Statistical Institute of Catalonia (Idescat), which reports to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, according to an agreement reached by the Catalan government this week.
Between 2008 and 2012, Costa held various positions at the National Statistics Institute (INE), where he was advisor to the presidency and director general of planning and coordination. In 2020, he assumed the presidency of the Catalan Association of Regional Science, and in 2022, he chaired the committee for the currently valid National Statistical Plan. In 2014, he joined the analysis department of the Municipal Data Office (OMD) of Barcelona City Council. Costa takes over from Xavier Cuadras-Morató, who has headed Idescat for the past six years and is now resuming his academic career at Pompeu Fabra University.
Glanzmann bids farewell to Grifols
It was already known, but now it's a reality. Thomas Glanzmann, until now Chief Executive Officer, is leaving Grifols. Months ago, he decided not to run for re-election, and this Thursday, at the 2025 general shareholders' meeting, his term ended after his two-year agreement to serve as Chief Executive Officer expired. He will be succeeded as non-executive chairman by Anne-Catherine Berner, the first woman to hold the position and an independent member of Grifols' board of directors.
Glanzmann, who has also decided to retire from the board after serving for almost 20 years, became a director in 2006, the year the company was listed on the Spanish stock exchange. He was appointed Executive Chairman in February 2023 and also assumed the role of CEO three months later. In April 2024, he handed over the CEO role to Nacho Abia and became non-executive chairman in September.
Cristian Canton, former Meta, new associate director of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center
Researcher Cristian Canton will be the new associate director of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC). Until now, he has served as director of artificial intelligence (AI) at the headquarters of Meta—the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram—in the United States. He previously worked as a researcher at Microsoft Research in the US and the UK, and at Vicon, also in the UK. His appointment "will boost BSC's position at the forefront of AI research applied to multiple disciplines," the BSC said in a statement.
Canton will succeed Josep M. Martorell, who has served as associate director of BSC since 2016. Martorell has led, along with Mateo Valero, director of BSC, almost a decade of growth in which the center has opened a new corporate headquarters, installed the fourth and fifth versions of the Mar supercomputer, 1,300 workers, and created 14 spin-offs.
Laura Olcina, new president of CACTI
Laura Olcina Puerto has been appointed president of the Advisory Council on Science, Technology, and Innovation. This advisory body—attached to the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities—has the mission of advising on the definition and monitoring of public policies in the areas of research, development, and innovation. For the first time in its history, it has elected a member of a Technology Center to its presidency.
Olcina, current president of the Spanish Federation of Technology Centers (Fedit) and managing director of the Institute of Information Technology (ITI), had already served on the Advisory Council as vice president since November 2023. Her promotion to the presidency is a recognition of her career in technology and knowledge transfer and public-private collaboration.
Laura Olcina holds a degree in economics and business administration from the University of Valencia and has extensive experience in the management of technology and innovation centers.