Teresa Garcia-Milà, new president of the Economic Circle

BarcelonaEconomics professor Teresa Garcia-Milà was appointed this Thursday as the new president of the Círculo de Economía, replacing Jaume Guardiola. She was the only candidate nominated to lead the institution. The deadline for submitting nominations was this Thursday, June 26, and there was no competition. Garcia-Milà, Elisabet Alier (president of Alier), Jordi Amat (philologist and writer), Maite Barrera (founder of Bluecap), Ignasi Biosca (CEO of Reig Jofre), Núria Cabutí (CEO of Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial), Clara Campàs (Clara Campàs), Pilar Conesa (president of Anteverti), Josep Franch (director of investments for southern Europe at Rockfield), Carmina Ganyet (corporate general manager of Inmobiliaria Colonial), Jordi Gual (professor of Economics at IESE), Pau Guardans (CEO of Único Hotels) (director of CIDOB), Osmar Polo (CEO and president of T-Systems Iberia), Marc Puig (president and CEO of Puig), Camino Quiroga (notary), Laura Urquizu (CEO and president of Red Points) and David Vegara (Executive Director-CRO of the Bank, Aspachs Technical Secretary and Xavier Vives will continue to lead the Productivity and Innovation Initiative (IPI).

Garcia-Milà, who has served on almost every board meeting since 1995, with the exception of the one from 2013 to 2016, was until now vice president of Guardiola's board. The organization's goal has been to reinstate the co-optation formula, after the last elections saw two competing candidates: Guardiola, who won, and businesswoman Rosa Cañadas. The Círculo de Economía prioritizes consensus, as was the case in previous board renewals, and hopes there will be no further attempt to put forward an alternative candidate, according to sources familiar with the organization.

Garcia-Milà, a renowned economist

With a degree in Economics from the University of Barcelona and a PhD in Economics from the University of Minnesota, Teresa Garcia-Milà is currently Director of the Barcelona School of Economics (BSE), Professor at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), and Associate Researcher at the Center for Research in International Economics (CREI). She is also Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Political Economy and Governance (IPEG).

In the business world, she is a director of Repsol and chair of its audit committee, non-executive chair of Sabadell Digital, and economic advisor to the Ministry of Economy. She has served on the board of Enagás, Vueling, and Banco Sabadell, and has served on several public and private advisory boards, including AIReF and the Advisory Council for Recovery and Growth (CAREC) of the Government of Catalonia.

In academia, she has held senior positions at UPF—as dean, vice-rector, and department head—and has served as president of the Spanish Economics Association. Her research has focused on the impact of public investment on economic growth and on the analysis of how different tax structures and diverse models of fiscal federalism affect economic growth, resource distribution, and economic well-being. She has also received several awards, including the Narcís Monturiol Medal from the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government).