Mollerussa was once a veritable desert. In the 19th century, it was called the Clot del Demoni (Devil's Clot), because it was a cauldron where not a drop of water circulated. Virtually no one wanted to live there. It was with the construction of the Urgell Canal and the arrival of the first irrigation system in 1862 that things changed radically. The land became fertile, and people populated the area. One of these newcomers was Pere Duacastella, a locksmith from Aguilar de Segarra who had initially taken the train to seek his fortune in the city of Lleida. He stopped in Mollerussa and ended up staying there, attracted by the great opportunity offered by the new location. In 1868, he opened the doors of a bread bakery that is still in operation today.

The business world has historically been associated with male leaders in suits and ties. The demand for a greater female presence in management positions has been a topic of theses and proposals from business associations for decades, to the point that parity is increasingly becoming a tool for assessing organizations' corporate policy. Little by little, the situation is improving: according to the latest data from Grant Thornton, Catalonia has 44.2% women in senior positions, the highest rate in Spain. In fact, the percentage recorded by the report this year in Catalonia has increased by 8.2 points compared to last year, placing the Principality 5.8 points above the Spanish average (38.4%). Since theCompaniesWe bring you a selection of 10 influential female executives in the Catalan economy, including established figures and lesser-known profiles.