The parish church of Sants Gervasi i Protasi, in Plaça de la Bonanova, in the heart of affluent Barcelona, hosted the farewell ceremony on Tuesday for businessman Carles Vilarrubí i Carrió, who passed away early Sunday morning. The event brought together business leaders and prominent figures from the economic, political, and social spheres. One of the first to arrive was former president Jordi Pujol, for whom Vilarrubí had great admiration, leading him to become one of Pujol's closest confidants, holding positions such as secretary general and deputy director in the early days of Catalunya Ràdio and head of the Catalan Government's Autonomous Gaming and Betting Authority (EAJA).

The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, attended the wake for businessman and president of the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition, Carles Vilarrubí, on Monday at the Sant Gervasi funeral home in Barcelona. Vilarrubí, 71, a former FC Barcelona executive, died suddenly in the early hours of Sunday morning. During the afternoon, former FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, the leader of Junts in the Barcelona City Council, Jordi Martí Galbis, and one of the Torres brothers, renowned chefs, among other prominent figures, visited the funeral home. Vilarrubí was also one of the founders and an executive of Catalunya Ràdio, a board member of the Catalan Corporation of Audiovisual Media (CCMA), and held other positions in the finance and banking sectors. From a very young age, he was closely linked to Jordi Pujol, even before the latter became President of the Generalitat. Husband of Sol Daurella, president of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), he received the Creu de Sant Jordi (Cross of St. George) in 2015. His funeral will be held this Tuesday at 12:30 pm at the Parish of Saints Gervasius and Protasius in Barcelona.

Carlos Vilarrubí y Carrió (Barcelona, ​​​​1954), death this morningIt could be said that he knew how to make excellent use of all his senses. Taste, of course, as president of the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition since 2016. He also knew how to surround himself with the most knowledgeable people, such as chef Carme Ruscalleda, or his vice president, Joan Font, among others. Given his aptitude for economics, he was able to interpret the immense potential of gastronomic activity in Catalonia. Taste and sight.

Above all, power is the will to exercise it, and Carles Vilarrubí, died prematurely this SundayHe conceived his professional life as a mission in which he was the one in command.

Carlos Vilarrubí died early this morning in Barcelona at the age of 71. Born in Barcelona, ​​Vilarrubí was involved in the most important institutions in the country and in recent years was particularly linked to gastronomy, having served as president of the Catalan Academy of Gastronomy and Nutrition since 2016, where he was considered a man of consensus. Throughout his professional career, he dedicated himself to the world of business and banking. He was also a close associate of Jordi Pujol and a key figure in the early days of Convergència i Unió. Once in the Generalitat (the Catalan government), with Jordi Pujol's rise to power in 1980, Vilarrubí was one of the driving forces behind Catalunya Ràdio, where he served as secretary general and deputy director, and years later, RAC1 and RAC105. He was also tasked with creating the Autonomous Entity for Games and Betting (EAJA), the Generalitat's lottery, which never became the large company Pujol envisioned because the State blocked its growth. Even so, Vilarrubí was responsible for launching Europe's first online lottery, 6/49. More recently, he was one of the businessmen accused in the Pujol case of money laundering and attended the start of this trial at the National Court in late November. Throughout his career, he held various positions in the world of finance, insurance, and sports. The financier Javier de la Rosa recruited him as CEO for a major project backed by the Generalitat: Grand Tibidabo/PortAventura. At that time, the park was called Tibigardens. This was the period when both Pujol and his then Minister of Economy, Macià Alavedra, held up De la Rosa as an example of a successful businessman. Shortly after, Vilarrubí decided to distance himself from the project after detecting some suspicious activity. Ultimately, De la Rosa ended up in prison.