This Monday in Barcelona, the King presented the VIII Kingdom of Spain Award for Business Achievement to the founder and non-executive president of Mango, Isak Andic, during a ceremony held on the Iese campus.
During the event, Felipe VI praised the "culture of effort, entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership and work capacity" that the businessman embodies and that has led him to build from nothing a company with a presence in 115 markets and that turnover exceeds 3,100 million euros.
"Isak, you are a clear model of a self-made person and you have shown that, with a lot of will, determination and determination you can go very far, in fact, as far as you want," King Felipe stressed before an audience. made up of businessmen, politicians and members of civil society. Jordi Hereu, Minister of Industry and Tourism, attended the award ceremony, organized by the Círculo de Empresarios, the Cercle d'Economia and the Círculo de Empresarios Vascos; Carlos Prieto, Government Delegate in Catalonia; Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona, and Roger Torrent, Minister of Business and Work.
The King has defined Andic as one of the "great entrepreneurs in the cradle of the textile industry, Barcelona", as well as as a "magnificent example of how a sector has evolved" to adapt to the times, "get ahead and become stronger" . "From having only a couple of people you have gone on to have a staff of 14,000 employees, you have positioned Mango in the international market," added Felipe VI, who this Monday had an intense agenda in Barcelona (he inaugurated the Alimentaria fair and has received the Spanish medalists from the last aquatic sports championships).
For his part, Isak Andic wanted to share the recognition with all the people who make up his company. "This recognition is not for Isak Andic, it is for Mango. Because Mango is much more than a person, since it has a little of the effort and work of each of the people who have worked and work on the project. This is the key to our success: our common culture," he noted. He also hoped that the Mango project "which was born humbly in Barcelona more than forty years ago, could serve to foster the entrepreneurial spirit among youth and the aspiration to help create prosperity for many people and families and to serve society.” Andic also thanked his family and Mango's CEO, Toni Ruiz, for their support and work.
According to the Jury's minutes, the awarding of the Prize to Isak Andic was decided “by virtue of his contribution to the economic and social development of Spain over several decades of effort and work, creating employment, internationalizing his activities and contributing to the improvement of their environment and the well-being of the country. Reasons that make it a reference for future generations.”
The event was attended by Javier Godó, Count of Godó and editor of La Vanguardia, Carlos Godó (Chairman of the Godó Group), Ana Godó (Chairman of the Godó Group) Enrique Lacalle (Círculo Ecuestre), Josep Maria Xercavins (DeA Capital Real Estate Iberia) , Lluís Bassat, Josep Creuheras (Planeta), Rafael del Pino (Ferrovial), Tatxo Benet (Mediapro), Emili Cuatrecasas (Emesa), Rafael Fontana (Cuatrecasas), Antonio Brufau (Repsol), Cristina Guiral, Josep Oliu (Banc Sabadell) , Carlo Bonnomi (Investindustrial), Marc Puig (Puig), Manuel Torreblanca or Anna Balletbó (Olof Palme Foundation), among others.
Likewise, the presidents of the three organizations convening the Award were present; Manuel Pérez-Sala, president of the Círculo de Empresarios; Jaume Guardiola, president of the Cercle d'Economia and Andrés Arizkorreta, president of the Basque Businessmen's Circle. Mango, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, has just closed the 2023 financial year with record sales and profits and the goal of growing 30% by 2026.
