It is impossible not to notice its presence. When he gets up from the chair, he asserts his height of almost 2.10 meters. Arturo Llopis (Silla, 1971) is a well-known name for basketball lovers of the 1980s generation. Originally from a farming family in the province of Valencia, he started playing basketball when he was seven years old and quickly burned through all the stages. The big clubs noticed him, because in addition to being tall he had coordination in his movements. An agile giant.
He signed for the Barcelona youth team and at the age of 14 he was already living alone in a residence for athletes. In addition to improving his game, he gained security and autonomy. He understood camaraderie, the unwritten rules of the locker room, team discipline. Some values that would be very useful throughout his professional journey.
At 18 years old he wanted to take the leap and cross the pond to the mecca of basketball: the United States. With the help of a scholarship – and the English that he had practiced with American basketball players in Europe – he was presented with the possibility of choosing between the University of Louisiana, where he could cross paths with a legend like Shaquille O'Neal, or Harvard . He chose the academic prestige of the second, because he sensed that living from sport has a limited duration: the time of a basket, in the long game of life.
While playing in the university league, Arturo Llopis graduated in Economics and Computer Science. “Almost my entire promotion ended up working at Microsoft,” he recalls. He, on the other hand, decided to return to basketball in Europe. In his resume he can boast of a League and having been on the verge of becoming part of the team that played in the Olympic Games. of Barcelona 1992.
However, he hung up his boots at just 24 years old. He considered that after the fall of the wall and the massive arrival of players from the Balkans, the Europeans would not have been able to remain competitive. Without being aware of it, Arturo Llopis was already moving his first steps from the parquet to the human resources sector.
After completing an MBA at IESE, he joined consulting at Bain
But sometimes the ball doesn't come in as expected: he suddenly found himself a widower with a small brood to take care of. Llopis, who was a center, did not give up. As his role on the court indicates, he pivoted. After the umpteenth rebound, he settled in Barcelona to join Stuart Spencer, one of the leading firms in human resources.
They entrusted him with a hitherto unprecedented task: to launch the leadership consulting department. Not only looking for managers, but advising companies so that talents fit in and bring out the best in themselves. Choose the best coach (and see where he can improve) so that he can enhance the stars he has available. His work ranges from succession planning for the chief executive, through leadership evaluation, to analysis of management teams and alignment between the culture of leaders and the company's strategy.
When he evaluates the candidates, potential CEOs, he looks at three aspects, which he categorizes as follows. “You have to have the ability to decide with the correct answers, like a Nobel Prize winner; "Be a little political so you can act with people and sell your ideas and, most importantly, be a little child, so you don't lose the ability to listen and absorb knowledge like a sponge."
Two of his sons today play basketball for fun. From time to time and with caution, so as not to burden his knees, Arturo Llopis plays with them. And the giant becomes a child, he too.
